Software

Today is the release of Firefox version 3.0. The world over plans to celebrate the release by pledging to download the browser in an attempt to create a Guinness Book of World Records entry for most downloads of a single product on its release day. Although there are no other holders for this entry, the Mozilla Corporation intend to beat Firefox 2's record set a few years back. Join in if you are a Firefox user!

In other news, Opera v9.5 is out, and is sporting some fancy CSS3 additions!

Posted by Brendon Kozlowski

Just a note in case anyone else has this problem...

DO NOT RUN SYSTEM RESTORE IF YOU'RE RUNNING AN APACHE SERVER ON YOUR MACHINE AS A SERVICE. Apparently, Windows perceives the document files as system files when run as a service and will also undo any changes on these files... I have yet to find the saved/backed up version of my newer files to get back without undoing my restore. It was bad enough the restore messed up my Symantec Client installation; that took a good hour or so to fix (uninstall, clean registry, remove services, restart 6 times, NoNav, reinstall, restart, etc...).

I thought this might be a nice warning for anyone else. Guess you have to backup your webserver files before using the system restore (only when you run Apache as a service).

Update and Correction: It wasn't until after I was unable to find my updated folder structure (searched on a specific folder name) and ran an undo on my restoration that I realized...the files were still gone! ...or more correctly, they weren't gone, but for some ungodly and unknown reason the folder structure was migrated back to the way it was originally (when I ran the restore) and System Restore simply GUESSED (using some algorithm of sorts) where it thought all my files belonged. Upon my "undo", it was not restored to the way it was. I almost broke a ton of things around me until I noticed some of my files were just in the wrongly named directory. Either way, I still strongly suggest backing up webserver files before doing a system restore - especially if you've done any folder modifications recently. (I know, you should back up your stuff anyway, but what the heck...not gonna do a full system backup before a system restore from a week ago when it's not supposed to touch non-system files or folders anyway.)

Posted by Brendon Kozlowski

As is common on the wide open internet, there are often simple online contests that people may enter to win some sort of software (or other) prize, and it can be as simple as signing up for a free service, entering an email, coming up with a catchy comment in a blog post, etc...

Microsoft recently had a contest that I was made aware of due to having a specific type of profile with my Microsoft Live! account. In order to enter the contest, all that had to be done was either subscribe to the Microsoft MSDN Flash Newsletter, or customize my MSDN Flash Newsletter. Since I was already subscribed to the newsletter and wanted to enter the contest (the grand prize was a trip to New Zealand), I decided a customization was in order...

Well, a couple weeks ago, I got the following in the mail:

Enclosed is your copy of Microsoft Windows Vista™ Business.

Congratulations again on being a winner in the Microsoft MSDN Flash Promotion sweepstakes for signing up and/or customizing your MSDN newsletter.

Thank you for being a part of the MSDN community!

Sincerely,

Mike Hartmann
Microsoft Corporation

...and of course, there was also a thin cardboard CD booklet that contained my very own Vista OS. I can also use this to upgrade to Vista Ultimate (which I plan to do, I've seen Business Edition, there's no Solitaire!) later on. I wasn't originally planning on upgrading when I created my new computer, but thanks to Microsoft's contest, I now will not only install Vista, but they'll be getting another ~$170 from me for the Vista Ultimate upgrade. Win/Win! Thanks, Microsoft!

Adobe: I'm in love with Photoshop CS3. I got my copy of the Adobe Creative Suite CS3 (why do they call it Creative Suite CS...seems a bit monotonous) Web Premium. So far I've only tried out Photoshop and Acrobat (though not purposefully with Acrobat, it loaded a PDF by default). Regardless, I was able to learn at least 5 new things right from the start to make my photographs look even more stunning than they were. I'm very pleased. It's much better than my old Photoshop version 5.1 that I was using. So: Thank you, Adobe! I'll be sure to try out the rest of the suite (and get my money's worth)!

Posted by Brendon Kozlowski

So I wanted to purchase Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Web Premium... I decided to wait an extra week because I had some money to pay on my credit card and just wanted to take care of that before making another large purchase, it wasn't that big of a deal, and any money not used in paying off the credit card would have gone into the bank. Well, my luck doesn't seem to be all that wonderful. As you may know, I also just bought the Apple iPod and iPod+Nike kit, so add that into this equation...but I went out to a local fair (socializing, awesome!) which cost me a pretty penny by itself; just like going to the movies, if you're going to enjoy it you already know you're going to pay a premium.

Well, I ended up losing my cellphone on one of the rides. Granted, the rides were pretty awesome, but not quite $300 awesome (original retail value of the phone). At least it's only something physical that can be replaced so I didn't let it ruin my evening, but man... So I drive out the next morning, cancel my old phone and buy a new one while upgrading my contract to get a (small) discount. I was going to extend the contract anyway. If you're curious, I use AT&T Wireless, and no, I didn't buy an iPhone. I like the slim-line design of my phone, so I bought an upgraded model of what I already had, I now have a Charcoal-Silver Moto RAZR V3xx.

Okay, I can still deal with the monetary blow, I think... Wait, wait...what's this? MY CAR WON'T START! Hmmm, I didn't leave the headlights or any other lights on...it was fine this morning... Here's what happened: the plastic surrounding the positive side of the battery terminal (including the batter terminal) broke away from the battery itself. There was battery acid leaking in my battery compartment and I didn't even know it. Because of the broken piece and corrosion, the terminals couldn't make a connection. As silly as it was, the battery still had juice and was good to go...if it could make a connection. So that was yet another cost in a new car battery.

...I think it'll be another 6 weeks before I can purchase my Adobe Suite.

Posted by Brendon Kozlowski

I'm about to make a large software purchase in the form of Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Web Premium. Adobe is selling it for $1,599 US. Amazon is selling it for $1,553 (a total savings of 3%, plus free shipping). I've heard that Adobe's online store is horrible, but purchasing directly from the manufacturer, I'd presume I'd be certain to get the box, any paper manuals, wrapping, etc. that is supposed to come with it. Purchasing from a 3rd party (even Amazon) - sometimes the fine print is accidentally left out - I might get a partial product (such as some online stores selling the upsell version, which I cannot use as I still am using Photoshop v5 at home - too old for an upgrade/upsell purchase, and I don't think my academic version of Flash will suffice).

Does anyone have any opinions on the matter? I trust Amazon. I don't trust myself at buying the right product, but with Alex King's problem with Adobe's store, I'm not sure if I should even trust Adobe. What would you do?

...my work discount is negligible.

Posted by Brendon Kozlowski