As part of a consulting project, I’ve been going through old issues of PC Computing from 1992 through 2000. Here’s my column picture from July 1993:
Here’s a different shot, from the June 1995 issue:
I think I look younger now, without the beard.
It’s been fascinating to revisit the period before the launch of Windows 95 and compare it to the buzz around Windows Vista. More thoughts on that topic later.
Update: Just found this ad in the May 1998 issue. Look familiar?
That’s definitely not me.
For those who have been wondering about the Tip of the Day feature, I have good news: It’ll be back on Monday.
As always, I’m trying to come up with fresh information and new perspectives on Windows features that you might already know but aren’t expert on.
I’ve got some ideas in the hopper that I hope you’ll find interesting. Stay tuned.
If you subscribe to the full feed for this site, you’re already getting the tips. No need to change anything. If you want the tips and nothing else in your RSS reader, use this RSS feed.
What refresh rate should you use with an LCD monitor? The answer might surprise you.
If you’ve ever used a CRT monitor, you know that fine-tuning your refresh rate is essential. The refresh rate of a display is measured in Hertz (abbreviated Hz) and specifies the number of times per second that a display is illuminated. Setting the refresh rate to 60 Hz – a common default value – tells the monitor to redraw itself 60 times per second. For most people, that setting on a CRT monitor is too slow, resulting in an annoying flicker that can cause headaches, eyestrain, and fatigue. Bumping the refresh rate to a higher number can reduce that flicker, as long as the monitor itself can handle the faster rate.
So, what if you have an LCD monitor? You can safely ignore the refresh rate setting. Changing this number in Control Panel has no effect on an LCD.
Why? This snippet from the NEC Monitor Technology Guide explains it well:
Flicker is a result of phosphor decay; that is, after the energy from the electron gun is transferred to the phosphor material, the energy and the resulting light begin to decay very slowly until the electron beam hits the phosphor again. …
Since LCD monitors do not employ phosphors, refresh rate is not a concern. Basically, the transistors in the LCD remain open or closed as needed until the image changes. This can be a point of confusion for some consumers, however, since most graphics cards still “ask for” a refresh rate setting. This is due to the analog nature of existing graphic cards (see “Inputs” section) and their support for CRT displays. While refresh rates do not apply to LCD monitors, most LCDs are set up to accept any settings from 60Hz and above.
If you still use a CRT monitor, check its specifications and then experiment to find the refresh rate that works best for you – it’s not a one-size fits all setting.
But if you use an LCD monitor, you can take this item off your list of tweaks.
Update: Although the refresh rate setting will not affect your comfort (LCDs don’t flicker), you might find that a change in refresh rate setting affects the LCD’s performance. This article at Apple’s web site, for instance, reports on possible playback problems when using Final Cut to play back video clips on a monitor set for a 60 Hz refresh rate. If the LCD manufacturer specifically recommends a different refresh rate, go ahead and use that setting. In most LCD monitors I’ve seen, the default setting of 60 Hz is ideal for everyday use.
I’m on the road for a couple days, so no updates.
It’s really, really misleading for the Washington Post to use the headline Another Critical IE Flaw to describe a newly reported vulnerability that:
Although the vulnerability may be newly discovered, the underlying problem was fixed long ago. In fact, anyone still using Internet Explorer 5 on either of those two aging operating systems is vulnerable to a whole pack of other security problems as well. According to my stats, about 4.4%[*] of all visitors to this site are using one of those browser versions. The few recent stats I can find suggest that number is about accurate for the web population at large.
If you know someone who still has IE 5.x installed on their computer, do them a favor and install the IE6 upgrade for them. This is an essential step even if they already use Firefox or another browser, because the Internet Explorer components are used elsewhere in the OS and in some third-party applications.
[*] Update: For the first week of February, only 3.3% of all visitors to this site are using IE 5.x. By contrast, about 3.5% are using IE7.
I’ve gotten a colossal headache trying to make sense of Microsoft’s NDA policy for Office 12. (Or, as ‘Softies refer to it, Office “12” – the 12 is actually just a code name, you see, not a version number.)
Scoble posted (and I repeated) what appeared to be a definitive answer the other day, but now he’s backtracked:
It turns out that this isn’t quite the case. There are different NDAs given to different groups. Sorry for the confusion, but I need to be a little bit clearer about the Office 12 beta program. If you’re an MVP, in the Technical Beta or on the TAP program you’ll need to comply with the EULA of Beta1, which maintains confidentiality except in cases where the information is already public. If you’re a blogger and want to talk about Office 12 and you’re already on the beta, we recommend you learn what’s public and what’s not BEFORE you disclose anything new.
I’ve had this confirmed by three sources now, so I’m reasonably confident that this is the final answer.
Bottom line:
This entire episode is a case study in how to communicate poorly. I really hope someone at Microsoft looks at what happened here and makes some changes.
I didn’t realize it, but apparently I made a New Years resolution to replace a bunch of the hardware I’ve used for the past couple years.
I’ve got a new Acer TravelMate C314 Tablet PC to replace the trusty Toshiba 3500 I’ve had since 2003. I’ll have more on my first impressions of the Toshiba in a post later today.
My iRiver H120 has lost its slot in my traveling bag to the Creative Zen Vision: M, which I’ll be writing about over at Ed Bott’s Media Central.
I’ve got a few other gizmos to talk about, too.
I’ll update this post with links when the other pieces are ready.
An update on the earlier confusion about the Office NDA.
Robert Scoble has the definitive answer. Robert has left several comments in response to my earlier post, and he wrote this summary on his own site:
I checked with the folks who know over on Office 12. Here’s the deal:
Press (which include bloggers) are allowed to write about client apps – specifically Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher, Visio, Project, OneNote and InfoPath. Products still under NDA include Groove and all our server products.
MVPs might be getting other rules, but here’s the person in charge: Sandhya Thodla. sthodla@microsoft.com. Anyone else trying to make NDA rules up should be sent to Sandhya. If you aren’t clear on any of this, please ask Sandhya before writing about Office 12.
Is that clear enough?By the way, Frank Shaw is president of Waggener Edstrom in charge of the Microsoft account. Translation: if he says something is OK, it’s OK.
Thanks, Robert!
[Update: I think we finally have a definitive answer. See this follow-up post.]
Frank Shaw is Executive Vice President and Worldwide Account Director of Waggener Edstrom Worldwide. Frank is President of Microsoft Accounts, Worldwide and has been a leader in the successful effort to help Microsoft forge great relationships with bloggers.
On Thursday, I wrote Frank an e-mail asking for confirmation of a report I read on another blog. He got back to me within minutes confirming that the report was true. I posted an entry here noting that bloggers like me are now free to write about the client applications in Office 12.
But hold the phone! It seems that not everyone at Microsoft got the memo. Earlier today, Patrick Schmid posted a comment on that item, throwing some cold water on my report:
An official MS post in the beta 1 newsgroups classified the above statement as rumor. The NDA has not been lifted. It is still in effect.
I can neither confirm nor deny that such a newsgroup post exists. If I did, it would be a violation of the NDA. I’ve sent an e-mail to Frank and to a spokesperson for the beta program, asking if they can please agree on a policy statement that everyone at Microsoft can stand behind.
In the meantime, I’ll hold off posting any of my thoughts on the Office 12 beta.
Frustrating, isn’t it?
Josh at Windows Connected says he heard from Microsoft that it’s now OK to write about Office 12 Beta 1 client applications.
I checked in with Frank Shaw at Waggener-Edstrom, Microsoft’s PR agency, and he confirms that it’s true. Anyone on the Office 12 beta program is free to write about and publicly discuss any of the client applications in the suite. (Server components of Office 12 are still under NDA, however.)
This is great news. I’ve got a backlog of interesting stuff to write about and will start posting it tomorrow.
Ed Bott 