The inner chaos of a web guy's mind.
MPC
This user hasn't shared any biographical information
Homepage: http://www.mk2solutions.com
Posts by MPC
Windows Vista SP1 Update
Apr 12th
Well as I began using the Windows Vista SP1 update and putting it through its paces on my laptop. Some major concerns have come up which have now caused me to uninstall the service pack and wait till Microsoft gets it right before I install it again.
Problems:
I predominantly use Firefox as my browser but after installing SP1 Firefox began hanging when loading pages, especially during tabbed browsing sessions. I tried to recreate this problem in IE7 but I could not recreate the problem. The router and modem are working fine and tested well on other computers in the network. After uninstalling add-ons and trying an upgrade to Beta 5 of firefox I still found the same problems occurring. Therefore I concluded that this is a conflict between Firefox and SP1, where does the blame lie? I would put the blame on Microsoft myself considering that Firefox was working fine before the update.
When shutting down the laptop the system would hang at “Shutting Down” at one point I left the system to see how long it would hang but after 45mins I decided it was time to hit the power button. After fixing some registry entries the main one being this:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control] On the right panel look for the “WaitToKillServiceTimeout” string and change it value to 5000 by right clicking the string and selecting Modify…
Default Value WaitToKillServiceTimeout=20000
Modified value WaitToKillServiceTimeout=5000
This sped up the shutdown time a little but it would still hang on some shutdowns. With these to issues I have had enough of SP1, a service pack is supposed to enhance the usability of a system not cripple regularly used programs. At this time I am going to wait until the update is available through windows update. [NOTE] On my x64 VIsta system in the office I have not seen these problems, all though on that machine the update came through windows update. The x64 system is also a desktop and built with newer components.
Thats it for now, I patiently await a REAL service pack from Microsoft for Vista.
Reaction to Cheerleader beating in Florida
Apr 11th
Well I keep saying that the new method of raising our children, allowing them to experience EVERYTHING for themselves and not making them face consequences for their actions at a younger age is leading to out of control teenagers. Stories like this prove me right. This lazy method of parenting leads to socially corrupt little criminals like the girls in Florida beating a fellow student to near death for 30 mins after ambushing her.
Kids that are not raised with discipline, structure and consequence do not have the ability to understand right from wrong at the age where temptation and peer pressure is at it’s highest. The parents of these girls in Florida just don’t have a clue about raising kids. You let your kids do what they want so that you don’t have to do any work and when they go out and behave like criminals, you stand behind them and blame everyone except the people responsible YOU.
The parents of the kids that did the beating should be held partially responsible and made to pay the hospital and recovery expenses for the family of the poor girl that was beaten. You people make me sick, asking for protection from the angry public. The spoiled little miscreants you raised should be punished to the full extent of the law and you as parents should be investigated as to how you raised your children. One of the mothers of the CRIMINALS actually said the girl who got beaten “had it coming”. To you I respond ,when you get mugged and raped in an ally you sick twisted wretch I will sit back and say “YOU HAD IT COMING”.
Yes this is one of my most explicit and emotional posts because a man in Victoria was killed a couple of years ago by the same behavior. Yet when I am speaking sternly to my daughter so that she understands that her behavior in public is unacceptable I get evil eyes from other parents, who’s kids are running rampant in the store completely out of control. One afternoon my then pregnant wife was disciplining one of my daughters for having loud outbursts in public when some women in her SUV blocked her in and began to berate her about poor parenting. This woman then got back in her SUV where her pregnant teenage daughter was waiting. This is the kind of parenting that leads to events like what happened in Florida.
When is the world going to learn that kids need to be raised using love, discipline, consequence and YES the odd spanking when its required. I am in my 30′s and I was spanked as a child when I got out of hand, I had strict rules and discipline, suffering consequences for my actions. WOW I’m not in jail and nor are any of the friends that I had growing up raised the same way as me. None of them beat anyone to near death and all are contributing members in society. Well that says something for the NEW methodology of raising children. IT IS NOT WORKING!!!!
Well thats m y Rant on this topic. I hope other parents out there will see this and take a look into how you are raising your kids. Do you know what they are up to? Do you know their friends? Have you talked to their teachers about their behavior at school? If your kids are out of line then discipline is in order. I am not an advocate for beating your children and my kids have never and will never be beaten. A spanked bottom is not a way to hurt your child it is embarrassing and a bit of a shock. It does however instill the understanding that bad behavior comes with a negative consequence. Those lessons are ingrained into memory and sub conscious for later years when it is drawn upon during right or wrong situations where decision is required.
For more information on the beating follow this link:
http://www.local6.com/news/15843904/detail.html
Vista SP1 – Review
Apr 10th
Well its here and ready to install, Windows Vista SP1. I grabbed the install from the downloads because its not available for Windows Update until April18, 2008.
The Review
This install took approximately a 1/2 Hr. and was uneventful, this installation was on my Fujitsu 6025 Lifebook. Reboot worked without out fail and there it was. Some of the first things that I noticed was that the delay in file transfer estimation was gone as I transferred some large files from one partition to another. The file transfer rate on the 5400RPM laptop drive was approx. 5-6MB/Sec but the update bar is more consistent than it is in the non SP1 setup.
When using FireFox and trying to open html links from within applications like Mail there is an error that pops up saying that the page cannot be found but then FireFox loads the page anyway. It is more of a minor inconvenience than a major problem. There is a driver compatibility problem with SP1 and the Fujitsu shock sensor. A quick check on the Fujitsu site netted me an updated driver that seems to be working properly.
I am still finding that the network detection tools are still weak, often when clicking network my router is not in the list so to log-in to the router I have to go in via http. Other times the router appears and the standard Right Click>View Device Web-page is available. Network access is quicker when navigating through shared folder on the XP machine in the network.
Display adapters
There was supposed to be fixes in this Service Pack for display adapters running multiple displays from a notebook. I have not yet seen the fix I was looking for, when I plug my plasma T.V. into the laptop via VGA I can use it as a second monitor but when I unplug it from the laptop the task/start menu bar goes invisible with a thin outline of where it is supposed to be. In order to get it back I have to stop the dwm.exe (Desktop Window Manager) from the task manager and let it restart the service for the start menu to appear again. Still no fix for this error in the new SP1.
So far I have seen one of the fixes that I was looking for in HDD file transfer and Network access but other than that there is not much of a change to the general functionality of Vista.
Well that is my first glance, I will make updates to the post as I delve into the update a little more.

Recent Comments