Shawn's Blog

WURT Beta v.5 is almost ready...

2007-01-12T15:03:00.000-05:00

As the title points out, I'm almost ready to release WURT v.5 Beta. It's a huge improvement, both in internal code organization and actual capability. I'll post a change log here in the blog when I post the executable, but the biggest improvements are command-line switches and network time synchronization.

I'm still looking for Vista testers. I know no one actually reads my blog, but just in case, if anyone should stumble across any time soon, please email me at WURT@hitoma.com.

I'm also working on another tool, a derivative of the research behind WURT. It still needs a bit of work before I release a very early beta, but think of it as a passive WURT that runs in the background. It's called WRS, and I'll go into more detail soon.

Windows Update Repair Tool v.5 is coming

2007-01-02T08:47:00.000-05:00

I'm finally getting back to WURT to a decent degree. Quite a few of the features I've wanted to add for a while, like command line switches, net time updating, and Windows Vista detection, have been added in. It's still beta, but it's much better.

Expect a release and a full changelog within the next few days.

On another note, if anyone would like to beta test WURT v.5 on Windows Vista, please let me know at wurtbeta@hitoma.com.

Just thought I should point out....

2006-12-05T12:13:00.000-05:00

I am a ninja. You should be one too.

Microsoft decides to kill HD-DVD and Blueray

2006-08-24T13:47:00.000-04:00

Yeah, that title sounds a bit harsh. But though the apparent truth isn't so severe, you can see it coming.

It's not really any secret that Microsoft has given support to HD-DVD - they even plan a HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360. But today, Microsoft took a huge step - they killed next-gen playback on 32-bit Vista.

Now at first, the 'studios begged for it' argument makes sense. Yeah, the 64-bit kernel is much more secure. Yes, the studios are always asking for protection mechanisms. Yes, this doesn't affect a huge number of current users.

But I have a sneaking suspicion that there is a little more going on here. Microsoft didn't support HD-DVD until well in the game, and there seems to be a large number of suicidal moves that don't exactly push HD-DVD anywhere but off a cliff.

Take the Xbox 360. In theory, it could have shipped with a HD-DVD drive. In theory, they could make it an addon early in the game. But by dragging their feet, Microsoft gets users to clamor for a quicker path. Enter Urge/Xbox Live Marketplace/etc. It would appear to be a smooth move for Microsoft to add video downloads and streaming, and it would start out with a huge installed base. Microsoft is all about DRM, but they want WM DRM. He who controls the DRM that wins makes the most money on hardware licenses.

Today's move, however, takes the cake. It's a thinly-veiled push for 64-bit Windows. Ever since Microsoft offered a program to swap a Windows XP Pro 32-bit license for a Windows XP 64-bit license, you can see how seriously they want this. It allows them to drop all the old kernel compatibility hacks - the article itself admits the application compatibility is not as important a concern on 64-bit Vista as it is on 32-bit. This argument - that Vista 64-bit need not be nearly as concerned with application compatibility - leaves a hole for Microsoft to exploit - code-signing, specifically signed drivers.

Let's ignore the fact that Vista 32-bit is better for old devices without unsigned drivers, cutting edge devices with very new or beta drivers, and older software. On a side note, I wonder if virtualization solutions will ever work on Vista 64-bit.

The 'signed drivers' requirement, however, does not benefit the consumer. On XP32, it simply adds a few more clicks. On Vista 64bit, you can't use a driver unless it is signed. Again, sounds like consumer protection, but it's not. A code-signing certificate costs at least $500, and requires submission of a form. While it is purchased from VeriSign, I would be shocked if Microsoft doesn't get a significant kickback.

Microsoft wants to control the technology. They have the classic Slashdot fiscal plan:

1. License out media and info distribution systems and protection technologies.
2. ???
3. PROFIT!!!

And this entire issue ignores the erosion of fair-use rights, which may emerge briefly as promises when a DRM technology appears to compete, but will then disappear when the threat is gone.

Aurora, Ohio is a really nice place...

2006-08-17T11:18:00.000-04:00

Took the day off to go to Ohio with my fiancee, Tabitha. She had a job interview which went pretty well, they want her back for a second next week.

But something caught me as kind of odd - the area is really nice. Now, it may just have been a nice area that we went through, or perhaps it's just because they try to keep it clean for the nearby amusement park, Geagua Lake. Maybe.

But whatever the case is, it's really nice there. Not a single unkempt lawn in site, traffic's not too bad, no malls but lots of plazas. The houses and apartment buildings are all new or well-kept.

It's kind off odd, compared to PA. Heck, even the road signs are better - 500 feet before each intersection, there's a sign that tells you what that road is and what road you are on. Now, this may seem, well, simplistic. However, I wish that, say, Pennsylvania did that.

It just seems to be a nice area that seems to think about the little things. It reminds me of Cranberry Township, PA (not the one where I live now, but the one just north of Pittsburgh, PA), but with a little more feng shui or balance or design. I can't describe it - it just seems nice.

Dell Battery Recall

2006-08-15T13:30:00.000-04:00

Ah, the Great Dell Battery Recall of 2006 is in full effect. It only took a sixth fire, which destroyed a pickup truck, to get things really moving.

At PennDOT, where I work, we've already found one. Luckily, our main laptop model, one of the potentially dangerous, appears to be unaffected. Only some batches are, thankfully.

But I have to ask, why is it being conducted in this manner.

Dell should know every single affected laptop. Their supply chain management system should know every relevant machine's serial number. The sales and warranty systems should have contact information for each purchaser.

A couple SQL grabs, maybe another to combine duplicate emails, and you have a grand master list of People To Contact Right Now. You include serial number, you ask them to confirm the best location to send it. If the email bounces or is wrong, you call or mail. Everybody else? you still email them, saying 'According to our records, you appear to be unaffected, but here's how to check...'

This is how you solve a problem professionally. This is using business intelligence - customer relations information you already have - to save the world.

Instead, we have mass hysteria - in businesses and government organizations, multiple points of contact, from low-level users to CEOs and regional managers are being made aware of this, and then starting multiple searches for affected laptops.

Don't tell me this is profiling, illegal, or invasive. Just don't. There's no point. As these batteries age, fires will continue to occur. But the 'important news story' will die off.

Yes, it's a ton of email - 4 million affected batteries out of 22 million shipped in the last few years. Big deal - it's better than a suit about insufficient disclosure of the recall causing someone to lose their vehicle, house, life - let alone the risk of this happening on a plane. I can just see some terrorist - perhaps a reactionary of some sort who hates technology - standing up on a plane and saying "I have a Dell Latitude D610! You all will die!".

So step up, Dell. You've shown the public that there's a problem. Show us that you are truly serious about fixing it.

Jack Thompson Redux

2006-08-15T08:30:00.001-04:00

So Jack Thompson was on G4, about the pending release of Bully from Rockstar Games.

I'm a bit confused. Nothing really new has been released, nor have there been any new protests against the game. I'm kind of confused as to why G4 would do this now.

I'm also confused as to why G4 would do this in the first place. Jack Thompson is one of the most despised characters to the gaming community, and others aren't thrilled with him - even other anti-game crusaders distance themselves from him.

Would you look at that? If I hold down the shift key too long, G4 becomes G$.

But, I believe what confuses me the most is the actual matchup. In this corner, you have Jack Thompson, who is alone against two and therefore feels he must be twice as loud and obnoxious.

And in this corner, you have a soft-spoken CEO of a video game news site and a video game show host, Adam Sessler, who spastically calls Thompson's theories 'insane' and 'morally reprehensible'.

Is there serious debate? The CEO, Mark Reid, tries. Adam and Jack just shout at each other.

Instead of making it a contest of who can force his or her own personal ideas louder, we need intelligent debate. Is it moral to have video game violence? No. Is it moral to ignore worse TV and movie violence to target it? Probably not.

But is it moral to blame the existence of things kids should not have, that the industry says that kids should not have, for violence that existed before such things and has drastic social and economic causes that are not being adequately targeted? No.

Drugs, poverty, poor health care, racism, child abuse, poor education.... Why doesn't Jack target these direct problems first? Because they don't have a quick fix, and they aren't popular.

Nice media-mongering, Jack. You saved us. And thank you, G4, you really earned your advertising dollars.

But no thanks to the slimeballs at Penny-Arcade who, through the evil Child's Play program, give sick children video games and toys. How reprehensible.

Portable ZuluPad homepage

2006-08-08T14:01:00.000-04:00

Portable ZuluPad has a homepage at http://software.hitoma.com/PortableZulupad/.

Yes, I could have just edited the first post, but it's not often I get to have two posts in one day. Well, OK, it's rare that I post once a day.

PortableZuluPad 0.1 Beta

2006-08-08T10:03:00.000-04:00

As you should know by now if you've visited this site before, I love to introduce new projects that I may never follow up on. I've found a solution, however - planned obsolescence!

I like to keep a portable workspace on my thumb drive. While, say, Firefox Portable from PortableApps goes a long way, I still needed a secure way to store passwords, etc.

I had been using FSekrit, but it was hard to organize. One big bland text file. I then saw a link on LifeHacker for ZuluPad, a lightweight personal wiki. Looked great, except for a couple of small issues:

It stored settings in the registry.
No encryption.

After porting in the author's forum, I realized he had a huge list of improvements and that it may be a while. What's a geek to do? Hack in solutions for both issues.

Introducing PortableZuluPad v0.1. It simply adds encryption and restores/cleans up registry settings. It wraps around the ZuluPad executable using Windows Scripting Host. It's easy to use, and works!

I don't have a page up for it yet, so in the meantime you can read about it in my Zulupad Forum Post, or just download it here.

A podcast: tinyTechNews

2006-03-23T22:35:00.000-05:00

I'm going to give podcasting a try, but with a twist. It'll be randomly updated, and be short 2-10 minute, one topic podcasts on technology news. I'll eventually update the rest of the site with links to it, but in the meantime, visit http://www.hitoma.com/ttt/ for info.

Sony admits PS3 Delay

2006-03-01T09:56:00.000-05:00

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6144963.html

"Issues with mass production of Blu-ray drives could be to blame if spring system launch is pushed back to fall."

So, essentially what they're saying is that a content delivery mechanism *they* are helping develop and simultaneously holding back in another wing of Sony is going to hurt the prospects of their biggest product.

Wow.

Let's just step back a bit. Sony relies on the Playstation - it's more than a third of their net income. Without it, they are much less solvent. Walkman music players aren't exactly flying off the shelves. Sony makes nice TVs, LCDs, and interesting ultra-light laptops, but most of the rest of their product lines are rebranded junk. Their DVD-RWs are, if I remember correctly, typically just LiteOn drives. So why by Sony? It.... uhh.... Oh, I know! It has a nicer bezel.

But the PS2 has competition. The Xbox 360 has been out for months. It's been limited by shortages, but that issue is pretty much over. Games are now starting to trickle out at a faster rate, and the hardware issues aren't as much of an issue anymore.

The problem is, there are people on the fence. People who can only afford one next-gen console. While Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo will all have their fanboys, the majority of gamers are platform-agnostic - most games come out for at least the PS2 and Xbox, so it's not as big of a deal as it sounds. Oh, one has this special feature - wow! I will go buy another console...

Next, you have the issue that Microsoft has quality 1st party games. They're taking an apporach similar to Nintendo - have excellent 1st party and exclusive titles, but support 3rd-party developers a bit more.

(Note that I don't consider Nintendo to count in this. Even if the Revolution comes out this year, which I'm not convinced will happen, they are an entirely different gaming market. Nintendo is party games, games that are just weird yet fun, and kids' games. Microsoft and Sony shoot for an edgier market - shooters, realistic sports, and role-playing.)

The PSP isn't exactly taking off. A video on YouTube shows that the load times on some games are absurd, and the current emphasis on that system is two-fold: embrace media and lockout homebrew development. A losing strategy all around, at least in a world where Nintendo doesn't fight flash carts and iPods exist.

The PS2 will slowly molt as the 360 takes hold. Even upon release. the PS3 may not have a useable online play system. No one has really talked about PS1 and PS2 game compatibiliy on the Playstation 3, and the system is looking to be more expensive than the Xbox 360, which is already a hefty $400.

So, why would I buy this again?

Now, a smart company says, 'We've gotta fight their advantages. We need a cheaper system, with online play and a strong launch lineup, now!' They say this because they want to keep 33% of their revenue. They say this because they like having jobs.

Sony says, 'We'll win with Blu-Ray.' This is classic Sony strategy. It's a variation of the classic Slashdot joke:

1. Introduce new media format.
2. ????
3. PROFIT!

Problem is, they haven't found step two yet. The Cell processor means nothing at all. It's a very fast, very complicated architecture that is unproven and doesn't necessarily mean games will be any better. Blu-ray doesn't have any immeadiate, must-have advantage over DVD unless you have HDTV. Surprise! Most people, er.... don't!

Well, it's okay to force a unique technology, even if it lacks any kind of advantage, as long as you can do it fast and cheap. Then it can take hold, and you keep your jobs!

Uh-oh. The AACS, of which Sony is a member, is holding up the copy protection software, which Sony can not live without.It's been resolved, but at what cost in precious time? Even now as it's finally being released, how much valuable time to market have Sony's legal shenanigans cost them.

I like the Playstation. It's not a bad system; it's just being run by morons.

IE7, Another new program, and more...

2006-02-27T11:16:00.000-05:00

Another redesign! Yes, appearantly that's all I ever do on this site. Oh well, I'm pretty happy with this one. CSS is really, really easy, until you get to positioning. Then, you need a Master's Degree in Insanity - because not only is it a relatively in-depth system, but like snowflakes, no two browsers interpret it the same way.

First off, I'd just like to ask that if anyone visits this site and is using the IE7 Public Beta, drop me a line with how the page turns out. I

Second, I've got another early program for anyone to try out. It's a front-end to the completely awesome AutoPatcher. It has every post-SP2 Windows update, but I thought: "Wouldn't this be nice if it was on a cd with Service Pack 2.... maybe with a menu?" So I made it.

I'm still working on that discussion on pen drive applications I talked about. Just kinda busy.

And I'm not ignoring WURT, it's just that I'm at a bit of a standstill - I don't have the time to do any of the really big changes I'd like to make (dialog or web-based, reimplement ipconfig, optimize the reregistration with a data structure), so I'm just working on little tweaks and other programs.

Workin' on a new article....

2006-02-10T15:49:00.000-05:00

I haven't actually written an article in a while, but I'm working on a short one about running applications from USB flash drives. I plan on touching on the interesting but absurd U3, but then digging into normal applications and getting them to run.

Also, in a side note, I'm in episode 11 of CUBackSlash, and they're even talking about the awesome AutoPatcher, which I found and introduced to the university. I didn't get to stay on the show until they got to talk about it, but I did get to mention this at the beginning.

It's a huge time saver, and the developers deserve accolades for this wonderful program. It contains every WinXP update after SP2, every Win2K update after SP4, or every Win2K3 update after SP1, depending on which version you get. One reboot, and you're done. I highly recommend it, and I may publish a CD front-end that I've created and used internally for it sometime soon.

Two new programs.....

2006-02-03T14:48:00.000-05:00

Just to let you (ie, my fiancee, and anyone who gets horribly, horribly lost on the Web) know, I'm posting a couple of new tools.

RegSniper is a tool that allows you to edit the registry easily. It allows you to type or paste a key in for quicker navigation. It's an early beta, but it's helpful.

GPCTool is a utility to check Windows XP Home machines to make sure Group Policy settings haven't been set to block access to important settings, like the Display Control Panel.

CS Games 2006

2006-02-03T11:21:00.000-05:00

Well, it looks like I'm going up to Montreal, Quebec in March for the CS Games. It's a programming comptetition, and Clarion University's local ACM chapter typically sends a team. It looks pretty exciting, but it's a bit discouraging that the French-Canadian teams took the top three spots - not to slight them, but merely that I wonder if the language barrier may present any issue. I've never been to that part of Canada, so who knows?

And, what the heck is "Extreme Programming"?

PC Salvage

2006-01-18T20:38:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd share a quick tip with anyone who may end up here. I've repeatedly needed cheap parts, such as cd drives, memory, and video cards. If you need a really cheap part, try Geeks.com or IsellSurplus - I've used both for a while happily. Both have somewhat higher shipping, but the low used part price makes up for it if you buy in bulk. I'd recommend watching for Geeks' Green Light Sale - it's hard to beat deals like a 32x cdrw / 12x dvdrom for $15.

Newegg should be your next stop. This is all new merchandise, so the prices are higher, but they have cheap per item shipping, so don't worry too much about bulk ordering.

ZipZoomFly often has free shipping, but their prices are much less predictable - often you can do better elsewhere. Still, if you hit NewEgg, check them too.

However, I would avoid a few things:
- Power Supplies - I've been burned by A-Power (big on geeks.com. but also on the other two) and Powmax (mostly NewEgg). Failing PSs are sometimes hard to diagnose, so it's worth getting that Antec - they simply do not fry. Literally.
- Hard Drives - NewEgg is fine, since they're new. But if you go through Geeks or ISell, you are getting a refurb drive most likely, which is a bad idea. Hard Drives develop problems regularly, and I only trust a HD these days if it passes Steve Gibson's SpinRite tool - ScanDisk/ChkDsk is garbage. On a side note, avoid Maxtor - they're cheap and fail OFTEN.
- Mail in rebates - Just skip them. It's not worth most times on the sites above, and TigerDirect will usually stiff you on them. Staples is an exception - their 'Easy Rebate' system is pretty good.
- Motherboards - Don't skimp on the brand. Yeah, a 'BioStar' or 'ECS' may be $20 cheaper than the Giga-byte or DFI of similar specs, but at the latter are much higher quality and often include $20 in cables you'll use. I kinda live by Giga-byte.

WURT Beta .41 is out....

2006-01-03T15:19:00.000-05:00

A new WURT beta is available at the WURT Homepage. It's a bit redesigned and more stable, and also offers to completely reinstall Internet Explorer. I'm currently recommending anyone using on a previous version to upgrade to it.

Also, you may have noticed the new design on the WURT site. It's only temporary: I'm working on a new design for the entire site, and possibly more content. I've got a couple of little programs in the works, so stop back soon.

Windows Firewall Vulnerability / WURT Beta .4

2005-08-09T22:23:00.000-04:00

I've found an interesting bug in Windows XP Home. It's well known that one of the removed features in XP Home is the Group Policy Editor, gpedit.msc. It's a pretty useful tool, as any administrator will tell you, but it's not necessary for home use.

However, although the editor is unavailable to you, the settings it creates are still perfectly valid. So, if I track the change gpedit.msc makes on a Pro machine, export it, and import it on a Home machine, if that effect isn't specific to Pro, it'll affect the Home machine.

I found this out while scrubbing some systems at work of malware. I've had two in the last week that were XP Home machines that you could not change Windows Firewall settings on from the Security Center. Go into the Firewall control panel, and you'll be greeted with a happy message.

For your security, some settings are controlled by Group Policy.

One of my coworkers figured that it had hit that registry setting, and sure enough, it had. Removing the key fixed the issue. But there are a ton of far-reaching settings in gpedit, and the effects of this could be disastrous. Realistically, Microsoft should either release a gpedit for XP Home, or release a patch (or twenty) for home that disables checks to this key.

If you have a similar issue, the key is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\StandardProfile\EnableFirewall

1 = firewall forced on
0 = firewall forced off
no key = manual control enabled

I'm going to integrate the ability to disable this key into the next version of WURT. I feel that it's worth integrating and is relatively pertinent. I may also make a tool just to fix this.

WURT .4 Beta should be available in just a day or two. It'll also have a few fixes, although nothing for the annoying History/Temp folder cleaning bug. Most of the changes aren't visible, but it's much more efficient now.

Cool Things....

2005-06-14T15:56:00.000-04:00

I finally had a chance to reload my home workstation. Win XP Pro doesn't know how long it takes to install! It can be done in nine minutes, yet it's modest in a few aspects. It contains an Athlon 64 3000+, 1GB of DDR 3200 Dual Channel RAM, Gigabyte motherboard, ATI Radeon X300 (Cheap but it has a cool name and great performance for the cost), NEC-3500A DVD Burner, 120GB Backup hard drive, and.... 2 36GB WD Raptor SATA Drives. Put in Raid 0, these things really cook.

Why, HP, why?

2005-06-06T11:26:00.000-04:00

I used to like HP. Unlike Lexmark, their printers were reliable and useful, and ink prices were reasonable. In the old days, HP tech support was fast and efficient, and knew anything and everything about the model you called about.

That's not the case anymore.

HP's OfficeJet All-In-One line is absurdly error prone. These are $300-$500 multifunction devices. Your repair option? If it's in warranty, they will often replace it for free. Out of warranty? Well, you can trade it in for up to a 15% discount on a new model. I can understand $40 inkjets being expendable, but printers this expensive should be officially repairable.

Tech support is even worse. The chat option is the only truly viable one, featuring Indian techs with little English speaking capability and reading from prewritten scripts. You tell them that you've already attempted a step that did not resolve the problem? Well, two lines down, they will tell you to do it again and walk you through it. They will ask questions that have no bearing on the issue, but it's not their fault - they know hardly anything about printers and are just reading their lines. They are excellent actors, and always stick to the script. It's not as bad as Dell, but it's close.

I currently own a low-end Epson, and am pleased with it. Cheap ink, separate printheads, no problems. Too bad HP has a stranglehold.

Also, my v555 rocks. More on that later.

WURT Beta has a home now....

2005-06-04T10:55:00.000-04:00

I've created an actual page for WURT. You can see it at:

http://software.hitoma.com/WURT/

In other news, this blog has been updated multiple times in the last few days. I'm pretty sure that's a sign of the apocalypse.

Cell One has disappointed me again....

2005-05-31T21:04:00.000-04:00

Cellular One.... one of the 'better' cell phone providers in the area. Pitooie!

So I buy a phone that should work without any difficulty, a Motorola V80. It's European, but unlocked and operates on the right frequencies. No problem, right? Except, after I switch from TDMA to GSM, it won't work. Third-party Cell One retailer has no clue. Official Cell One Store? They said it would.

I go back. They make a couple of calls. "We only support certain phone, typically those we sell or Cingular sells."

Sounds like BS. But, not much to do about it. Except return it for a refund, and then get a V555. So close...

Ah well, wireless web at last - despite Cell One's foolishness in the past on that issue.

WURT Beta .37 Available

2005-05-26T13:55:00.000-04:00

Since this blog may come up on search results about Windows Update issues, I'm going to release a temporary beta. It doesn't expire, I'm not responsible if anything bad should happen, and it isn't finished or perfect by any means.

Disclaimer: No, I really mean it. It may not fix your issue. It may break your computer. Your PC could catch on fire. Maybe you hair. Heck, this program could ruin your love life. Meteors could strike the earth! It could cause the end of time! No matter what happens, it's not my fault. Use at your own risk!!! I mean it.

That said, if you get an error message, please email me with the EXACT text of the message. There are a couple of errors that mention CCleaner that I do not need to be told about - they'll almost always occur. It may also need you to download runtime files - I'll try to post those, but email me about it in the meantime.

Daunted yet? Good. Give it a shot, and email me if it works for you, too.

Download that file by right-clicking on it and choosing Save Target As... in IE, or a similar option if you are smart and use Firefox or the new Netscape 8.

I'll have source available when the project is stable. If you want to help, use an email link above.

WURT Beta coming soon....

2005-03-10T14:31:00.000-05:00

My new utility, the Windows Update Repair Tool, is coming along nicely. I've gotten some much needed assistance from my esteemed colleague here at Clarion University, Joshua Rhoades. He's currently reworking a couple of sections for maintainability and efficiency, but when that's done I will likely post a beta version.

Currently, it can fix about 75% of all issues I know about. While it currently runs as a console Win32 application, I may make a GUI version. I'd eventually like to make a 'catch' version - if Windows Update encountered an error, WURT would automatically repair it. This would require some cooperation from Microsoft, however, so before I make any attempt WURT needs to mature a bit. Such a feature may only be feasible on Windows XP SP2, however, so that feature is a long way off.

I'm considering using a special license combining the GPL and Spybot's license. Stay tuned.

In other news, I had a car accident in my Kia Spectra. Going around a bend, I hit some anti-skid (basically gravel used for traction on icy roads), and started spinning on a main road. I went at least one whole rotation, hitting the hill on the side of the road, and ended up sideways across the road. I quickly drove into a factory driveway, then got out to assess the damage The damage to my car isn't major, and the insurance will cover it. My passenger and I were unhurt, but that's merely due to the luck of no other traffic coming - at that spot, both directions are somewhat blinded, so it could have been pretty bad.

Time to rise up....

2005-02-02T20:33:00.000-05:00

Yeah, it's been months. For the non-exsistant legion of fans, well, deal with it.

Much has changed. For example
- I'm now going for a Computer Science degree, instead of Information Systems. I'll still get the IS minor though.
- Looking at a new car. Kia Rio - cheap and nice.
- Working two jobs and going to college is crazy, but it can work.

In other news, since I wanted to make this blog more about technical topics than anything else, I may as well announce my newest project....

WURT

WURT, aka The Windows Update Repair Tool, is a small utility that restores Windows Update functionality by repairing parts of the OS underneath, such as IE, networking components, Media Players, Crypto Service, and much more. Currently, I'm at .35 internal beta. It's about 50k and has about half the functionality I'm pushing for. I *may* release a beta. In the mean time, if anyone would like to beta test it, drop me an email.

This has a few design goals. It should never need an installer, do as much as it can internally, and be quick and effective. It's written in Visual C++ 2003, but does not use the .NET framework - I consider it inappropriate for this app. It will always be free, and I may make it open source at some point, provided I can be confident in the quality of my code.

More on it later.... so much homework to do......

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