I was Hit by a Nasty Piece of Malware this Morning

 

It’s called Win 7 Internet Protection. It is accurately termed a ‘Shape Shifter’ because it will configure itself to whatever Operating System you are using. Nasty, because it does present itself as a new version of your Windows security tool and ostensibly it has found a Trojan in one of more locations among your files. those place include any System Optimizers, Anti-virus/malware utilities and even your browsers.

When it notifies you of the presence of the trojan it will offer to clean up your system for you. But when you select Clean’ it will send you to a page where you pay for the cleaning service – 1 year for $60.00.. If you back out of that without paying you will find yourself blocked from access to any of your anti-virus/malware utilities and even your browser.

It is a nasty piece of work, indeed. Be very, very careful of what you do at this point. the people who wrote this critter are not your friends. Several web sites identify this software as malware and even provide an accurate description of how it behaves. Then they offer to sell you the means to repair your system.

There is a much easier and far less costly way to do that. ‘Restore’ your operating system to a  point at least 24-hours before you noticed the malware. If you are working in Windows 7, click on the globe at the bottom left corner of your screen and in the search box type ‘restore’ and hit the Enter key. Then select the restore point and click the Go button.

Once your system has rebooted, run your anti-virus/malware software. And maybe even download the free version of Zone Alarm. It’s good, and it’s cheap.

I got rid of it, despite its blocking access to my anti-virus and system optimizer tools. But it made me very, very angry. I was lucky, and smart. You can be, as well

Win 7 vs. Applications and Riviera Recorder for Skype Review

 

I’m beginning to miss Win XP. Windows 7 is supposedly a quantum leap above and beyond Win XP; but in my opinion only some parts of the user interface meet those goals. On a machine capable of meeting the display standard for Win 7, anyway. Even parts of the user interface fall below expectations.

But all of that is normal for Microsoft products, which, according to legend at least, just have to be good enough to meet the needs and expectations of most users. Win 7 does that, but it leaves some users disgruntled. Such as yours, truly.

My system is a Compaq Presario with 4 gig of RAM, a 500 gig hard drive and other useful bits and Windows 7 with SP1. Automatic updates for Windows products is turned on, of course, and I use a nifty product from IoBit (www.iobit.com) called Advanced System Care several times a week to keep things running smoothly. If you don’t, you owe it to yourself to check this product out. Even the Free version does more than many buy-to-use products.

I have Windows Explorer v 9 installed (though I use it only rarely) and Mozilla Firefox v 6.0.2, which I do use. I do NOT use Chrome, or any other browser.

I connect to the internet via a wireless connection with the second computer in the office. That connection has never given me any problems, and is always ‘on’. And the router for the DSL connection is working perfectly and the strength meter indicates a good connection.

But my internet access disappears at frequent and very irritating intervals. My system is dropping access to the router, even though the connection is ‘on’ and the router is working as it should. I can open a browser window, but when I click on a page the page fails to load (“Server not Found” appears all too frequently - and it does not matter which browser I use or which software application is calling for access).

Checking the network and Sharing Center in Control Panel shows a strong connection to the router, though No Internet Access.

After a few seconds, though internet access is back and the page will load. This is infuriating, and frequent.

And Skype (v 5.5.0.124), of course. which is starting to cause me some headaches with behaviour I have never before seen in any application. And I have seen a lot of bizarre behaviour from applications over the years, since I earned a very nice living in software testing for a chunk of them. But Skype has come up with something new, and I can’t figure it out.

My first gripe with Skype (though not the most serious) is that you cannot exit the program once it is loaded. You cannot shut it down, and it will add itself to your Start Menu without asking. This is not good behaviour, and that is not something any user should have to deal with.

But yesterday, things got very interesting. I was invited to take a look at a new product called Riviera for Skype, from Jiteco. (http://www.jiteco.com/skype_call_recorder.html).

I do have a very nice collection of tools and apps that I use frequently when I researching and writing, and I am constantly looking for new apps.

Riviera for Skype is a call recorder and playback tool that integrates with Skype. And that would be a very good thing for folks like me.

I do a lot of calling with Skype, to editors, bookstore owners, printers and such. I also do on-line and radio interviews and join a few on-line webinars where having the ability to record what’s said (since I hate to take notes) would be a very good thing, indeed.

So I downloaded Riviera and allowed it to access Skype, which registered it as a Skype add-on and allowed it work inside that app as it needed it to.

I came across a few small defects/issues, which I reported to the company techs and they very quickly resolved them and made a new download available for me. Apparently, issues with Win 7 are an ongoing headache for developers, but there is nothing new in this. That is far more a Microsoft problem than it is Jiteco’s or any other developer, although they are the ones who have to deal with them.

Here’s a screen shot of the Riviera application:

And here’s a screen shot of the Recorder during playback:

So all of those (mostly display) issues were quickly resolved and Riviera worked. I was able to use the Echo utility in Skype to record and play back those calls. later in the day, though, I began to see some very strange behaviour in Skype. Every time I tried to call someone in my Skype call list ( you select a name from your call list and this opens a right-hand pane with a Call button and  message text box), and then clicked on the Call button in the right-hand pane. Skype promptly shut down. Disappeared right off my desktop, leaving the Skype icon sitting there, all innocent-like.

So I reopened Skype and tried it again. Same thing. Tried the Skype Echo call service. Same thing. Uninstalled Riviera for Skype and cleaned the Registry and made sure it was no longer registered in Skype. Reinstalled. Same thing. Only then I found that clicking anywhere in the Call pane would shut Skype down faster than a revenooer at a moonshine still. Then I uninstalled Skype and cleaned the Registry again. And reinstalled it.

Same thing. I went into Skype and tried to contact their tech support. Could not do that, since it involved clicking in the right-hand pane and that shut the program down. Went to Skype on-line, but there is no way to send them an email with an issue. Just a thorough FAQ page which did not include this particular issue.

The I went to bed, and tried to sleep, thinking that I would have to come up with an alternative to Skype. I was beginning to think it would never, ever, work again on my machine. I was also thinking unpleasant thoughts about Riviera for Skype, as well..

But this morning, I opened Skype without starting my browser. Skype works.

I’m beginning to think the problem is not with Skype or Riviera at all, but stems from a problem in Win 7 and how it handles (or mis-handles) calls for internet access when there is a wireless connection involved.

Now that I have absolutely no idea why Skype behaved as it did, or why my system keeps screwing me around with my supposed ‘always on’ (but not really) internet access, I am going to reinstall Riviera for Skype and run some more tests.

At this point I tend to agree with the Jiteco developers – the problem is NOT with their product, but with Win 7 and how it fails to properly allocate internet access calls from applications.

Now that the Recorder has been released (at a very attractive price), Jiteco has a few features they will be adding in the near future. Currently the app records and plays back voice. they have plans to extend that to video & voice recording and are thinking of adding an auto responder to the app as well.

Riviera for Skype is a nifty tool, and it works. Not only that, but the Jiteco techs are on the ball, ready and willing to help. I like that, and I like their little application.

Go to: http://www.jiteco.com/skype_call_recorder.html and download their Recorder. You’ll like it, and you’ll like the way the Jiteco techs respond to questions and issues. And they plan on three new product releases in December. I’ll be keeping my eye on the folks at Jiteco. I suggest you do, as well.

I spent the last seven days in the hospital

 

And just got out this afternoon. Actually, I went on Friday night, was sent home on Sunday afternoon and went back in on Monday, feeling even worse than I had on Friday when I took my painfully swollen and completely useless right leg to the emergency room.

Okay, I admit it now. I am an old and essentially useless codger Well, I feel like one right now, anyway. I had to have help getting from the passenger seat into the wheelchair on Friday when my sister drove me to the emergency room, and I was well and truly bound up in my misery, on the verge of being a crotchety old fart, to boot. But my knee hurt, darn it, and I needed help, and I hate feeling helpless and needy.

I really, really, hate that feeling.

In fact, it blows my self-image right out of the water.

By Sunday, all the docs managed to do was pump me full of antibiotics and send me home. They had no idea what was wrong.

But when I hauled my sorry butt and very swollen knee back to the emergency room on Monday evening, the change in their approach to problem solving took a dramatic and very welcome turn for the better.

They pumped me full of morphine. I was Mr. happy in a very big way. At least, I was, until they slipped a very large needle into my right knee and began to draw out some hideous-looking greenish-brown fluid out of my knee. About thirty CC’s of file stuff. I admit that I let out a few girlish shrieks intermixed with sailor-like curses when they struck bone during the procedure, but aside from those brief (though very painful) moments of true weakness, I was my usually manly self.

Yeah, right. I was a true wussy-boy, and I admit it. My self-image is going to go through a reality check over the next few weeks.

Along with my web site, which I was supposed to be rebuilding during these last seven days. But my knee was in such bad shape all of last week I couldn’t even sit with my feet on the floor. In fact, it was so painful it hurt to lay flat on my back in bed. Once I realized the pain was not going away I had no choice but to take my sorry butt to the hospital.

And I’m glad I did. Screw the web site, or anything else I wanted to do with that time ( get married again to a wonderful woman, go sailing, build a boat, sell books, finish writing “Lonesome Cove”, whatever).

I am physically exhausted, and wondering why I am beavering away at this blog post. Actually, I know why; I do not want to get back into a bed of any sort right now. I want to do ‘stuff’, just as I have all of my life. Build things, design things, run companies, take a well-armed squad on patrol in the West Bank; you know, ‘Stuff’.

Laying flat on my back in bed scares me. It means I can’t do any of that ‘Stuff’.

So, this is my plan for the rest of this week. Get my web site redesigned and make it live before the weekend. I’m starting from scratch, using “KomPozer”  (http://www.kompozer.net/ ), a SourceForge free application to build the site.  I worked on web sites before, and have a pretty good idea of what’s involved. But I’ve never used an application like KomPozer to build one from scratch. I written HTML in Notepad (yes, you can do that, if you’re a purist. Purists insist on doing things the hard way, which is why I’m not a purist). 

I’ll let you know what I think of KomPozer once I’ve got the site up and running. I’ve gotten some good recommendation for the app, and that means a lot about its ease of use.

I had to trim the original site down by several pages that had little to do with my writing; it’s become somewhat haphazard with all of the additions over the last year or so. At a later date I will set up another site for the Photo Gallery and get that back on-line.

On Saturday, I will be at the Middleburg Historic Festival, 2102 Palmetto St, Middleburg, FL, between 8 am and 4 pm.

Then I have much of the week following to fine-tune the site and prep for all of the events I have crammed into the week following. Such as:

Please take note of the two interviews: 

On 14 November I will be live on WOCA 1370 AM out of Ocala, Fl, on their morning drive show, discussing “Twisted Key”.

On 16 November “The Authors Show”  (http://www.theauthorsshow.com/), available via internet all over the world, will begin broadcasting a pre-recorded interview with my about the novel.

 

14 November  - Live radio interview WOCA 1370 AM Radio, Ocala, Fl - 10:00 - 10:30 am

16 November - Green Cove Springs "Boutique" - VIA Clubhouse, 17 Palmetto Ave, Green Cove Springs, Fl 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

16 November -  I will be on "The Authors Show", http://www.theauthorsshow.com/, the most popular internet radio show devoted to authors in America, and available all over the world via Internet Radio. This is a pre-recorded and professionally edited interview. It will run at several times during the day and will be re-run the following weekend, as well. The show interviews several authors during the course of each week, and is well worth your time, if you love books and the people who write them.

19 November - Book signings at "A Novel Idea" bookstores in Ocala, Fl:
       Silver Springs Store: 2019 E. Silver Springs Blvd. - 12:00 - 2:00 pm
       College Ave store: 3131 S.W. College Ave. - 4:00 - 6:00 pm

 

Give the interviews a listen and let me know what you think.

A very belated post indeed

Please accept my apologies. I had very good intentions of writing this post over the weekend. Really, I did, but I found myself travelling on a very smooth road just paved with all of those good intentions, and couldn’t find an exit.

I recently released a collection of essays and articles I’d had published in Israel back in 2001 in Kindle format, and never had any intention of printing a single copy. I didn’t see any demand for the material; but one never knows, does one? I figured two or three Kindle sales a month, maybe, if that. Which brings us back to those good intentions I mentioned earlier. someone mentioned that college students might find a use for such material , and two of the bookstores that carry my novels expressed an interest in carrying the material. so I had to reformat everything, add a bit of commentary to the introduction of each piece and I added an Afterward to each to bring the material up to date and a Postscript to wrap the whole thing up in a nice and tidy package.

So now, what started as a 57 page booklet of little or no interest to most people is now one hundred pages, spiral bound, printed on one face with plenty of room for notes and a nice *.jpg cover on glossy photo paper with a  clear plastic cover. Unfortunately, printing costs being what they are, it’s not gonna be anywhere near as inexpensive as the Kindle version. They will have to retail at $15.00 for anyone to make a penny on the sale.

Oddly enough, the material does have more than a little relevance. The articles deal with Israeli politics and Muslim terror groups, and I don’t pull any punches with either subject.

And then there’s Windows 7.

I like it. Sort of. But my big bugaboo with Win 7 is that it drops my ‘Always On’ internet connect whenever it wants to, and that really ticks me off. And it’s a resource hog of the first order.

Enough said. If you have any solution to the internet connection issue in Win 7, please post a  comment. And yes, I’ve already thought of dropping back to Win XP SP3.

New computer hassles, software issues

 

Moving from my old (7-10 years old) Dell 2350 with 1 GB of (really slow ) DDR2 RAM running Win XP SP3 to a new Compaq Presario (who makes up these stupid names?) with 2 GB (much faster) DDR3 RAM running the 64-bit Win 7 Home Premium amounted to culture shock on a world shaking scale.

I’ve never met anyone who wished he had a slower, older computer. If I ever do, I’ll sell him mine. My only complaint with the Presario is that it only has 4 USB-2 ports on the back plane, and both the keyboard and mouse connect to the computer via USB. Which means that my wireless adapter, mini-cam, UPS and printer all competed for the other two ports. Until I got fed up and paid $15.00 for a 4-port unpowered USB hub, which hangs ignominiously from its USB connector trailing three or four USB cables where nobody can see it.

Later this month I’ll purchase another 2 GB of DDR-3 RAM for about $43.50. All of my 32-bit software installed and ran without a problem and seems to run just fine, thank you very much.

I think Microsoft has finally figured out how to write OS code that actually works the way the user expects it to work. Not that I’ve got Win 7 figured out. I don’t. Yet. But it appears to be very well organized and other than dropping the wireless connection at odd moments, it works just fine.

We brought the new machine home Sunday night from Best Buy. I had a short job to do Monday morning, but around 2:00 that afternoon I started to set it up. I had backups of my backups from the old machine, and printed out all of my passwords and product keys, and then I backed up everything all over again, just to be sure.

The biggest hassle – 2 hours’ worth – involved configuring the wireless adapter in Win 7. I still don’t know how I managed to get it done, but the OS finally recognized the home network and when I entered the passkey it all clicked just like it was supposed to do.

After that it took another day to install all of my software apps and system tools and get them configured. I use QuickBooks SimpleStart accounting software to track my expenses and sales (yes, I have both, technically, kinda-sorta. I am a writer, after all, and selling books is the whole idea). It’s a small business since I don’t have to do more than track the internet sales and record whatever sales deals I close with retail buyers or consignments to indie booksellers.

I’d like to purchase a copy of QuickBooks Pro because it includes sophisticated stuff like inventory tracking. SimpleStart by definition does not. So inventory just goes into a spreadsheet I have to update for changes. It works. It’s admittedly a kludge, but what’s a boy to do?

Unfortunately, Intuit no longer offers a downloadable desktop version of SimpleStart on their web site. They’ve figured out that they can charge people $13.00 or so a month to access SimpleStart on the web. Well, that is a good marketing decision for them I suppose, but I want my data on my computer, not on their servers where I have to pay to play with my own business data. But that’s just me.

Anyway, I got in touch with one of their reps via the chat tool on the Intuit site and she was kind enough to send me the URL for a download page where I could access the desktop version again.  Thank you very much for that, Intuit! Truly, thank you.

Intuit makes good, serviceable products and they have a great reputation for standing by their customers. And SimpleStart is a good, easy-to-understand and logically well laid out program. Not only that, but Intuit has a very large community of users whole will jump in and answer any questions you may have about using their products.

You just can’t go wrong with this company.

Win 7 has lots of nice features, and a lot of the features carried over from XP are much more robust. I thought I use the magnifier in Win 7 so I turned that on, but it quickly became an infuriating nuisance, so I got rid of it. If you’re legally blind and really need it I am sure it will prove a valuable tool, but I’m not, so there.

All in all, after a week of moving software and configuring this and swapping out that I finally have a reliable machine to carry on my writing. It’s not a whizz-bang machine with super-cooled over-clocked quad processor running 16 Gb of RAM and quad RAID backup drives, but that’s okay. I’ve got an uninterruptable power supply and a few more USB ports than I need right now. And I’m gonna get another two GB of RAM in a few weeks.

Have a good week

“Lonesome Cove”, “Twisted Key” and Google SketchUp

Technorati Tags: writing,editing,cover art,software review

 

Let’s talk about software first. Google’s “SketchUp” ( http://sketchup.google.com/) is an unlimited use, free 3D modeling program. There is a pay version for around $495.00, but most people will never need the additional features. Google developed SketchUp for use in modeling structures in Google Earth. Then they figured out it was commercially viable and put it on the market. It is without a doubt the easiest to use 3D CAD program in the whole wide world.

There is a learning curve associated with any design program of course, but Google has managed to simplify things to the Nth degree.That URL contains links to a lot of on-line training videos and all of the help you will ever need to become proficient in the use of this lovely little program.

But wait, there’s more!

I’m not designing buildings. I spent a lot of my life as a furniture maker/restorer/designer. Check the Photo Gallery on my web site (http://garyshowalter.com/PhotoGallery.aspx) for samples. I don’t have photos of every piece I’ve ever built or designed, but there is enough there to prove that I have spent many hours over a drawing board. In the 1980’s I worked with AutoDesk’s AutoCAD in a few architectural firms and even owned one of the early versions of AutoCAD LT.

Google SketchUp is a perfect tool for woodworkers who do their own design work. Fine Woodworking magazine (http://www.finewoodworking.com/) sells a downloadable (in *.PDF format) eBook titled “Google SketchUp Guide for Woodworkers” by Timothy S. Killen through their on-line Store (http://store.finewoodworking.com/sketchup-guide-for-woodworkers-tim-killen-ebook-077846.html). It costs $12.99 and is well worth the price.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am going to be building myself a proper desk for my home office. It will be based on the Wooton Patent Office Desk, and I include a photo here so you can get an idea of what I’m talking about:

 

I have no intention of building anything as fancy as that desk. There won’t be any fretwork on the top and I will cut the pigeon holes above the writing surface to a minimum; I need that space for a computer monitor, for a start, and below the drop-down writing surface I need space on the left for the computer case and on the right I need space for a trash can. In between I need space for my knobby knees. Most of the storage space inside the doors will be for file folders, spare pens, cell phones, specialty paper and so on. My version of the desk will be about 48” across the front and about 60” high.

I much prefer Shaker-style furniture; simple clean lines where form follows function so the desk will have clean lines with a minimum amount of molding. I am not a fan of dark woods, especially in small rooms (dark wood just sucks all of the light out of a room). Since I don’t have a large (or even a small) workshop nowadays (or even a workbench, much less a place to put one), I will be working in veneered plywood for the case and using ‘Real’ wood to trim it out along all of the exposed edges. And a router to cut dadoes and mortises and trimming edges and so on.

But don’t think SketchUp is limited to designing buildings for GoogleEarth or designing furniture. Approachable, useable 3D CAD software can be adapted for use in just about any craft. At these prices, what have you got to lose?

“Lonesome Cove” is close to 180 pages now, and is fast approaching a few critical scenes. I've backed of writing for a few days while the scenes sort themselves out in the depths of my lizard brain. Actually, I just got tired of writing and took a few days off to see what the rest of the world is up to. I’ll be back to work on it today.

I have a radio interview at 10:00 in Ocala on Tuesday morning at WOCA AM to discuss “Hog Valley” and and announce the book signing at A Novel idea bookstore on Silver Springs Blvd on Saturday. I hope to pick up the cover art for “Twisted Key” from the artist after the interview and then I can get the package off to the publisher near the end of this month.

Wednesday morning I’ll be in Fernandina Beach to meet with some very nice people who have expressed an interest in carrying my books.

And of course on Saturday I will be at A Novel Idea on Silver Springs Blvd from noon to 2 PM. Stop by and say hello!

Have a good week.

“Twisted Key” update and AutoCAD LT

Technorati Tags: Writing,editing,software review,AutoCad LT

 

I know; that’s a strange mix of subjects, but then I’m a strange guy. “Twisted Key” is still with the editors, but I have a copy of the manuscript that I’ve been handing out to a select group of readers. Select, meaning they are white-collar professionals who read – a lot, and all the time.

The first said he and his wife went camping, so he brought the MS with him, planning to read about 50 pages a day. That would give him plenty of time to wander around in the trees and bushes and enjoy the vacation. The first day he tried this he finished the first fifty pages and decided to read until the end of that chapter, and then decided to read through the next chapter and so on. By late afternoon he had read through page 157 and the light was starting to fade on him.

Another reader runs a bookstore. She doesn’t work in the store on Mondays, so she sat down to read a bit of “Twisted Key” that morning. When her husband interrupted her in the afternoon to go out for a few drinks she refused, saying she wanted to finish the book.

So “Twisted Key” has legs. Both readers have told me they enjoy the mix of humor and tension, and neither could could guess the ending. That’s good news.

If you’ve been to my web site you probably spent some time browsing through the Photo Gallery. Lots of pictures of very fancy stuff I’ve built or restored over the years. For the last several years I’ve been  writing on a dining table. My computer is beside my right leg and a trash can (usually full to overflowing) is next to my right leg. My files are either stored in a closet or placed in a rack on my dresser. My software and other CD’s are up on a shelf somewhere.

I noticed the other day that much of the volume of space above my table is empty, and that for all of that time I’ve been getting up and hunting for stuff that should be within easy reach, but isn’t. Then I began to think of pigeon holes and slatted dividers, and little trays and maybe a few drawers, and maybe some really thick doors with slats for manila files and on the desk itself, maybe a few slots above the monitor for printer and photo paper, and so on.

And then I remembered a wonder-filled day about forty years ago at an antique show in Atlanta when I had the true pleasure of studying 2 Wooton Patent desks. Absolutely gorgeous pieces of design and embellishment. I’m not really big on embellishment, but the design fascinates me.

Wooton Patent Office Desk, Cir 1880

Many years ago when I earned a living as a draughtsman, I used AutoCAD in the architectural or engineering offices where I worked and owned my own version of AutoCAD LT (Light) that I used for my own design needs at home. www.autodesk.com still provides this slimmed-down version of their flagship product, and they give a 30-day free license when you download it. When I bought that LT version all those years ago, I think I might have paid $75.00 for it. Unfortunately, what with inflation, demand for the product and who knows what else, AutoCAD LT is now priced at something over $500.00. But it is worth it. AutoCAD LT is a great tool if you need 2D CAD capabilities. It will do anything you need to do in that arena. Needless to say, the intervening years have only improved the product.

I downloaded the application and installed it two days ago. CAD requires a very detail-oriented mindset. The incredible number and flexibility of the tools in AutoCAD LT can be confusing until you become familiar with the layout and location of the tools and what input the require to work. But once you do become familiar with one or two or three tools, you will quickly find the others you need. The on-line Help is thorough and easily understood. Autodesk has enjoyed an excellent reputation over many long years. They are the leader in their field for a reason; they give good value for your dollar.

Let’s see how much of this project I can get drawn before my free trial runs out. I like the project – it’s a great diversion from writing – and I like AutoCAD LT a lot.

Have good week.

Uniblue wrap-up, “Twisted Key” and number 4

Technorati Tags: Uniblue,editing,Twisted Key,next project

 

Just a few words regarding Uniblue software. As I mentioned last week I submitted a request for a refund of my purchase for their SpeedUpMyPC application one day after I purchased it. They provide a 30-day money back guarantee on any purchase, and I wanted to take advantage of the offer. Twenty-four hours after I submitted my request the money WAS back in my account, so kudos to Uniblue for that.

Kudos also to GeeksToGo (www.geekstogo.com) for their invaluable help in recovering from the changes the Uniblue software made in my Registry. I strongly recommend them to anyone with any questions or problems about hardware or software. They are a fine bunch.

My third novel, “Twisted Key”, is complete and off to the editors. While I wait for feedback I am busy working on the first three chapters to my fourth novel, “Lonesome Cove”. I figure a month to six weeks for the editors to do their thing, and if I can’t get the first three chapters written in that time I’d best see if I can get a job as a Wal-Mart greeter. For sure it has to pay better than writing for a living.

Once I have the changes from the editors I’ll clean up the first three chapters of “Twisted Key” and post them on my web site to replace what’s up there now (which is seriously out of date). And when I have a clean copy of the first three chapters of “Lonesome Cove” I’ll get that posted as well. Again, you’ll be able to read them on-line or download them as *.PDF files and print them out if you prefer.

I’ve got a few events in February:

12 February – Book signing at Historic Grounds Bookstore on Walnut St. in Green Cove Springs, from 4-7 in the evening

17 February – On-Air interview on WPLK AM 800, Palatka, Fl, at 8:30 in the morning

19 February – Book signing at Andrea’s Bookstore, 308 S. SR. 19, Palatka, Fl, from 12:00 – 3:00

If you’re in the area, stop by and say hello.

I hope you have a good week.

Uniblue software – scam or not, don’t touch it

Technorati Tags: UniBlue,software review

This is one I will warn you against. I’ve been propositioned by them before and seen their adds on the internet in several places, as most of you have. So the other day I went to their web site – www.uniblue.com , downloaded the software and ran the demo version of their “SpeedUpMyPC” application. Now, I use a lot of software and I don’t mind trying out new apps. I’ll even buy a license for one if it does what I need it to do.

So I paid out the $25.95 off my credit card and registered the product. Along with their “SpeedUpMyPC” I received their “System Tweaker” app as a bonus. When I ran the (now) registered version of  their SUMPC app the first time, things began to go south in a big way.

First, I found that well over half of the icons on my desktop had disappeared. Then I learned that I was now locked out of my desktop and could not make any changes.

When I went to the Start menu (I work in Win XP/SP3) I learned to my horror that my formerly well-populated All Programs menu showed only six applications (why those six in particular? Who knows?).

When I tried to check the Properties of the Start menu, a message bar appeared notifying me that due to restrictions on the computer I had to contact my Administrator. I am the administrator – or, I thought I was until Uniblue decided otherwise.

My printer software has disappeared entirely. Nothing in the program files, even after reinstalling the software, and no desktop icons.

I have not yet had any luck in repairing the damage to my system, though I can still use what has not been damaged or what I have not been locked out of.

No amount of “Tweaking” using the Uniblue apps would restore things to the way they were.

 

Here’s the complaint email I sent them this morning:

My biggest gripes with SpeedUpMyPC - there is insufficient interaction with users:

SpeedUpMyPC:

1. Removed Desktop Icons without Asking User

2. Removed programs from All Programs list without asking the user

3. There is no option to restore lost items to the desktop or to the All Programs list

Perhaps of greater concern:

1. There is no option to prevent the software from operating in the background. On systems with limited RAM - 1 gigabyte or less - this can seriously hamper the operation of the computer.

2. Even after deleting Uniblue software from Start Menu the software, the next time you run SpeedUpMyPC the software
will reset itself to run in the background.

3. In the menu bar of the software, under the Settings Menu, there is no option to prevent software from operating without users authorization.

Summary:

1. While the software will speed up your PC, it is way too aggressive in the decisions it makes.

2. This software could only benefit by giving the user more options.

3. I am taking advantage of the  30-day money back guarantee for this software.

 

I received an automated reply about ten minutes later and escalated the issue. Later this afternoon I received a notice that my refund had been credited back to my account. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and wait until tomorrow morning to see if it has actually been credited back.

Needless to say, the Uniblue software has been removed from my system and will not be reinstalled, ever.

In the meantime. I cannot recommend this company’s software to anyone for any reason.

A very brief Google search on the word ‘uniblue’ will give you plenty of reason for concern. I am only one user, on one computer; however, it appears there are many others who have similar stories to relate. Whatever the reason for the poor performance of the software – scam, incompetence, a sad lack of organizational skills or whatever, I cannot recommend this software to anyone.

“Twisted Key” and Advanced System Care 3

Technorati Tags: writing,editing,system optimization software

I keep shooting to get this blog out on Mondays, but apparently I’m a lousy shot. Today’s Friday. At least I got it out in the same week.

“Twisted Key” is now 183 good pages. I spent this morning on editing, starting at page #1 and worked my way through page 183. I’m happy with the result, but then, I’m not my editor.

It’s a good story, with more twists than your average garden snake. And I guarantee that you will never figure out the ending. I haven’t, and I’m the writer.

My characters drive my stories. Well, my characters and the situations they find themselves in. Each story has a series of events that have to occur in some semblance of order. But how each character reacts to those events is defined by his or her personality, the constraints placed upon them by their jobs,  and their relationships with the other characters.

It’s been said before, but the big difference between life and fiction is that fiction has to make sense. In my stories I try to blur that difference just a little bit.

I’m a big fan of Advanced System Care by IOBit (www.iobit.com). This is one of the best system optimization tools I have run across in my years (lots of years, folks) working with computers. ASC has been on my desktop computer for the better part of a year, along with one or sometimes two other system optimization tools. I rarely use the others. ASC has an easy to understand interface and it works very well, indeed.

IOBit recently offered a Beta version of ASC 4 and I jumped at the opportunity to try it out. I like the interface even more than the release version and it runs through everything from a malware checker, Registry cleaner, security tool, Windows optimization tool, defragger and I don’t recall what else in a matter of a few minutes. With a simple click you can turn on or off any of the operations and once the checks have been done the software will wait until you’ve had the chance to look at the results before clicking on the Repair button to implement the fixes.

At the end of the repair process a text box opens with the fix report for you to read through.

For a Beta version, ASC 4 is rock solid, and it works. Fast. I like this tool.

Have a great weekend. Drive safe, and remember to wear a jacket when you go outside.

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

Unless you’ve been living in a cave far from civilization as I have for the past two years, you’re probably aware of this nifty tool. But I have been living in a cave, so Dropbox hit me like a ton of bricks. Literally. I was setting up a collaboration between an audio book producer, a Voice talent and myself. We needed a quick and dirty way to move large audio files back and forth. By large, I mean over eighty megabytes.

Then I got an email invitation to join in a Dropbox collaboration from the audio book producer. Wow. You get up to 2 gigabytes of data, absolutely free, file sharing, encryption, automatic backups (I mean really automatic – you don’t have to do anything) and all sorts of other really neat stuff. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was like someone turned on a light in a dark room.

Dropbox works like a separate hard drive on your computer. The contents of the hard drive can be shared with others so they can see and interact with the files you place on it. From their computers, anywhere. You can invite others to share access to your dropbox and kick someone off if you don’t like what they’re doing.

Anything you place into your dropbox is available to you anywhere in the world, either by installing the Dropbox app on the computer you’re working on or via the web-based interface. Goodbye USB flash drives.

I’m a writer – okay, I’ll admit it, I’m a novelist – so I spend my days and often my nights hiding from the world while I plot and plan and write. And rewrite, and think of nasty things to do to my editors, my neighbors, the electric company, my landlord and anyone else who has the temerity to bother me when I’m writing.

If you’re collaborating with others on a file – as I do nearly every day – any changes by one person are immediately available to the other collaborators, and just in case, older versions of your files are backed up automatically and are available for restoration.

I live in Orange Park, just south of Jacksonville, Florida. One of my editors lives in Ocala, and the other in Silver Springs. We’ve been transferring files back and forth using email, for the most part.  In comparison to Dropbox, email attachments are ancient history. So now I don’t have to do anything but drag and drop my files into my dropbox and then I can go right back to work. My editors have access to my files immediately (or when they get around to it, anyway).

Here’s a  list of features I snagged off the Dropbox web site:

File Sync

Dropbox allows you to sync your files online and across your computers automatically.

• 2GB of online storage for free, with up to 100GB available to paying customers.
• Sync files of any size or type.
• Sync Windows, Mac and Linux computers.
• Automatically syncs when new files or changes are detected.
• Work on files in your Dropbox even if you're offline. Your changes sync once your computer has an Internet connection again.
• Dropbox transfers will correctly resume where they left off if the connection drops.
• Efficient sync - only the pieces of a file that changed (not the whole file) are synced. This saves you time.
• Doesn't hog your Internet connection. You can manually set bandwidth limits.

File Sharing

Sharing files is simple and can be done with only a few clicks.

• Shared folders allow several people to collaborate on a set of files.
• You can see other people's changes instantly.
• A "Public" folder that lets you link directly to files in your Dropbox.
• Control who is able to access shared folders (including ability to kick people out and remove the shared files from their computers).
• Automatically create shareable online photo galleries from folders of photos in your Dropbox.

Online Backup

Dropbox backs up your files online without you having to think about it.

• Automatic backup of your files.
• Undelete files and folders.
• Restore previous versions of your files.
• 30 days of undo history, with unlimited undo available as a paid option.

Web Access

A copy of your files are stored on Dropbox's secure servers. This lets you access them from any computer or mobile device.

• Manipulate files as you would on your desktop - add, edit, delete, rename etc.
• Search your entire Dropbox for files.
• A "Recent Events" feed that shows you a summary of activity in your Dropbox.
• Create shared folders and invite people to them.
• Recover previous versions of any file or undelete deleted files.
• View photo galleries created automatically from photos in your Dropbox.

Security & Privacy

Dropbox takes the security and privacy of your files very seriously.

• Shared folders are viewable only by people you invite.
• All transmission of file data and metadata occurs over an encrypted channel (SSL).
• All files stored on Dropbox servers are encrypted (AES-256) and are inaccessible without your account password.
• Dropbox website and client software have been hardened against attacks from hackers.
• Dropbox employees are not able to view any user's files.
• Online access to your files requires your username and password.
• Public files are only viewable by people who have a link to the file(s). Public folders are not browsable or searchable.

Mobile Device Access

The free Dropbox application for iPhone, iPad, and Android lets you:

• Access your Dropbox on the go.
• View files from within the application.
• Download files for offline viewing.
• Take photos and videos and sync them to your Dropbox.
• Share links to files in your Dropbox.
• Export your files to other applications.
• Sync downloaded files so they're up-to-date.

A mobile-optimized version of the website is also available for owners of Blackberry phones and other Internet-capable mobile devices.

I’ve read several reviews of Dropbox over the last few days. Most of them are very positive, some cautious and a few critical (those reviewers probably don’t like sunshine, small bunnies or carrot cake with cream cheese icing, either). On the whole, though, I’m far more concerned with my opinion of the software I use, and I like Dropbox. A lot.

Way back in the bad old days when I was working for living, I spent several years beavering away in the high-tech industry. I ran software testing labs for a few software houses. It’s a great job, and I loved it. The term VPN crossed my desk one day and out of curiosity I looked it up on the Microsoft web site. Virtual Private Network. That sounded really neat. VPN’s work over the internet and are set up in such a way that if you’re not part of the vpn you can’t even see it, much less what it contains. Dropbox seems to be built along those lines. As you can see in the Features list, they don’t stint on security or encryption.

I’ll be posting a wrap-up on Dropbox near the end of this week or early next week. But to end this introduction I want to say that if you need to share files with anyone, for any reason, you can’t go wrong with Dropbox.

Have a good week.

Technorati Tags: Dropbox,software review

If Life is what happens when you’re busy doing other things, writing is what you do when you really can’t be bothered doing anything else.

SnapIt 3.7 by Digeus

Technorati Tags: Screen capture application,software

SnapIt 3.7 is a nice little screen capture utility.

Here’s the URL: http://digeus.com/downloads/snapit/files/3/snapit_3_7.exe

With this little app you can grab photos from anywhere to post into your blog just as quick as a bunny. SnapIt has two modes of operation – automatic or manual. You can choose which mode to work in through the Properties menu. Right-click on the camera icon in the Tray and select ‘Properties’. Choose a Hot Key to start the Snap. The default is the Print Screen button, but you can select any button on the keyboard. Then specify a folder to store your snaps and select a file format from the 5 available; JPG, TFF, BMP, GIF or PNG. You also select a file name prefix – say, “snap”, and a number generation system such as 01, 02 and so on. You have two choices here – it can be Incremental or Random. Finally, if you want to automate the photo collection process, click the “Auto Save Images to Folder” box just under the Hot Key option at the top of the Properties dialogue box.

When you work in ‘auto’ mode all of your choices in the Properties dialogue go to work. You left-click on a photo on a web page and a cross-hair cursor appears. Crop the photo as you need and release the mouse button. Your selection is stored to the folder you chose, in the format you chose and with the file name generation system you chose. Neat, huh?

You can capture anything you see on your display – windows, menus, full screen or cropped images and even images from a video clip. Like I said, this is a neat little tool to have on hand.

In manual mode, you click on a photo, get the cross-hair cursor and crop the photo as you wish. The photo is placed in the system clipboard. You then copy/paste direct into your blog or into MS Word, your photo editor or any other application that will take it.

SnapIt 3.7 really is a handy piece of software.

Download SnapIt 3.7 from the URL above and play with it for a while. You’ll find it as handy as I do, I’m sure. Here’s another nice little option – if you post a review in your blog or on your website and send a link to your review to: Julia.taylor@digeus.com, she’ll be tickled pink to send you a registration code for your copy of SnapIt.

So you get a very nice little tool, lots of people get to hear about it and it doesn’t cost you a penny. What a deal. That is a business model I can live with.

WordPress migration redeux, SnapIt 3.7

Technorati Tags: Blog app headaches,SnapIt 3.7,software

 

Here we go again. I’ve got enough on my plate without having to deal with Microsoft induced headaches.  I’ve worked in and around computer hardware and software since 1971, so I’ve seen my share of migration screw-ups, thank you very much. I host my web site, www.garyshowalter.com, at the Microsoft Live site, and keeping my blog updated is important to me. The web site service is good, generally speaking, if limited. That’s all I need, so a few limitations are okay with me. But the other day Microsoft migrated their blog hosting to WordPress for one reason or another, and that meant my blog no longer appeared on my Author’s Blog page on the web site.

You can’t configure WordPress to automatically mirror your blog post to a blog page on your MS Live web page. They just ain’t innerested in doing that fer yeh, nosirree, Bob. So over the next several days I have to figure a way around this issue, or give serious consideration to my options.

On another note, I’ve got a neat little utility to play with. It’s called SnapIt, version 3.7. You can think of it as your PrintScreen button on steroids. Here’s a link to their web site:

http://www.digeus.com/products/snapit/snapit_screen_capture_3_5.html

It’s being marketed as a great tool for bloggers, and I can’t argue with that. But blogging aside, I’ve got a nasty suspicion there are a whole lot more uses for this little tool than snagging shots for a blog post. I’ll let you know as I give this little app it’s sea trials over  the next week or so.

Enjoy your weekend.

Before I leave

Technorati Tags: Software,Florida,Book Signings,driving

I’ll be on the road for the next few days. I’ve got a few book signings on Thursday and Friday, and that means a lot of driving in the hot Florida sun.

So be it. I spent a few hours at the local KIA service center in Orange Park this afternoon, getting the driver’s side window back on its track. They also checked the fluid levels and tire pressure for me. If you’re in the area, I can tell you from previous experience that they are good people to deal with.

Since I won’t be posting for the next few days, I wanted to put my opinion of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 on paper (so to speak). I’ve used Adobe’s products for several years – going back to to the 90’s, in fact. So when I decided to produce my own book cover for “Hog Valley”, I downloaded a trial copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8. This is a stand-out piece of software.

Here’s the thing about photo editing software that you should keep in mind when you’re shopping. If it’s billed as “easy to use”, it’s essentially dumb. Image editing is by its nature a complex affair. Easy to use image editing software is only easy because the producers restricted the user’s options to very basic functions, to keep the learning curve as flat (and as ‘easy to use’)as possible. If you paid for it, you probably paid way too much for very little.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 offers beginners and professional image editors all of the tools necessary to do their jobs. Beginners will have some trouble figuring out how to do stuff, but the how-to videos and on-line help is right there for you. Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions, boys and girls. It’s really not that hard to pick up the basics in this tool, and once you have that down, the rest will fall into place.

Professional image editors already know how good this product is, so I don’t have to waste any time telling them.

Adobe Photoshop Elements is a must have, if you want to do anything more than print your photos.

Last week I produced the book cover for my new novel, “Hog Valley”. The publisher provided a “Guide layer” for the Trim Size for my novel, including the spine width, and two outline markers to indicate Minimum and Maximum image height and width, and a colored box on the back cover for the ISBN number/barcode to ensure that I didn’t print any of the back text in that area.

I already had the cover art – my good friend, Mickey Summers, of Silver Springs, Florida is a very fine artist. He does oils and water colors of the flora and fauna in North Central Florida. He took an existing oil painting and added a fish shack and boat for for the cover art. Mickey was kind enough to send me a half-dozen digital photos or the artwork to choose from.

 

 

I used Photoshop Elements to reduce the original image to 6” x 9”, which is the finished trim size for the novel. Then I created a new Layer, titled ‘Face’, and placed the 6x9 image onto the Face Layer and saved it. Then I created a layer titled ‘Spine’. I used the Select Tool to select a portion of the Face image that would cover the spine area of the Guide Layer, chose Copy, chose Move, and eased the selected area onto the Spine. The I saved the project once again. Next I created another Layer titled ‘Back Cover’. I selected the area for the back cover and used the Color Wheel to develop the shade of tan that I wanted. Then I selected the ‘Paint Bucket’ Tool to fill the Back Cover Layer, and saved that. Then I turned off the Back Cover Layer so I could see the Guide Layer beneath it.

I created a new Layer titled ‘Back Cover Text’, selected it, and typed out the text, making sure to stay away from the area for the ISBN number/Bar Code. Once I had that done, I turned on the Back Cover Layer, which appeared beneath the text. As for the Title and Author Name on the Face, they went on separate Layers on top of the cover image, as did the title and author name on the spine. If you look closely at the image, you will notice that text on the face and spine are all just a bit translucent. That’s on purpose, and it’s all done inside Photoshop Elements.

Image editing and manipulation is all done in Layers. At least, it should be. You can create any number of layers, and turn them on or off. For instance, Once I had the cover art completed, I turned off the Guides Layer and saved the image as a *.PSD file. I also saved it in PDF and JPEG formats, all within Photoshop, all without a hitch.

I really, really, love this software.

As far as my wish list goes, way up at the top is my very own copy of Photoshop Elements 8.