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    December 01

    Sites Tue 01-Dec-2009 – Telstra’s new broadband plans, Bills horse troughs, Flying Scotsman model update, Top Bing 2009 searches, HubbleSite photo gallery

    Today’s sites:

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    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

     

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com and latest links www.webdotwiz.com/latest-links.htm

    webDotWiz on Facebook www.facebook.com/webdotwiz

    November 30

    Sites Mon 30-Nov-2009 – Windows 7 family pack for Australia, Expression Design how-to’s, Extending Small Basic, Writing or just practicing

    Today’s sites:

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    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online latest links www.webdotwiz.com/latest-links.htm

    webDotWiz on Facebook www.facebook.com/webdotwiz

    November 29

    Journey to the centre of the universe with WorldWide Telescope – webDotWiz Online Sep 24 2009

    To begin your journey to the centre of the universe, you need to download and install the Windows desktop version of WorldWide Telescope from www.worldwidetelescope.org.

    If you find your computer is a bit old and the graphics aren't up to running WWT (we'll use this abbreviation for WorldWide Telescope to save screen space) or if you have a Mac, you can still get most of the features of the desktop version by viewing the heavens through the online web client at www.worldwidetelescope.org/webclient/ (note you may be prompted to install Silverlight so do that).

    Start your engines

    When WWT loads, you'll see a 3D view of the solar system set against the Milky Way. Across the top of the screen are a set of menu items with the Explore mode set. On the next line are the first group of collections (to get to the next group, click the arrow on the far right).

    clip_image001

    These collections are imagery captured from various telescopes, some ground-based, and others such as the Hubble Telescope, are carried by satellites. The second group of collections include a 3D view of the Solar System, Earth view and panoramas of views taken by Apollo and the Mars Pathfinder for example.

    Each of the main menu items has a small white arrow which gives you access to a submenu of options.

    clip_image001[7]

    So to read WWT's Getting Started help guide, choose the white arrow under Explore.

     

     

     

     

    Set up WWT for your location

    You'll want to view the sky from where you live so click on View from the top menu.

    clip_image001[9]

    Now click the Setup button which gives you a list of cities around the world from which to choose. Note that you can be more precise by entering the latitude, longitude and height above sea level of your location. You can find your latitude and longitude in Bing Maps.

    Notice to the right of Observing location is Observing time - yes, that means you can time travel (check WWT's help as to how you might use this feature).

    Let's explore

    Click Explore and then choose Hubble Studies. Imagery from the Hubble Telescope is often featured in the media so it's worth exploring for that reason. If you look at the right-hand side of the screen, you'll notice that there are fourteen different groups of imagery so there's plenty here to explore.

    clip_image001[11]

    Choose SuperNova87A because it was only recently observed in 1987 and has been vigorously studied since that time.

    Now the top image menu changes to show that there seven different views of SuperNova87A. Click the first one and the screen fills with a view of this supernova. At the bottom of the screen are similar links to the same images but others have been added to the list.

    clip_image001[13]

    clip_image001[15]

    In the bottom right of the screen you'll see an indicator that shows the progress of the imagery download that takes place to build up the full screen view of the object you're viewing. Imagery in WWT is drawn from a number of sources and it makes up terrabytes of data so what's needed to create the image on your screen comes down and is pieced together by WWT as required.

    Panning and zooming

    To pan around the screen view, hold down the left mouse button and drag in the required direction. To zoom in and out, use your mouse's scroll wheel or the page up and page down keys on your keyboard.

    You'll notice that as you navigate around and zoom that more imagery is downloaded to build your view. Depending on the speed of your internet connection, it make take a bit of time for the full image to settle.

    Researching

    Staying with our view of SuperNova87A, right click over the image that's at the centre of your screen to bring up the Finder Scope. Firstly you can drag the Finder around the screen and it'll give you information about what's in its scope. Note, too, that the altitude and azimuth values are constantly changing due to the earth spinning on its axis and our view is thus moving across the celestial sphere.

    clip_image001[17]

    At the bottom left of the Finder is a Research button. From the popup menu you can choose to find out more information such as following the link to Wikipedia. As well there's lots more information, much of which is for professional astronomers who want to contribute to various research programs.

     

     

     

     

     

    Other viewing options

    Click your way back to Collections and choose the Solar System. Now click on Jupiter and watch with awe as WWT swings around to a different part of the sky and zooms in to the planet. Depending on when you view Jupiter will determine which of Jupiter's moons are in view at the present zoom level. That information will be indicated in the bottom pane. For example, at the time of writing (about midday), Io was the only moon shown.

    But hang on, you say, Jupiter isn't visible at midday. So go to View on the top menu and click View from this location. Woosh and you're looking at a blue screen representing the placement of the horizon in relation to the sky at your location.

    Background information

    If you're starting out in astronomy, you might need to look up some defintions such as constellation, nebula, supernova, galaxies, dark matter and inter-stellar gas. As already noted, the Finder Scope gives you direct access to information on the web and there's Bing Search to help out.

    As well there are a number of Guided Tours built-in to WWT to help out. Once you become familiar with WWT, you can even create your own tours of the universe. Hint: click on New Tours for more which include the first imagery of extrasolar planets.

    When you're exhausted from flying around the universe, take the 3D tour of the Solar System. For homework, look through WWT's help guide to find out how to view some of the universe in 3D for a touch of realism.

    WWT quicklinks

    For all the sites that were listed with this week’s webDotWiz Online column, see www.webdotwiz.com/sites-240909.htm

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    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com

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    Free antivirus software – Microsoft Security Essentials – webDotWiz Online Oct 8, 2009

    For many years webDotWiz has been pressing the point that there's no excuse for a computer to be running without antivirus and malware protection because there have been a number of free antivirus programs available. Unfortunately some of these have slowed down our computer systems and there's been the continual nagging to buy the full version.

    There are no excuses anymore - Microsoft's Security Essentials antivirus and malware protection program is lightweight to download - 2 and a bit megabytes for Windows Vista, 8 and a bit megabytes for Windows XP - and doesn't hog your computer's memory so you can happily work away without interference.

    Before going further, your first step against having your computer hijacked by malware, that is, to stop the criminals trying to steal your money (today that's the main purpose of malware in all its forms) is to NOT run your computer on a day-to-day basis under an administrator account. You should have an account set up as a limited account under Windows XP or standard user under Windows Vista - this is the account you use for all your work on your computer.

    If there are other users, they also should have their own non-administrator accounts. The only time the administrator account is used - by one particular person - is for installing new programs and some system duties (such as checking Windows updates are installed). Windows help has lots of information about setting up non-administrate accounts so go and read it up now and create a non-admin account for yourself if need be.

    So, ok, it's a bit inconvenient running with limitations as a non-admin user - it's also inconvenient locking the car in the carpark when shopping. In summary, DO NOT use your computer under an administrator account.

    Now back to MSE. When you run the installer from the MSE homepage, you'll be told to uninstall whatever antivirus program you're currently running - so do that and come back to finish off the installation of MSE.

    When MSE starts it will check online for the latest updates to its reference detection data file and begin a quick scan. The only setting you may want to change is when MSE carries out a scan - currently you'll see it set to each Sunday. You can change that to each day or another weekday. This scan works away quietly in the background when your computer is not hard at work doing your jobs.

    Each day MSE will update its reference detection file in the background and, if need be, MSE will do an online check in realtime if it suspects any program as possibly being malware. In fact, if all is well, you won't notice MSE protecting your computer and you'll only be aware of its presence when it finds some malware.

    With the availability of Microsoft Security Essentials, there is absolutely no reason for not having your computer, no matter how old, protected against viruses and malware.

    Live Hotmail updates

    You may have noticed some new features in Live Hotmail that are being currently introduced.

    Firstly if you're a keyboard shortcut user, you're able to go to Options - More options (at top right of your Hotmail window) and choose other shortcut layouts such as those for GMail or Yahoo! Mail. Oh, if you don't know Hotmail's keyboard shortcut keys, go to Help for a full list.

    If you've received lots of attachments to an email, you can download them all in one go by selecting to download them as a zip; then you can unzip this file later.

    As well your email drafts are now auto-saved and if you use Web Messenger which is built in to your Hotmail inbox you can check your friends list.

    Finally the rumour mill has started in regard to what will appear in the next version of Windows Live.

    Live Movie Maker tips

    The Auto Movie feature is proving invaluable in creating a movie and by now you should have several movies made from collections of your photos. Remember to tag your photos in Live Photo Gallery then you're able to easily add photos to different sections when creating your movie.

    If you've created several movies, it's time to try out Live Movie Maker's video editing features. For example, what about adding several of your movies to Live Move Maker, trimming some clips and creating a completely new movie from what you already have? Remember to make a copy of your original movies in case things go wrong.

    Quicklinks

    Microsoft Security Essentials - free antivirus software
    Live Hotmail updates
    Live Movie Maker tips
    For all the sites with this week’s webDotWiz Online column, see www.webdotwiz.com/sites-081009.htm
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    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com

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    A day in the life of Windows Live – webDotWiz Online column Oct 22, 2209

    Live Photo Gallery

    So your young 'uns have made you set up a Facebook account but you don't really feel like adding much to your Facebook pages when you've already got lots of services in Windows Live. You've just uploaded some photos to an album on Live Photos to share with your family and friends in your Live network. As well you've sent off a link to your album to other family and friends not in your Live network.

    But there are those family and friends breathlessly waiting for you to add some content to your Facebook page. Well, these people can be easily satisifed - all you need do is install the LiveUpLoad to Facebook addon (see the link in this week's Quicklinks) for Live Photo Gallery and Live Movie Maker and with a click you can upload photos from Live Photo Gallery to your Facebook page. Now everybody's happy.

    Just an aside for those of you Windows Live people who also have a Facebook page. Check with webDotWiz how you can turn off email notifications when your Facebook friends put something on their page.

    Live Writer trick

    Once you've created a few movies in Live Movie Maker you'll want to share them by putting them into entries on your Live Space. You'll need an account at YouTube (it's free) and you can upload a movie directly from Live Movie Maker.

    At YouTube choose the movie you want to include in your Live Space. On the YouTube page there's a Share option with a link to your movie - copy this link and when you paste it into Live Writer - whoosh, your movie is automatically embedded in your post. Now all you have to do is click Publish.

    Live Messenger

    At the top of your Messenger window there's space for you to enter a short message that all of your people in your Live network will receive on their Live What's New page. It's a good way to let people know, for example, that you've added some new photos to your Live Photos page.

    Remember that hovering your mouse over your display picture gives you some quick links, such as to your Live Space. Hovering your mouse over one of your contacts also gives you quick options such as sending a message. With the latest version of Live Messenger, the person you want to IM doesn't even have to be online at the time you send your message - they'll get it next time they sign in.

    You can add people from other services (for example, Facebook) to your Live Messenger contacts list so it's easy to keep up to date in just one place with what your friends are doing.

    Live Movie Maker

    We all know by now that Live Movie Maker's AutoMovie feature is a real timesaver. As well, Live Movie Maker's range of options for the type of movie you want to output is extremely useful - standard definition, 720p or 1080p high definition.

    Movie Maker accepts a range of movie filetypes including MOV files. So if you want to burn a MOV movie onto DVD, load it into Movie Maker, choose your output type and let Windows DVD Maker to all the work for you.

    Live Hotmail

    For those readers who have taken one of Terry's beginner's classes at Rushworth Community House will know that he stresses the use of shortcut keys to make computer use more efficient. Well, there are a whole set of shortcut keys for Live Hotmail such as CTRL+N to create a new message and CTRL+Enter to send a message - check them out on Hotmail's help or hover your mouse over the relevant button. If you're more familiar with keyboard shortcut keys in other web email services you can use them as an alternative (see Options).

    Hotmail now has a web version of Messenger. You won't need this when you're on your own computer with Live Messenger running but it's handy when you're on another computer to be able to keep in touch with your Live contacts.

    Remember that you can jazz up the colour of your inbox - click Options to choose Themes or More themes for dynamic ones that change according to the time of day (or to suit your mood).

    You can bring all your email accounts into Hotmail so they're all in one place to make life easier. Hotmail help tells you how to do this with your Gmail and Yahoo email accounts, for example.

    Live Mail

    The best part of Live Mail is being able to add as many email accounts as you wish so you access to your email in one place. Live Mail makes the task of adding other email accounts as simple as it can possibly be - in most cases all your need do is enter your email address and password for the account.

    Let Windows Live bring the information to you and your friends

    Windows Live has lots of easy-to-use ways for you to share information with your family and friends. Just as importantly, you can keep up to date with what people in your Live network are doing. When you've signed in to Live Messenger to being your computing day, click on Messenger's What's new link to start your day in the life of Windows Live.

    Quicklinks

    For all the sites that were posted with this week’s webDotWiz Online column, see www.webdotwiz.com/sites-221009.htm

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    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com

    webDotWiz on Facebook at www.facebook.com/webdotwiz

    Bing’s new features, Windows 7, Apollo 12 re-enactment – webDotWiz Online column Nov 19 2009

    Updates coming to Bing Search

    image Remember that the aim of searching for information on the web is to actually find the information you want. It's all well and good to see a huge list of links on the screen but that doesn't help much. That's why Bing search is more aptly described as a decision search engine to help you find, for example, the best deal for a plane ticket from Melbourne to Sydney (www.bing.com/travel) or to browse the latest video offerings (www.bing.com/videos/browse)

    To see how Bing helps your decision making, imagine you're looking to purchase a new digital camera. You want to compare prices, brands and features. So start at bing.com by typing in digital camera. Now look at the left-hand pane on the screen for a breakdown of headings that help you focus on a particular aspect, for example, price. If you're not happy with the Australian version of Bing (since it's still in trial mode), go to the top right of the screen, click Australia, and from the subsequent page, choose United States - English. Now you have more options on the left-hand side of the screen to narrow down your search and find the information you want.

    By the time you read this, other features should be available including nutrition and fitness information and calculations using the Wolfram|Alpha computational engine. For example, you'll be able to ask Bing to calculate your body mass index. As well maths enthusiasts will be able to ask Bing to plot a mathematical curve or ask for the properties of a dodecahedron.

    Bing Maps updates

    There have been imagery updates to Bing Maps in the last couple of months, the first focusing on a certain city which will be holding a major Olympic event in the near future. The November update concentrated on Eastern Europe so you can do some exploring.

    image The UK has its own version of Bing Maps which was just updated the other day and you can now instantly obtain a map of the London Tube lines and stations with one click. Try out Bing Maps UK at www.bing.com/maps/?mkt=en-uk.

    Bing Maps has also a more flexible driving directions feature. Once you've got the driving directions, by dragging the route line you can make changes to your journey (give a few days for the Australian version to be updated).

    Installing Windows 7

    Windows 7 certainly has plenty of features that make it compelling as upgrade from Windows Vista. However one stumbling block many people run into when upgrading an operating system is that they haven't been backing up their important documents, photos and videos.

    Many people purchased Windows Live OneCare and that purchase prompted the importance of a backup plan. Windows has its own built-in back up feature but we tend to forget about backing up until it's too late, or almost too late.

    Do yourself a favour and go out and purchase an external hard drive onto which you can backup your data both as insurance against your hard drive failing or when the day comes to upgrade your version of Windows. Prices for external hard drives are cheap and a hundred dollars or so now gives your more relief than you'll ever know.

    Apollo 12 re-enactment

    As he did with the Apollo 11 re-enactment in July, webDotWiz is posting the major events that took place forty years ago on the Apollo 12 mission to the moon.

    webDotWiz uses his Twitter account (www.twitter.com/webdotwiz) to post these major events. He's linked his Facebook account (www.facebook.com/webdotwiz) to his Twitter account so tweets automatically are added to his Facebook wall.

    As well, webDotWiz has used the Windows Live web activities feature to bring in his Twitter and Facebook entries so those people on webDotWiz's Windows Live network are automatically informed of what posts he's made on their Live What's New page and they can follow the Apollo 12 mission without any extra effort.

    A reminder that you can now add your YouTube account to your Windows Live activities so you can easily let your friends and family know when you've added a movie online that you created in Windows Live Movie Maker.

    Quicklinks

    Bing's new features

    Windows 7

    For all the sites listed with this week’s webDotWiz Online column see www.webdotwiz.com/sites-191109.htm

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    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com

    webDotWiz on Facebook at www.facebook.com/webdotwiz

    November 28

    Sites Sat 28-Nov-2009 – Office Web Apps, Office Live Workspace, Sowing the Seeds free recipe book, Setting passwords, Copenhagen, Bali photos, Rushworth museum

    image Today’s sites:

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    Follow webDotWiz on Twitter.

    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com

    webDotWiz on Facebook www.facebook.com/webdotwiz

    November 26

    Sites Thu 26-Nov-2009 – Online shopping tips, Bing Maps & Climate Mystery, Live Writer tip, Expression Design how-to’s, School websites

    image Today’s sites:

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    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com

    webDotWiz on Facebook at www.facebook.com/webdotwiz

    November 25

    Sites Wed 25-Nov-2009 – Bing video & maths, Apollo 12 flight journal, CSIRAC’s 60th birthday, Spherical synths, Social media thoughts, IE8’s Smartscreen

    Today’s sites and others from the past couple of days.

    image The Apollo 12 re-enactment concluded this morning at 0758 AEST (244:36 Ground Elapsed Time) when Yankee Clipper splashed down in the Pacific so webDotWiz has more time on his hands :)

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    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com

    webDotWiz on Facebook at www.facebook.com/webdotwiz

    November 22

    Apollo 12 re-enactment – some parameters for the trip home to Earth

    From the transcript document at http://history.nasa.gov/ap12fj/18day8_cislunar.htm, these are some physics parameters you might like to consider (look at Ground Elapsed Time (GET) 183:30 hours):

    Apollo 12 will cross over from the Moon’s sphere of influence to that of Earth at GET 186:30:43

    Equal distance point halfway between Moon and Earth will occur at GET 219:47:40 – distance will be 110 904 nautical miles

    Point of equal velocity between Earth and Moon, i.e. when the craft’s velocity relative to both Moon and Earth is the same, occurs at GET 207:14:14 – value at this time will be 3 919.5 ft/sec

    The point halfway back between Trans Earth Injection (TEI) burn and Earth entry occurs at GET 208:23:41 when craft is 139 992 nautical miles from Earth.

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    Follow the Apollo 12 re-enactment at www.twitter.com/ApolloEcho and www.twitter.com/webdotwiz

    Sites Sun 22-Nov-2009 – Behind Bing, Saturn photo, Apollo 12 re-enactment, Office Starter 2010, Windows Compatability Center, Ride-on mower injuries, UK floods photos

    image Today’s sites with some from yesterday, too:

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    Follow the Apollo 12 re-enactment on www.twitter.com/ApolloEcho and www.twitter.com/webdotwiz

    Follow webDotWiz on Twitter.

    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com

    webDotWiz on Facebook at www.facebook.com/webdotwiz

    November 20

    Sites Fri 20-Nov-2009 – Apollo 12 re-enactment, Bing Maps China, XNA Game Studio CS course, Paint.NET v3.5.1 available, Windows 7 facts, Fishbowl, Computer terms

    image Today’s sites:

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    Follow Apollo 12 re-enactment at www.twitter.com/ApolloEcho and www.twitter.com/webdotwiz

    Follow webDotWiz on Twitter.

    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com

    webDotWiz on Facebook at www.facebook.com/webdotwiz

    November 19

    Sites Thu 19-Nov-2009 – Apollo 12, Office 2010 beta download, LIve Labs Pivot, Eye on Earth on Bing Maps, November malware report, Silverlight 4

    image Today’s sites:

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    Follow the Apollo 12 re-enactment on www.twitter.com/ApolloEcho and www.twitter.com/webdotwiz

    Follow webDotWiz on Twitter.

    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com

    webDotWiz on Facebook at www.facebook.com/webdotwiz

    November 18

    Sites Wed 18-Nov-2009 – Apollo 12 re-enactment, Windows 7, Be a Martian, Windows Marketplace for Mobile, Microsoft PDC09, New Xbox features, Zune video on Xbox LIVE, Fractals, Seadragon.com, More

    Today’s sites:

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    Follow Apollo 12 re-enactment on www.twitter.com/ApolloEcho or www.twitter.com/webdotwiz

    Follow webDotWiz on Twitter

    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com

    webDotWiz on Facebook at www.facebook.com/webdotwiz

    November 17

    Sites Tue 17-Nov-2009 – Apollo 12 re-enactment, Windows 7, Bing tips, Microsoft PDC09, Publisher how-to, Bushfire warning, PowerPoint how-to

    Today’s sites:

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    Follow webDotWiz on Twitter.

    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com

    webDotWiz on Facebook www.facebook.com/webdotwiz

    November 16

    Upgrading to Windows 7 – EYWTK but were too afraid to ask

    Moral of this story: have a backup plan, that is, go and purchase an external hard drive (spend as much money as you want but about $100 will get you something) for peace of mind and be able to do what webDotWiz did in the following:

    Attempt 1 – upgrade from Windows Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Home Premium using the Upgrade DVD

    1707 Monday 02-Nov-2009

    Read that antivirus must be turned off. Also know from doing a Windows 7 install on a new machine that Windows Live OneCare is not compatible with Windows 7 so uninstall Live OneCare. Will install Microsoft Security Essentials after upgrade finishes to have antivirus protection.

    Put Windows 7 upgrade DVD into drive, click Setup and away it goes. All should be ok since it’s a Vista machine, only one year old. All up to date.

    1810

    Step 3, Expanding Windows Files (21%)… hasn’t moved – ummm. Better look up if anything wrong.

    Go to Windows 7 forums at http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/windows7 and see there’s a thread Install, upgrade and activate so have a look through.

    There are plenty of posts about the install upgrade hanging at 62% (fixed a day or two later) – what about 21%?

    Yep, here’s one… http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7install/thread/e2d5bd45-04f4-4c82-82a0-f89bb0773c3e

    Be patient, one post said, so we’ll just leave things as they are and see what comes up in the morning…

    1530 Tuesday 03-Nov-2009 – Melbourne Cup Day

    Watch the Melbourne Cup and press the RESET button on the front. The Windows 7 installer is supposed to roll us back to Vista… gritted teeth and fingers crossed for an hour or so – at least the disk light flashes now and then.

    1630

    Vista restored.

    Take advice from other posts on the Windows 7 forums and download, install and run the Windows Upgrade Advisor.

    Nothing really anything of consequence except a mention of an ATK 0110 ACPI utility – uh, what? Do a Bing search and find it’s an ASUS virtual driver used if overclocking. The Upgrade Advisor says not to worry and install the driver after Windows 7 installs. Ok, I’ll accept that.

    Also forum posts suggest looking at what apps are installed so uninstall some stuff that hasn’t been used for ages or could cause problems (e.g. Verdiem’s Edison power management utility which powers down the monitor and computer after a set time).

    Also unplug the external hard drive on a USB port. Uninstall Microsoft Security Essentials (installed after Vista came back up, just in case).

    1720

    In goes the upgrade DVD and setup is run.

    1730

    Have to restart because there are some updates which download and require a restart.

    1740

    Upgrade restarts.

    1746

    Upgrade actually gets under way.

    1820 or so

    At Expanding Windows files (21%)… – fingers crossed.

    1934

    Still at Expanding Windows files (21%)…. but have seen the disk light glow now and then – perhaps this time :)

    2145

    Expanding Windows files now at… 29% – bewdy

    2210

    At 45% – going like a Bondi tram.

    And I’m off to bed to see what tomorrow brings.

    0700 Wednesday 04-Nov-2009

    At step Installing features and updates…. wow, seems like we’re getting somewhere.

    One post on the forums said be Patient so am doing that…

    Leave things as have to be off to supervise exams.

    1500 or so

    Home to see how things are going. Well, after this length of time, expecting to see the Windows 7 screen.

    But no…

    Ahh………

    Hit the Reset button and eventually we’re rolled back to Vista Home Premium.

    Alright, have about 45 minutes to get to the shops to buy the Full install version of Windows 7 Home Premium.

    Before jumping in the car, check prices and get Vista to start a full back onto my external drive. Just in case.

    Back up is taking ages so off to bed.

    0650 Thursday 05-Nov-2009

    Put in Full install version DVD and start install.

    0745

    Windows 7 starts. Yippeeee!!

    What were the problem(s) that didn’t allow the upgrade to finish?

    • Realtek high def audio driver for Asus M2N-MX SE Plus motherboard (drivers did appear for a day or so; webDotWiz downloaded & installed them but doesn’t full sournd sound; new driver for Windows 7 hasn’t yet become available)
    • some other app (perhaps Live Mesh which had forgotten to uninstall and could have helped the upgrade)
    • that ATK 0110 ACPI utility – who knows

    Because webDotWiz had a backup (through Live OneCare) before he started the upgrade, he was able to safely roll back to Vista when the upgrade didn’t work out. It would be a different story without a backup of his photos and documents.

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    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

    webDotWiz Online at www.webdotwiz.com

    webDotWiz on Facebook at www.facebook.com/webdotwiz

    November 15

    Sites Sun 15-Nov-2009 – Record heatwave, Apollo 12 re-enactment, Design by Nature photos, Phishing, Small Basic programs in 25 lines or less, World’s largest cruise ship, Writing or just practicing

    Today’s sites:

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    Follow webDotWiz on Twitter and Apollo 12 re-enactment on www.twitter.com/webdotwiz

    Apollo 12 re-enactment with ApolloEcho on www.twitter.com/ApolloEcho

    Posted using the 2009 version of Windows Live Writer.

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    Apollo 12 – Transcript of first few minutes of launch - Problems

    From Apollo 12 Flight Journal – Launch and reaching earth orbit - http://history.nasa.gov/ap12fj/01launch_to_earth_orbit.htm

    Time is GET – ground elapsed time – which begins counting at lift-off and is used during the complete flight until splash down.

    image 000:00:00 Conrad: Lift-off. The clock's running.

    000:00:05 Conrad: I got a yaw program. [pause.]

    000:00:06 Bean (onboard): Six seconds.

    000:00:10 Bean (onboard): There's 10 seconds.

    000:00:12 Gordon (onboard): Clear the tower.

    000:00:14 Conrad: Roger. Clear the tower. I got a pitch and a roll program, and this baby's really going.

    Public Affairs Office - "Pete Conrad reports the yaw program is in. Tower clear."

    000:00:18 Gordon (onboard): Man, is it ever.

    000:00:20 Carr: Roger, Pete.

    000:00:20 Gordon (onboard): Twenty seconds

    000:00:22 Conrad: It's a lovely lift-off. It's not bad at all. [Pause.]

    Public Affairs Office - "Pete Conrad reporting the pitch and roll program to put Apollo 12 on the proper course. Altitude at one half mile."

    000:00:24 Gordon (onboard): Everything's looking great. Sky's getting lighter.

    000:00:26 Conrad (onboard): Okay.

    000:00:30 Bean (onboard): Thirty seconds.

    000:00:31 Conrad (onboard): Looks good.

    000:00:33 Conrad: Roll's complete.

    000:00:33 Bean (onboard): This thing moves, doesn't it?

    000:00:34 Carr: Roger, Pete. [Pause.]

    image 000:00:37 Gordon (onboard): What the hell was that?

    000:00:38 Conrad (onboard): Huh?

    000:00:39 Gordon (onboard): I lost a whole bunch of stuff; I don't know ...

    000:00:40 Conrad (onboard): Turn off the buses.

    Public Affairs Office - "40 seconds."

    000:00:42 Carr: Mark.

    000:00:43 Carr: One Bravo.

    000:00:43 Conrad (onboard): Roger. We had a whole bunch of buses drop out.

    000:00:44 Conrad: Roger. We [garble] on that. [Long pause.]

    000:00:45 Bean (onboard): There's nothing - it's nothing ...

    000:00:47 Gordon (onboard): A circuit ...

    000:00:48 Conrad (onboard): Where are we going?

    000:00:50 Gordon (onboard): I can't see; there's something wrong.

    000:00:51 Conrad (onboard): AC Bus 1 light, all the fuel cells ...

    000:00:56 Conrad (onboard): I just lost the platform.

    Public Affairs Office - "Altitude a mile and a half now. Velocity 1,592 feet per second."

    000:01:00 Bean: [Garble] Got your GDC.

    000:01:02 Conrad: Okay, we just lost the platform, gang. I don't know what happened here; we had everything in the world drop out.

    000:01:08 Carr: Roger.

    Public Affairs Office - "Plus one."

    000:01:09 Gordon (onboard): I can't - There's nothing I can tell is wrong, Pete.

    000:01:12 Conrad: I got three fuel cell lights, an AC bus light, a fuel cell disconnect, AC bus overload 1 and 2, Main Bus A and B out. [Long pause.]

    000:01:21 Bean (onboard): I got AC.

    000:01:22 Conrad (onboard): We got AC?

    000:01:23 Bean (onboard): Yes.

    000:01:24 Conrad (onboard): Maybe it's just the indicator. What do you got on the main bus?

    000:01:26 Bean (onboard): Main bus is - The volt indicated is 24 volts.

    000:01:29 Conrad (onboard): Huh?

    000:01:30 Bean (onboard): Twenty-four volts, which is low.

    000:01:33 Conrad (onboard): We've got a short on it of some kind. But I can't believe the volt...

    000:01:36 Carr: Apollo 12, Houston. Try SCE to auxiliary. Over.

    000:01:39 Conrad: Try FCE to Auxiliary. What the hell is that?

    000:01:41 Conrad: NCE to auxiliary...

    000:01:42 Gordon (onboard): Fuel cell...

    000:01:43 Carr: SCE, SCE to auxiliary. [Long pause.]

    000:01:45 Conrad (onboard): Try the buses. Get the buses back on the line.

    000:01:48 Bean (onboard): It looks - Everything looks good.

    000:01:50 Conrad (onboard): SCE to Aux.

    000:01:52 Gordon (onboard): The GDC is good.

    000:01:54 Conrad (onboard): Stand by for the - I've lost the event timer; I've lost the...

    Public Affairs Office - "Comm reports the reading is back."

    000:01:57 Carr: Mark. One Charlie.

    000:02:00 Conrad: One Charlie.

    000:02:01 Gordon (onboard): Two minutes. EDS, Auto, is Off.

    000:02:03 Conrad (onboard): Yes.

    000:02:04 Conrad (onboard): EDS, Auto...

    000:02:06 Carr: Apollo 12, Houston. Go for staging.

    000:02:10 Conrad: Roger. Go for staging we had some really big glitch, gang?

    Public Affairs Office - "Flight Director Jerry Griffin taking a staging status now; Apollo 12 down range 17 miles. Altitude 20 miles."

    000:02:13 Gordon (onboard): What do the buses read, Al?

    000:02:15 Bean (onboard): Stand by.

    000:02:16 Conrad: Inboard [center] engines.

    000:02:17 Gordon (onboard): Okay.

    000:02:19 Carr: Apollo 12, Houston. Try to reset your fuel cells now. [Long pause.]

    000:02:20 Bean (onboard): Reset the fuel cells.

    000:02:21 Gordon (onboard): Wait for staging.

    000:02:22 Conrad (onboard): Wait for staging, yes.

    000:02:23 Gordon (onboard): Hang on.

    000:02:24 Conrad (onboard): Hang on.

    000:02:25 Gordon (onboard): 25 - 27 - 32.

    000:02:38 Conrad (onboard): Got a clock running over here?

    000:02:39 Bean (onboard): Yes. Hang on.

    000:02:41 Gordon (onboard): There's 41. Hang on, there it is.

    000:02:43 Bean (onboard): That's it.

    000:02:44 Conrad Gordon (onboard): That's it. That's it.

    000:02:45 Bean (onboard): Staging.

    000:02:46 Gordon (onboard): Hang on.

    000:02:47 Conrad (onboard): Okay, GDC is good.

    000:02:48 Conrad: Got a good S-II, gang.

    000:02:50 Carr: Roger. We copy, Pete. You're looking good.

    Public Affairs Office - "Good staging and good thrust on the second stage."

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    Apollo 12 references www.webdotwiz.com/sci-astro-solar.htm

    November 14

    Sites Sat 14-Nov-2009 – Apollo 12 re-enactment, Bing Maps UK, Windows Marketplace for Mobile, PDC 09, Xbox LIVE update Nov 17, Water on moon, Xbox Project Natal

    image Today’s sites:

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    Apollo 12 re-enactment – some links so you can join in

    image Apollo 12 launches at 1122 from Cape Kennedy on Saturday Nov 14.

    For Aussies, time shift across zones gives us a launch time of 0322 AEST on Sunday morning, Nov 15.

    You can follow the drama of Apollo 12 on www.twitter.com/webdotwiz.

    As well John aka ApolloEcho has a twitter stream on www.twitter.com/ApolloEcho.

    Here’s some reference material:

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