Mashing Windows

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

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

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

12:45 P.M. my package from Amazon.com containing OS X 10.5 Leopard was on my desk: Eureka!

12:48 P.M. the DVD is in the MacBook Pro, click install, a few clicks here and there. I must say that I like the fact that the OS asks for a password before installing any software. Implementing this on the Microsoft Windows OS platform should be trivial, and it would eliminate some of the issues with trojans, viruses, and adware installing themselves. A password would make people think twice instead of just clicking “OK”.

12:52 P.M. re-boot. Now we are on for the log portion of the update (I’ve watched the movie before I embarked on this mission).

01:00 P.M. 23%.

01:15 P.M. 80%.

01:25 P.M. 100%. Are we done yet? Not really, actually the real installation starts now, until now it was only foreplay.

02:00 P.M. 8 minutes to go.

02:12: P.M. Blank screen.

02:15 P.M. Log in screen.

02:16 P.M. Upon logging in the Setup Assistant starts. There’s the pitch to buy into the .MAC service <PASS>, and then the offer for a free 60-day trial of .MAC.

02:18 P.M. We are done. But there’s the update message that there are updates available for:
- Remote desktop client;
- iPhoto;
- Garage Band;
- Login and KeychainUpdate.
How can I say no to a brand-spanking new install? Click YES, restart.

02:23 P.M. DONE! (no really this time).

I don’t have time to “play” around with anything, but BootCamp, Time Machine, Networking, are my priorities. I’ll try to play & blog more tonight.

written by lorenzo

Help is always a few clicks away! And while Google search results can be overwhelming, especially if you share with me the belief that popularity does not equal relevance. But that’s material for another post, on another venue, half way between information overflow, and infosnacking lays the sweet spot of trusted sources. We all have a selected few sources that we trust, be it WikiPedia, Google, Amazon, a handful of bloggers, or uncle Sal; each one of them is trusted within a particular context, some wider than others, some deeper, but all in all they form our collective trusted information Brands.

There’s a guy named Guy, who just posted Top Ten Leonard Tips, so if you are in the process of upgrade your Mac to OS X 10.5, I trust this guy Guy, if you trust me, you should trust him (he trusts this).

In a time where repositories of information like the WikiPedia, Amazon.com, Google, your local bookstore, or your local library are more available than ever, most solutions to problems can be found pronto! It is so easy it feels like cheating! Often time is not the how that stops people, it the why. Either the why was not addressed, or was not addressed properly, or was someone else’s why that is being solved.

Never trust someone that says “Trust me!”; trust me on this.

written by lorenzo

After a couple of decades of using the DOS -> Windows environment for my Personal Computing needs, I have now embarked on a journey to go hybrid: run Windows XP on an Apple MacBook Pro hardware.

The second outcome of this blog is to document the genesis of a blog, from inception (registering the domain name) to propagation to the web and its ramifications.

Back to the Personal Computing issue. DOS worked for me. Of course throughout the years I experimented with Digital Research GEM, and GEOS, and all the iterations of Windows except for Vista.

My current machine is a DELL Inspiron 5100, which works fine, except for the fact that it is HEAVY, overheats, and the rubber feet do not seem to stay glued to the chassis. Replacement parts won’t cut it, super glue won’t work, epoxy doesn’t hold either, what seems to work better, but not absolutely is Gorilla Glue . Now the machine is old, and it’s time to find a replacement. A few months ago I was looking at the cool looking DELL Inspiron, but while they came in various cool colors, the only choice of OS was Vista, and . . . I was not ready for that nightmare, at least not yet.

Knowing that Microsoft was going to keep XP alive for a while longer, and having direct experience that large companies do not switch to the new OS when Bill says so, I looked around dell.com pretending to be a “Large Business”, and a “Government, Education, Healthcare & Life Sciences” customer, but still no luck, it was Vista or nothing.

Then the news arrived that DELL was going to offer choice of Vista or XP (link), still something inside me told me not to go for it.

In 2007 C.E. should we still be talking about PC as Personal Computers? I think not, the paradigm is about Personal Computing, emphasis on the verb “Computing”. While I broke free from the desktop in 1992 adopting a Notebook as my computing machine, and having cut the RJ45 cord in 1999 with wifi, I have been looking at “computing” under a different point of view for quite a while.

Why can’t I use a ultra portable Flash Drive to satisfy my Personal Computing needs and wants (link) or go virtual with web-based computing (link), so that your home computing device, or the office device, or a friend’s, or a co-worker’s, or an internet cafe’s, or a library’s can become an ad-hoc point for your computing needs.

Not yet. At least not for me. But I am working on it. I have switched one of my email accounts to Google Applications, same advantages of Gmail, but retaining the advantage of my own branded domain name, both incoming and outgoing (link), no need to use Outlook for email, or calendar. More on this in later posts.

The debate between Windows users and Mac users is as old as the Apple II, it used to be called the Wintel platform, until Steve surprised everyone and switched from Motorola to Intel, leaving the door open to hackers who soon found a way to load Windows on a Mac. Then Steve introduced BootCamp Beta, which allowed users to install Windows on a Mac; and while it was “not supported”, it is very tongue-in-cheek. You can also get third party software like VMware’s Fusion, or Nova Development’s Parallel’s Desktop. Most every Windows user will say that Apple’s design in machines, especially on the notebook, is absolute “sexier” than anything found on the other side, even sexier than any Sony Vaio, or Acer Ferrari.

It is my belief that Steve’s intention all along was to offer an alternative computing environment to Windows users, and I am jumping on it.

Last week I got myself a très sleek gently used MacBookPro 2.0 Ghz Duo Core Intel, 2GB RAM, from a FaceBook friend. It comes with OS X Tiger, and unfortunately BookCamp is no longer available at Apple.com; but . . . today is the day! At 06:00 EST, OS X 10.5 Leopard is arriving! What is appealing to me is that it will have BootCamp incorporated into the OS, and I am hoping to use “Time Machine” with my network drive, substituting my current Briefcase/Server sync solution for backing up data from my notebook to my network server.

I am not going to be standing in line at 6:00 at the local Apple store, too much to do over the week-end between work, and Halloween parties, so I opted for the lazy way of Amazon.com which actually saves me $ 20 over Apple’s list price (link). What is peculiar is that while Leopard is being released today, selecting the overnight shipping option, it would not arrive tomorrow, but . . . Monday. I wonder if that’s an orchestrated maneuver of Steve’s, or an oversight on the Amazon team; I am sure many people would have ordered it at Amazon.com if they could have it on Saturday instead of Monday.

On this blog I will share the challenges of migrating from a “Windows Only” personal computing platform to a “Mac & Windows” one; wish me luck!

As a side, at the request of a few friends and associates, I will also document the actions performed to bring a blog to the net, beginning to end.

written by lorenzo