Category: Geek

If you’ve been checking out Global Nerdy, a tech blog I share with my buddy George, I’ve gotten my hands on a copy of Release Candidate 1 of Microsoft’s next version of Windows, Windows Vista. So far, I’ve made two attempts to install it, both without success.

Here’s the short version: yes, I finally got it installed. As with software from Microsoft, the third time’s the charm. My trick was the tried-and-true fix that all IT workers know: turn the damned machine off and on again. This trick is so useful that it’s been immortalized on t-shirts and in at least one television show, The IT Crowd:

For more, go check out the full story.

“If I wanted my computer rendered useless,” I said, “I would’ve saved myself some time by simply continuing to run Windows XP on it.”

Refusing to take “no” for an answer from my computer, I made a second attempt to install Windows Vista. For the full story, check out my article at Global Nerdy.

…and the results have been less than optimal. Read this story (and more) on Global Nerdy.

…are over at Global Nerdy and the Tucows Blog. Go check them out!

I’m in Beantown to attend the Ajax Experience conference (Ajax as in the web application programming technique, not the cleanser), which starts tomorrow and runs until Wednesday.

The conference takes place at the brand spanking new Westin Boston Waterfront, which still has the “new hotel smell”. It’s considerably more posh than the typical stone’s-throw-from-the-airport conference hotel, and it’s pretty close to downtown (a ten or fifteen-minute walk, depending on your pace, will land you right at Downtown Crossing). I predict the possibility of some post-session expeditions for booze.

Aside from dinner with Wendy’s parents tonight, I had nothing scheduled today, so I walked over to Downtown Crossing and ended up doing what I always do when I go there: buying dress shirts at half-price in Filene’s Basement. I think half my office and going-out wardrobe comes from Boston now. I then handed a guy in a tri-corner hat twelve bucks to take me on a walking tour of the Freedom Trail. This sort of thing would probably bore Wendy to tears (she’s lived in Boston most of her life), so I thought I’d catch it as long as I was travelling without her.

I’ll be blogging about the conference over at the Tucows Blog and Global Nerdy; my non-technical entries about the trip will go here. If you’re attending this conference or just happen to be a friend of mine in the Boston area, drop me a line. I’ve got the accordion with me, and am always up for a little beer-fueled fun.