WINDOWS 7...

Slowly getting there with Windows 7 that all our new workstations have.  I was looking forward to an all new 64-bit operating system that would whizz along and cause little problem. We bought and installed massive graphics cards, the machines had 6 Gb memory and quad-core CPUs.  Real monsters.

..but then the machines arrived.

To be fair, it's not been all that bad.  The updating process worked a little odd.  A few times the machines seemed to hang on the Windows logo when they were started up? A hard reset was needed by pushing the on-off button and holding.  Next time the machine would boot ok after checking the hard drive for error. Odd but not critical.

One of the main issues we had was that the graphics look and feel was poor for our use.  We are power users and want to simply get to the files we use rather than see all the animations and whizzy Aero interface that Windows 7 ships with as standard.  So switching off Aero and choosing Windows Standard is always going to give you a better performance however much RAM and however good your graphics cards are.  I'd recommend it, it gave us back oodles of RAM!

The Windows 7 OS seems to run a whole heap of services that most will never need though.  It's here that the main speed and performance tuning can be done.  So, here's a list - for our sakes as well as yours - of all the services that are probably unnecessary in Windows 7.  The choice is whether to DISABLE or switch the service to MANUAL (hence it is not run on Windows start-up). Your choice.  afely set to Manual or Disabled.


It is more safe to set Windows 7 services to manual rather than disabling them - some times windows may needs a service due to a new install or something new that you are attempting to do.  It can start it by itself only if it is set to MANUAL. If you disable the service altogether Windows 7 cannot start it.

1. Application Experience
2. Computer Browser (If your PC is at home & does not connect to a network)
3. Desktop Window Manager Session Manager (If you don’t want the aero effects)
4. Diagnostic Policy Service
5. Distributed Link Tracking Client
6. IP Helper
   
7. Offline Files
8. Portable Device Enumerator Service
9. Print Spooler (If you do not use a printer)
10. Protected Storage
11. Remote Registry (You can safely disable it for more Security)
12. Secondary Logon
13. Security Center
14. Server (Mainly home users - where PC does not connect to a network)
15. Tablet PC Input Service (unless you have a tablet PC!)
16. TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
    
17. Themes ( If you want Aero and good visual appearence (classic theme will be applied))
18. Windows Error Reporting Service
19. Windows Media Center Service Launcher
20. Windows Search (If you rarely use Windows Search feature )

Go ahead, experiment. Do try and remember which service you are switching and test each one as you step through.  That way, no harm can come your way.

99 PROBLEMS...

 
A growing trend on the web / social media globe is the 99% website.

It's a tumblr blog that hosts people who upload a picture of themselves and their pitiful downtrodden story of how life's hard at the moment.  You get the idea... The website intro says it all, including..

"We are the 99 percent. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution." and other moans.

There's been a lot of press coverage of the blog and how it's a great example of social media enablement of 'the people', ordinary people who want to tell their story and make their voice heard. The 99% of people who do. Apparently.

Trouble is, not many people are listening.  Neither are 99% of people so motivated to try and stand up for things around their world.  We see this every day - how soon the UK riots and the issues they threw up have been buried into the midst of time?

There's a good analysis of it on The Economist's own blog site here.  Basically showing how people are very ready these days to find the facebook page and hit the 'like' or 'become a fan' button.  By doing so, they think that they are making their mark in history.   In actual fact they are probably just making one Mark a very rich man by adding to the masses of data that facebook hold on everyone's likes and dislikes - valuable data to sell on to those who want to sell us something.

A better indicator of social concern the article argues is the #hashtag trend.  If people on twitter are marking up their posts with a specific hashtag, then that must be an indicator of rising popularity. Trouble here too though as people change the hashtags as things get subjectified.  What started as #UKriots might become #Manchesterriot or #riotpictures #rioterspics #cleanuptheriots etc etc  The trend moves and becomes less easy to follow as time evolves.

The 99% website may be better.  To upload you have to upload your photo, type your story into the browser and have in the pic your story actually written in ink (shock horror).  Not many of the pics are in legible writing of course given that they are mainly from people who spend 99% of their time tapping on keyboards rather than with pen in hand (I must also take some of the rap for being like that these days - though anyone who went to school with me will tell you my writing is and always has been pretty crap - left handed you see, that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

So, if it picks up the pace.  If 99% of people do make tracks there and start writing about how their life is crap, it might just make it as a social phenomenon. Me, I'm not putting any money on it.

CHOCOLATE MICE..

Two important news items almost slipped me by this month.

Chocolate is good for you. We all know that already - it releases feelgood chemicals in the brain and makes life happier, not counting the benefits of sharing chocolates with your friends which it turns out builds up social capital and goodwill - note to friends: I will love you more if you share with me!

A recent research study exercised mice and measured their fitness levels.  A control group were fed small chunks of dark chocolate over the same period and they appeared to have the same if not better levels of fitness as the runners. Here's the link if you don't believe me.. onlinelibrary

Don't get too excited though, a second run of the experiment was undertaken on middle aged mice and the group that ran and had chocolate too did better than the couch-mice who sat around all day (well, I say sit.. but that's quite hard for a mouse to do properly? more like lay around) eating chocolate.

The second is the not so surprising revelation that Cadbury's, purveyors of fine boxes of chocolates that have seen me through many a stressful report writing time, is reducing the number of chocolates in the tin just ahead of the busy Christmas buying period..

No real surprise given the continual reducing size of various chocolate bars over the past years (and don't get me started on cakes!!!  see my December 2010 blog on that one here), but I bet they won't reduce the size of the tin they come in. Oh no. How many people are going to be duped into buying what they think are the same number of chocolates?

You know who I think the real culprits are? The stores that continually offer tins of chocolates as loss leaders to draw people in - stacks and stacks of them greeted me last time I walked into Tesco at 'half price' allegedly.  Who would pay £10 for a tin? And our local Co-op never seems to have an end to the 2 for £8 offers on Roses tins?  If the stores are offering the discounted product, then you can bet they have been squeezing the manufacturer on cost.  The manufacturer is then only able to maintain their required profits by doing two things.

The first is to substitute cheaper raw materials into the mix - not something advised in the UK chocolate market which is dominated by only a few brands and where any reduction in quality, if perceived by the customer, would lead to mass switching of brand loyalty and significant pain to the business.

The second option open to manufacturers is to reduce the number of chocolates in the tins.  This latest reduction sees Roses down to 1 lb 14 oz from 2 lb 2 oz.  That's a reduction from 964g to 850g for metric-heads.  Equivalent to an 11.8% reduction.  Not a small graudal amount in anybody's book???  Cadbury's Heroes - always and unexplainedly a slightly more expensive purchase for a less luxurious set of chocolates I think you'd agree? - go down from 936g to 794g, a whopping reduction of 15.2%...

Not much we can do about it - except switch brand or get wise and stop buying the Heroes on rational economics grounds. Cadbury's Roses were always my favourite anyhow.
 

Johnny..

Johnny Stiletto lives in London. Always has. Probably always will.

He's been snapping everyday street scenes for over 30 years and has a back catalogue of amazing events, everyday events and fortunate moments when he was stood on the right street at the right time.  He has a great blog / website called 'alias johnny stiletto: a website for people who like photograhy'.

On his website is a photo of Margaret Thatcher snapped on the TV one evening during her ascendancy in 1979. Interesting idea. Snap the TV and capture historic events for later digestion…

Anyone can do it, but nobody has the idea to do it. 

The defining difference between an artist and everyone else?

http://www.aliasjohnnystiletto.com/#/single-lens-reflex-thatcher/callaghan