Mashing Windows

MashingWindows.com Alexa ranking has improved to 1,119,984 from 1,229,116.

Pages Index Report:

• MSN: 2 pages;
• Yahoo: 5 pages;
• Google: 11 pages.

written by lorenzo

MSN has finally indexed Mashing Windows, showing 2 pages;  Yahoo remains unchanged with 2 pages indexed, while Google now shows 14 pages indexed.

Alexa ranking is still 1,229,226.

written by lorenzo

Google has 11 pages indexed, Yahoo 2, and MSN is still clueless about Mashing Windows.

I resubmitted the site to MSN today, let’s see how long it will take for Mashing Windows to show up there.

written by lorenzo

The MacBook Pro is working great!

One stumbling block was the licensing issue with VMware. A few days ago I downloaded and installed the trial version of VMware [link] while I was waiting for the hard copy on CD from Amazon.com.

Of course, despite some setbacks, I was able to get VMware up and running before I received the software on CD. Now the dilemma was how to register the new software key on the current install, without de-installing the trial version, and re-installing the paid version.

I did try to RFM it, with no luck. Same with the online knowledgebase at VMware.com , and one email sent to customer service a couple of days ago is still unanswered.

So today I try again and I stumble across the VMware Forum: I post my query at 7:36 AM (EST) and etung gets me the correct answer at 9:06 EST. One and a half hour, perfect solution [link].

Of course it was a DUH! moment, but – in my defense – Google has made us lazy. Why look for something when you can search it Google it ? Have a problem? Google the problem! Do you have a weird error message using your computer, software, HDTV, iPod? Google the error message and you’ll find the answer. And if the lazy way doesn’t work out, you’ll find a gentle soul, one of the savvy gurus willing to share with you their knowledge [link].

written by lorenzo

MashingWindows.com has made its appearance on Yahoo

and the number of pages indexed by Google is escalated to 6

while the new Alexa Rank is now 1,229,116.

written by lorenzo

Time to get some add-ons for Firefox, in order to recreate the functionality of the Windows machine:

• Cooliris Preview, at times it’s annoying, at times it’s useful, the jury is still out on this;
• MeasureIt, this is cool, if you do any web development, it will let you measure -in pixels- sites directly on the browser;
• Pearl Crescent Page Saver, a very efficient way to get screenshots of your web page, above and below the fold;
• SearchStatus, this is very cool, if you are involved, or just interested in SEO, this is a must have;
• Session Manager, a must have for everyone.

The only disappointment was that IE Tab is not available for Mac OS X.

written by lorenzo

Interesting curiosity, Google at one point had indexed 8 pages, while today, 11 blog entries later, there are only 4 pages indexed:

For current Google indexing, click here.

written by lorenzo

It’s a challenge, often when it comes to install some hardware/software or emulation like in this case, what’s supposed to take 5 minutes takes half an hour or longer, what’s supposed to take half an hour takes a few hours, and what’s supposed to take an hour or so, takes . . .  who knows!

Error messages continued to plague my install, inexplicably . . . but that’s nothing surprising . . . things go wrong for no reason, no matter how many times you double check the requirement lists . . .

Of course having 2 Windows XP Pro licenses, 2 Windows XP Home licenses, and 1 Windows 2000 licenses (collected from old machines now defunct), I didn’t want to spring an additional $ 283.99 for a new XP Pro license, and I ain’t touching Vista, no way!

Dealing with long issues during the week, with work, meeting and stuff it’s not easy.  Dealing with it on week-end is like collaging 5 minutes here, 10 minutes over there, googling here, technorating there, forums, apple.com, VMware.com, support tickets, reading and re-reading guides . . . then, probably out of desperation, I started contemplating ways to install my XP Pro SP 1 .
Some googling showed up something promising:  Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite for Windows, with some nice tricks on how to morph a Win XP Pro SP1 into a SP2 bootable install CD:  neat-o!

Made the Install CD before lunch, started the install after lunch before going out, and . . .  I got back home to a complete Windows XP Professional install on VMware on my PowerBook Pro with OS X 10.5 Leopard:  part 1 of the mission is accomplished.

Next  it’s going to be migrating application from the Dell to:

• web-based solution like Google Apps for email;
• native Mac applications like NeoOffice for Office Suite;
• migrating Windows only applications that I can’t live without like Microsoft Expression Web;
• and of course all the Firefox extensions that I have gotten used to (goodies).

written by lorenzo

Having the capability to run Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard AND Windows XP Professional on the same MacBook Pro sounds pretty cool indeed, doesn’t it?

No so fast ! The entire process gets stuck at the Windows install level, when it says “Setup will complete in approximately: 39 minutes”, and the machine just sits there . . . I have left it there for hours, no good.

And of course it wreaks havoc on the entire system.

So I thought . . . why not get VMware Fusion , which seems to have great reviews everywhere, including Chris, who makes a very compelling argument. I surely did not want to drive to the Apple Store, and while I was at VMware site, I found out that you can actually download a fully functioning 30 day evaluation copy: enhanced functionality, and a chance to solve my install problems . . . it’s a no brainer!

[It's a good idea to remove the Boot Camp partition before proceeding.]

So, registering and downloading it’s a breeze, installation of VWware Focus it’s a piece of cake, virtual partition, etc . . . but the windows install gets stuck at the same exact point: “Setup will complete in approximately: 39 minutes”.

So now I am thinking that the only logical explanation in this illogical mayhem is that there’s something wrong with the media itself. A look at the Windows XP Professional CD-ROM (and YES, I am using XP Professional SP2) doesn’t show any sign of abuse. The only way to check is to make a back-up copy and see, if there’s damage, it will not copy.
Nope, the back-up copy comes out perfect, so perfect that once I use the copy to try to install Win on the Mac, it gets stuck at the same place . . .

. . . the sage continues.

written by lorenzo

Yesterday (11.01.2007) I didn’t have time during the day to play with Boot Camp, not until after dinner (pizza!).  Things did not go well, windows acted pretty funny, crashing multiple times, each time at different stages, then it got too late to deal with it.

Today (11.02.2007) is another story, started fresh by removing the windows partition and re-starting from scratch.

I’ve got a good feeling this time, updates later on.

written by lorenzo