On October 22 I logged in at Dell to order my free upgrade to Windows 7. The package of two DVDs arrived yesterday (October 27), and I took the plunge and upgraded my new Dell system last night. I should begin by saying that this is a brand new system, purchased earlier in the month, an Intel i7-920 Quad Core with 8GB RAM, a 1 Terabyte harddrive, and 64 Bit Windows. Vista ran very nicely on it.

I should also say that over the course of the past few years I have transformed from a Windows Vista detractor to a Windows Vista supporter. The UAC and security issues that everybody was complaining about are the features that make Vista much more secure than any version of Windows that came before it. I found it stable, if somewhat clunky at times. I was hoping that Microsoft would take a page out of Apple’s book (at least the post OS X Apple) when releasing Windows 7: don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. There is a lot of good stuff in Vista, a lot of stuff that isn’t fully developed, and a lot of stuff that needs improvement. If Windows 7 could build on all that, fix the glitches, and add a few new features, it would be the same as a Mac OS release… improved but essentially the same.

This is, in fact, exactly what Microsoft has done. Windows 7 has everything that was good about Vista, and fixes nearly everything that bad about Vista. I can’t really say that I notice a performance difference between Vista and Seven on the Dell XPS, but this is likely because it’s such blazingly fast hardware. Others have told me they notice a dramatic difference on older hardware that struggles with Vista. Your mileage may vary.

Overall, the upgrade experience was pleasant, if somewhat protracted. I started the process at 7:00 PM, and it was 9:00 before it completed. I did not sit at the computer… it was completely automated, but there was a lot of file copying and backing up during the upgrade. I did a fresh install of the Beta way back when and it completed in less than 20 minutes, so if you don’t really need to do an upgrade, I’d suggest saving yourself some time and doing a fresh install. I just didn’t want to deal with having to re-install a pile of software, some of which would have to be de-activated and then re-activated.

During the upgrade process the upgrade advisor detected two pieces of software that might conflict with Seven. It informed me that it would be best to remove them before proceeding, but not to worry because Seven would install updated versions post install. Despite seeming to make this sound optional, the system would not install until I removed the realtek audio driver and the ATI Catalyst display manager. Once that was done, the upgrade proceeded smoothly and both pieces of software were reinstalled automatically and updated post install. This may have been a Dell utility and not part of Seven, but in any case it worked well.

The only bit of strangeness I have to report is the configuring of my dual monitor display. I have two displays on my desktop, one a 24 inch LCD the other a 21 inch LCD. In Vista, after setup, they behaved perfectly. The monitor on the right spanned the desktop to the right… allowing me to open new windows (debuggers, email, whatever), in the right side display. Once Seven was installed, the monitors appeared to have reversed. The smaller, 21 inch monitor, was now the primary monitor, and the larger 24 inch was the secondary. The main desktop appeared on the right-side display. Even when I massaged the configuration and made the 24 inch the primary display, the 21 inch monitor seemed to span the desktop to the left… not the right, which was awkward. After some fiddling with the display properties, this resolved itself, but ti took some time to figure out.

I put in a full day of work at the system today and it has performed perfectly. No idiosyncracies, no weirdness. It’s responsive, and seems to be very stable. It’s also unobtrusive. I’m trying to recall if the UAC bothered me at all for permission to continue with some task, but nothing pops to mind. I don’t yet know if this means that security is relaxed, but I can definitely say that the user experience is improved over Vista. All software installed on Vista appears to work well on Seven. I have had no problems. I run a pared down system in that I don’t use Gadgets, and tend to keep Aero turned off, but I have turned on Aero for Seven so that I can experience some of the cool new features. The “Peek at Desktop”, and application rollover in the task bar are very cool features, as is the snap to side-by-side view and window focus. (If you have a crowd of applications open, you can grab the one you want, give it a little shake, and the others fall to the taskbar so that you can focus on your work. There are a lot of other features like that I haven’t had time to explore, but all in all Seven seems solid and very user friendly.

I’ll be curious to see what the general feeling about Seven is like after a month or so.

I suppose it had to happen. GLORT.com has been consumed by Cloud Computing. Rather, I have joined the cloud of my own free will. I wrote about the experience in a guest post on the blog of fellow Web developer and University of Winnipeg ISSD grad Brenley Dueck. You can read it on his blog at brenelz.com.

Steve (left) and Mike on the River Walk near the forks (photo by Clint)

Mike and I usually ride 60 km to 80 km every Sunday morning. Clint often rides with us when he has some free time. Yesterday, we left the West End (Polo Park area) at 7:50 in a thick fog in which visibility seemed to be about 100 meters. We cycled to Wellington Crescent to meet Clint, then decided to take a spin up to Lockport via Raleigh, Birds Hill, Reebeck Road.

Mike and Clint (right) in the fog on the River Walk (photo by Steve)

The fog was interesting. It didn’t lift until Lockport, at which time we started back to Winnipeg into a breeze that hadn’t seemed to be there on the way out. Always seems to happen that way.

A slow year for cycling, by the way. I’m at about 1,500 Km this year, and may get up to 2,500 Km by year’s end. Contrast that with 6,000 Km a couple of years ago, and an average of about 3,500 km generally. School has meant homework, reading, etc… and fewer evening rides. Perhaps next year will be better.

I don’t often write about online stores or retail outlets, but I had a really good experience at one the other day so I thought I’d spare a few lines in the blog, particularly since it fits nicely into the tech and geek categories of which I appear to be so fond.

I’d been looking for a USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA adapter for the last while.  Tiger Direct always seemed to have them available, but local outlets were a bit iffy.   One of the guys I go to school with had recommended Memory Express a while back, and with a couple of free hours in the afternoon I thought I’d give them a try.

The experience was quite good, and if you’ve shopped at other geek computer part outlets, you’ll know what I mean.  Often they are understaffed, and despite finding what you want you can wait a long time before making it out of the store.  Finding somebody to give you help can also be a problem.  At Memory Express, at least on the Friday afternoon I visited, it was the exact opposite.  The store was very well staffed, and within 30 seconds I’d been approached by at least two clerks who helped me find what I was looking for.  More than that, they found two versions of the USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA adapter, opened the box, and helped me pick the best one.

I was really impressed.  I spent a few bucks more than I needed to (some computer type tools), and promised myself I’d write about it and become a regular customer.  So, I’ve done part of that.

Oh, and it turns out the Wintek USB2.0 to IDE Serial ATA hard-drive adapter was pretty useful, too. Wish I’d bought one long ago.

The Old Dell Latitude, falling apart

When a laptop starts falling to pieces, and it’s well out of warranty, your options are limited. My son has an old Dell Latitude I had purchased from work for $100 a couple of years ago. It was already broken when I bought it, but some spot repairs, a RAM upgrade, and a fresh install of Windows XP turned it into a usable machine until now. Recently, the frame started to fall apart, the keys began to fall out, and the screen to flicker. Rather than throw it out, I decided to turn it into a small-form-factor desktop machine be turning it into a headless box. This was a small project that took less than 30 minutes in total, but was remarkably rewarding in that a) I didn’t have to shell out for a new computer, b) I used up some old parts that were lying around the house taking up room and c) I appeased my almost obsessive need to NEVER upgrade.

Supplies and tools required:

1) Old or broken laptop
2) Small Philips head screwdriver
3) Spare USB keyboard
4) Spare USB mouse
5) Spare monitor (preferably LCD)

The switchplate removed... pried off with my fingers.

The first step (after unplugging the machine and removing its battery… we don’t want to get shocked, do we?) was to remove the switch plate, just above the keyboard. This was easy, and it came off with some gentle tugging with my fingers. Once the switchplate was removed, the screws that held the screen to the main laptop chassis were revealed, and I unscrewed those with the Phillips head. Once the screws were removed that held the screen in place, the only thing connecting it to the chassis was the cable leading into the motherboard. That came out easily enough by unscrewing the top two screws that hold in the keyboard, prying it up a little, and literally unplugging the screen. It was completely off in a matter of minutes.

All the pieces spread apart.

Because my son’s desk is small, there wouldn’t be much room to spread the components around, so I thought it would be nice to be able to perch the LCD on top of the laptop chassis, creating a kind of all-in-one unit. With the keys exposed, however, I didn’t want the weight of the LCD to activate the original laptop keyboard, so the next step was to disconnect the keyboard, then reinstall it.

The keyboard removed and detached from the motherboard

Finally, I plugged in the spare keyboard, the mouse, and the LCD monitor. It all worked like a charm. This old Dell Latitude is not the best laptop around, but my son uses it primarily for web browsing, MSN Messenger, and homework (Open Office). The few games he plays are online games, and Starcraft, so the Latitude is perfect. The small-form-factor is great for the limited space in his room. And the final benefit… as a desktop system, the Latitude is no longer portable, so I don’t have to watch or listen to him playing on the computer at the kitchen table or in the living room!