MAMA's Techno-Geek Thread

[Aqualung]

Quote: Originally Posted by LePew (original)

Better get your XP upgraded to SP2 soon. Support for SP1 ends Oct. 12 -- which I take to mean the "free upgrade" download site will go off-air.

yeah, I've turned off the nagware I have my SP2 CD, just trying to decide whether to do the upgrade, or reinstall my XP Pro from scratch, and then do my SP2 upgrade. While I'm at it I may upgrade my "C:" HD, to a 7200 w/ onboard cache, which the current setup doesn't have....

[Aqualung]

Even though the Aeroscraft dwarfs the largest commercial airliners, it requires less net space on the ground than any plane because it doesn't need a runway. The airship takes off and lands like a helicopter: straight up and down.

This is not a Blimp. It's a sort of flying Queen Mary 2 that could change the way you think about air travel. It's the Aeroscraft, and when it's completed, it will ferry pampered passengers across continents and oceans as they stroll leisurely about the one-acre cabin or relax in their well-appointed staterooms.
Unlike its dirigible ancestors, the Aeroscraft is not lighter than air. Its 14 million cubic feet of helium hoist only two thirds of the craft's weight. The rigid and surprisingly aerodynamic body-driven by huge rearward propellers-generates enough additional lift to keep the behemoth and its 400-ton payload aloft while cruising. During takeoff and landing, six turbofan jet engines push the ship up or ease its descent.


This two-football-fields-long concept airship is the brainchild of Igor Pasternak, whose privately-funded California firm, Worldwide Aeros Corporation, is in the early stages of developing a prototype and expects to have one completed by 2010. Pasternak says several cruise ship companies have expressed interest in the project, and for good reason: The craft would have a range of several thousand miles and, with an estimated top speed of 174 mph, could traverse the continental U.S. in about 18 hours. During the flight, passengers would peer at national landmarks just 8,000 feet below or, if they weren't captivated by the view, the cavernous interior would easily accommodate such amenities as luxury staterooms, restaurants, even a casino.


To minimize noise, the aft-mounted propellers will be electric, powered by a renewable source such as hydrogen fuel cells. A sophisticated buoyancy-management system will serve the same purpose as trim on an airplane, allowing for precise adjustments in flight dynamics to compensate for outside conditions and passenger movement. The automated system will draw outside air into compartments throughout the ship and compress it to manage onboard weight.

On a pressurized plane, windows like these would explode outward . The Aeroscraft does not fly high enough to need pressurization.


The company envisions a cargo-carrying version that could deliver a store's worth of merchandise from a centralized distribution center straight to a Wal-Mart parking lot or, because the helium-filled craft will float, a year's worth of supplies to an offshore oil rig. "You can land on the snow, you can land on the water," Pasternak says. "It's a new vision of what can be done in the air."


Aeroscraft
Purpose: Long-range travel for passengers who are more concerned with the journey than the destination
Dimensions (feet): 165 h x 244 w x 647 l
Max Speed: 174 mph
Range: 6,000 miles
Capacity: 250 passengers

[LePew]

Quote: Originally Posted by Aqualung (original)

yeah, I've turned off the nagware I have my SP2 CD, just trying to decide whether to do the upgrade, or reinstall my XP Pro from scratch, and then do my SP2 upgrade. While I'm at it I may upgrade my "C:" HD, to a 7200 w/ onboard cache, which the current setup doesn't have....

Last weekend I installed a fresh XP/SP2 directly using an old XP disk and an SP2 upgrade disk (on a new Macbook within a Parallels desktop VM).

There was no need to install XP first. Just popped the SP2 upgrade disk in the CD drive, booted up and it took it from there (the SP2 upgrade disk did ask me to insert the original XP disk for a few seconds for license verification). Saved at least an hour that way.

Is it just me, or is it getting uber-geeky in here?

[GadgetGav]

That's Microsoft's media reduction scheme. Vista is going to be packaged the same way: all the versions on one DVD. Look for installer hacks about a week after the product is launched..! Buy the basic one and get the 'Ultimate' version, though lord knows why they need to make so many versions anyway.

[Aqualung]

Quote: Originally Posted by LePew (original)

Last weekend I installed a fresh XP/SP2 directly using an old XP disk and an SP2 upgrade disk (on a new Macbook within a Parallels desktop VM).

There was no need to install XP first. Just popped the SP2 upgrade disk in the CD drive, booted up and it took it from there (the SP2 upgrade disk did ask me to insert the original XP disk for a few seconds for license verification). Saved at least an hour that way.

Is it just me, or is it getting uber-geeky in here?

hey David, that's great to know! I just did the SP2 over the OS in one of my PCs...worked fine...but iTunes 7 still won't work. I bombs out after it asks me to agree to the license agreement.

[Aqualung]

Quote: Originally Posted by GadgetGav (original)

That's Microsoft's media reduction scheme. Vista is going to be packaged the same way: all the versions on one DVD. Look for installer hacks about a week after the product is launched..! Buy the basic one and get the 'Ultimate' version, though lord knows why they need to make so many versions anyway.

ayup, see this article here.

[LePew]

Quote: Originally Posted by Aqualung (original)

hey David, that's great to know! I just did the SP2 over the OS in one of my PCs...worked fine...but iTunes 7 still won't work. I bombs out after it asks me to agree to the license agreement.

Lots of chatter about iTunes 7/XP issues on the discussions.apple.com forums. You might have a QuickTime configuration or Norton Security issue.

Apple - Support - Discussions - Using iTunes for Windows
Apple - Support - Discussions - My itunes won't open ...
Apple - Support - Discussions - NIS/i-tunes problem rectified ...

good luck!

[Aqualung]

Quote: Originally Posted by LePew (original)

Lots of chatter about iTunes 7/XP issues on the discussions.apple.com forums. You might have a QuickTime configuration or Norton Security issue.

Apple - Support - Discussions - Using iTunes for Windows
Apple - Support - Discussions - My itunes won't open ...
Apple - Support - Discussions - NIS/i-tunes problem rectified ...

good luck!

Thanks, it turns out mine is a well known issue with the Volume Logic plug-in for iTunes (which, by the way if you don't have, I highly recommend, after they get the compatibility probs ironed out )

My specific probs are here:

iTunes fails to launch with unknown error

Apple solutions are here:

iTunes fails to launch with unknown error which shows my error dialog box

Troubleshooting problems with 3rd party add-ins

Note that I tried the two suggestions in the 2nd Apple doc, to no avail. I had to un-install the VL plug-in in order to get it to work. The information about it on the VL site is buried here.[/u] They don't have a solution, when I wrote into them to clarify their report of the problem vs. what I had found, I just go the generic "we'll update when we have a solution".

Hey, just a positive on all this, on my daugher's new Nano the UI is improved neatly. When rapidly scrolling through the songs, a translucent box comes up that shows the alphabet letter (or number) that you're on. So, if you're way down the and are looking for a "Jethro Tull" song, just stop scrolling when you see the "J" appear and you're on the J's. Very nice touch. Wonder if the firmware upgrade will bring this to 5G (not sure if it works on the 5.5Gs), I haven't done the SP2 UPG to the PC where my iTunes is installed.

[GBMINI]

I noticed my iPod has changed behaviour this week - was that some sort of automatic update to the unit itself from iTunes?
Now after being connected to the PC, it does a "full reboot" and the Apple logo appears for some time before the normal menu display; I'm sure it didn't used to do that ...

[GadgetGav]

Is that when you hook it up, or disconnect it..? I think mine do that, but I thought they always had... I'll try them both (one is Mac & one is PC) and report back...

[Aqualung]

Quote: Originally Posted by GBMINI (original)

I noticed my iPod has changed behaviour this week - was that some sort of automatic update to the unit itself from iTunes?
Now after being connected to the PC, it does a "full reboot" and the Apple logo appears for some time before the normal menu display; I'm sure it didn't used to do that ...

I think w/ iTunes 7, the iPod updater is now built into iTunes, it's no longer separate. So it's possible that your iPod has been updated and yes, this could be new behaviour . I haven't tried my 5G on iTunes 7 yet myself.

[GadgetGav]

It's built in, but you still have to click the button to update. I don't think it would have done it without asking.

[Aqualung]

Well, just as an FYI, when I upgraded to XP Pro SP2 the other night to get iTunes 7 working (which, after all, wasn't the issue, it was the Volume Logic plug-in), the PC suddenly lost its Internet connectivity. I could connect to the shares on my home network, and the other PC could still get out on the Net.

I found these tips here:

Problem Description

Solution Description

Some notes/advice:

1. I wasn't able to load the Registry fix via the "fixreg.reg" ascii file, I had to manually edit the Registry

2. This alone didn't fix it, so I went and adjusted the Network card properties manually as directed.

3. After #1 & #2 failed, I used the WinSockXPFix.exe utility. It then worked!

If the problem occurs after I upgrade my other PC, I may just start with the WinSockXPFix.exe.

[jwardell]

Quote: Originally Posted by Aqualung (original)

Thanks, it turns out mine is a well known issue with the Volume Logic plug-in for iTunes (which, by the way if you don't have, I highly recommend, after they get the compatibility probs ironed out )

Man, I miss VolumeLogic. They still haven't released an intel version so I haven't used it for months. They need to get on the ball and release an update!

[Aqualung]

Interesting article, w/ interview of someone intimate w/ the state of Georgia's project...pretty scary. Article here