Monthly Archive for September, 2005

Autoroute Bug

Published on September 30, 2005 in Computers and Internet. 0 Comments
Encountered one of the most bizarre software bugs I’ve ever come across today.



Microsoft Autoroute
2003 installed on a laptop. Crashes upon loading with an "This program
has encountered an error". My first reaction was that this was a
corrupt file. So I uninstalled the application, then re-installed it.
One reboot later… no joy.



So I uninstalled, and re-installed to a different directory. Rebooted… no joy.



Finally I did what I should have done to begin with, consulted with the Microsoft Knowledge Base. It gave me the workaround at http://tinyurl.com/b3k48



The problem? A
network based printer had been installed, but couldn’t be contacted.
Now without that KB article, can you tell me one person who’s instinct
would have been to associate a problem with a Route Finding application
to a network printer?



The majority of problems you come across are usually fixed by common sense and routine, not by the Microsoft Knowledgebase. In fact, looking for KB articles addressing issues in Microsoft Autoroute or a game like Age of Empires
is the last thing I’d expect to do, but articles do exist for them and
you can be sure what my first port of call is the next time I encounter
a problem with a Microsoft app…

Voice-over-IP

Published on September 30, 2005 in Computers and Internet. 0 Comments
PC Pro reports that a new version of the Skype software has been released offering better call quality and a host of personalisation features.



I regularly use Skype to chat to friends, and the voice quality is superb considering the call is free.



I also recently did away with a landline altogether and replaced it with a Voice-over-IP service from Vonage. I still use my office telephones as though it were connected an old fashioned POTS
system, but instead the calls are routed over the Internet. Calls
anywhere in the UK are now free, anytime of day or night. It’s a nice
touch to be able to tell customers you can call them back to save their
bill knowing it won’t increase yours.

Quality has ranged from superb to the occassional echo, but rarely any
complaints. The bandwidth the service uses is fairly small, but I have
noticed a loss of quality when I’m download huge amounts of data from
the ‘net. Overall though, combined with Telewest’s 4mbit Cable Service (shortly to be increased to 10mbit!) there are no issues. Oh, and Vonage will automatically send any Voicemails you receive as .WAV files to your e-mail. Superb for when I’m on the road!

Windows RG Beta

Published on September 29, 2005 in Computers and Internet. 0 Comments
ExmouthMatt
(formerly WalsallMatt, then WolverhamptonMatt – the reason all these
Matt’s have different names is because it gets too confusing to talk
about them in any other terms otherwise. Matt1, Matt2, etc. worked for
a while until they started multiplying beyond my ability to count) has
pointed out you can get a sneak peak at the new release of Windows, Windows RG here.

Well worth looking into. Seems more stable then previous versions of Windows.

Hurricane Rita

Published on September 27, 2005 in Personal. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .
Had some great news yesterday as heard from my bestest bud, Texas Matt.
Matt used to live in Redditch, Worcestershire before he moved to Houston, Texas a few years ago to live with his new family. I’ve not heard from him since the news of the Hurricane Rita and her path towards Houston, TX. and Matt’s friends and family started to appear. Scary stuff when I’m used to chatting to my bud every day!

Matt got in touch yesterday to say all was well besides a lost Internet connection and some travelling to avoid trouble. Much as I enjoy blowing you away at Computer Games bud, I’m glad you stayed safe this time. :-)

Celebrating my 29th Birthday

Published on September 26, 2005 in Personal. 0 Comments Tags: , , .
Well, it was my 29th Birthday yesterday so I’m one year closer to the Big three oh now. Eek!To celebrate it we went out for a really good night on Saturday evening with a large group of friends. We started off in Birmingham City Centre then went on a beer bus into the black country and a variety of dodgy looking establishments. It was quite an event! My mate Derek provided some superb entertainment on the bus itself, and things naturally got more and more immature and loud as the night went on. :-) Sunday, my birthday itself, was spent mostly feeling tired. I’d also been out Thursday night in Moseley and Friday night (again in Moseley) for a friends stag-do. At 19 I remember doing three nights on the trot with ease. At 29, it’s more difficult!