My colleague George Ou has an excellent rant on flash drive performance. As he notes, many people are in for a rude shock when they plug in a USB flash drive, Compact Flash card, or SD card and expect it work well with the new ReadyBoost feature in Windows Vista. Many of those flash devices will fail, with a message that reads: "This device does not have the performance characteristics for use in speeding up your system.”

But George gets one detail wrong in his post:

Unfortunately Vista doesn't report the actual raw data for its ReadyBoost test since it only gives you a pass/fail score making it as useless and confusing as the Vista performance index that's based on a scale of 0 to 6. 

In broad terms, that's true. When you insert a new flash device and try to use it as a ReadyBoost device, it either passes or it fails. If you try to use a cheapo USB flash drive that some company passed out at a trade show, you won't know from that initial screen why it failed. But the actual numbers are there for all to see, if you know where to look. Carl Siechert, Craig Stinson, and I discovered this fact during our research for Windows Vista Inside Out, and to the best of my knowledge no one has published this information online yet.

I gathered together more than 20 flash devices I've picked up over the past several years and put them to the test. Follow along in the image gallery that accompanies this post and you'll see how you can measure the performance of your own flash devices.

To be used as a ReadyBoost device, your flash drive has to pass several tests, including available free space, write performance, and random read performance. When you connect a supported flash device to your system and choose the Speed Up My System option, Windows Vista runs a quick performance test to see if the device meets minimum standards required for ReadyBoost. Those standards are:
    * 2.5 MB/sec throughout for 4 KB random reads
    * 1.75 MB/sec throughout for 512 KB random writes

These results must be consistent across the entire device. In addition, the device must be at least 235 MB in size (although you can designate less than the full space on the drive for the ReadyBoost cache).

If any of these tests fail, the drive is rejected.

If you get a failure message when you first insert a flash device and try to use it as a ReadyBoost drive, you can click Test Again to get a second hearing. If the drive fails several tests, you can look up the specific performance results for yourself. Open Event Viewer (Eventvwr.msc) and click the Applications And Services Logs category in the console tree on the left. Under this heading, click Microsoft, Windows, and ReadyBoost. Under this latter heading, select Operational. The log entries in the center pane include performance test results for both successful and unsuccessful attempts.

ReadyBoost performance as measured in Event Viewer

Just to make things more confusing, the Event Viewer logs report results in KB/sec instead of MB/sec. Although the spec says 1.75 MB/sec write performance, the report in Event viewer would display this as 1750 KB/sec

So how did my motley collection of flash drives do? All in all, not bad.

Six drives, most of them originally given to me as freebies at various press events, failed because they were smaller than the minimum size.

One of my oldest flash drives, a PNY Attache 256MB device I bought about four years ago, passed with respectable scores (read 2920 KB/sec, write 3737 KB/sec). It was the only one of its vintage that passed. More typical was the story of a Micro Advantage 1GB QuickiDrive. (It's the oversized, roundish device at the right in the photo at the top of this post.) It was one of the first 1GB devices on the marker, although its designers cheated by repackaging a Compact Flash card in a USB case. It was very slow on the write test.

Several drives I was given at CES last week in lieu of paper press kits (PR people take note: this is a good thing) all failed. A 1GB no-name drive could only muster write scores of 1004 to 1040 KB/sec. Another very handsome 512MB leather-wrapped flash drive supplied by a vendor failed with dreadful read performance scores of 157 KB/sec.

One of the most interesting failures was an A-Data 1GB drive, originally purchased from an online outlet store. The rubber holder is in the shape of a soccer ball, dating it to last year's World Cup. I expected this cheap drive to fail, but it got surprisingly close. The first test produced a read write [corrected after initial post - Ed] performance of 1602 KB /sec, only about 10% below the threshold of 1750 KB /sec. Three separate retests produced a range of results from 1401 to 1729 KB / sec. Closer, but still no cigar. On the sixth retest, I got a different result, indicating that it had failed because it "does not exhibit uniform performance across the device." This cheap device was able, on this pass, to clear the read and write performance bars, but that exposed a design decision that made the drive unacceptable for ReadyBoost. No doubt for cost reasons, its designers used a single fast 128MB flash chip matched with slower flash chips.

A 256MB Memorex Travel Drive, given away at last year's CES, passed with excellent test results: Random read speed 4627 KB/sec, sequential write speed 4131 KB/sec.

The 2GB Teac Mini-SD card in my Smartphone, originally purchased at retail, had a read speed that was too slow.

The runner-up in the speed trials was a SanDisk Cruzer 2GB flash drive, provided by Microsoft as part of its Windows Vista Launch Kit for press visitors at CES. It passed with excellent scores: random read speed of 5407 KB/sec, sequential write speed 3701 KB/sec.

But the speed champ in my tests was an Apacer Handy Steno 2.0 USB flash drive. I purchased two of these 1GB drives (update: these are model HT203) for the remarkably low price of $24 each a few months ago, on the recommendation of Scott Hanselman. He didn't steer me wrong. Both are now in use as ReadyBoost drives. They passed the ReadyBoost performance test with blazing speed, roughly twice as fast as any other device I tested: random read speeds were 8067 KB/sec and sequential write speeds were a blistering 9396 KB/sec. I can tell the difference in startup and app load times when this device is inserted into a Vista system.

Now, it's important to note that a device that scores low on this test might not be a dog for other purposes. I have a 2GB MyFlash drive that works just great for transferring files between machines; it just doesn't do well on the specific activities that count for the ReadyBoost cache.

Grant Gibson has already begun compiling a list of devices that pass or fail the ReadyBoost test. It would be great if someone could build a similar database with the actual numbers, so you can see for yourself which devices rock and which barely pass. Any coders out there want to take up the challenge? I'll gladly host the database if you'll help me build it.

Well, you've come to the right place, because as a matter of fact, I can help! The Device Manager feature in Windows XP isn't something we've gone into too much detail about in the past. Well, now is as good of a time as any, so here we go!

To begin, the Device Manager is the service that holds all the information about every piece of hardware you have on your computer. It provides support for how your hardware is configured and how it interacts with everything else that might be on your computer (such as programs, etc). With the Device Manager, you can also change the way your hardware is configured or if you want, change the way parts of it interacts with the other components of your PC. It is also used for updating drivers for different devices, modifying hardware settings and troubleshooting certain problems.

In more plain terms, the Device Manager is mainly used to see if a computer's hardware is working properly or not. If something isn't right, it will then also help to fix it. The Device Manager is also used quite often with anything that deals with the drivers on a computer. That includes updating them, installing them, uninstalling them, reinstalling them and so on. If something is having a complication with something else, the Device Manager can help.

There are a couple of ways you can access the Device Manager. You can either right click on the My Computer icon on your desktop, choose Properties, click on the Hardware tab and then hit the Device Manager button or you can right click on the My Computer icon on your desktop, choose Manage and then double click the Device Manager link. Either way, the below screenshot is similar to what you'll see. Of course, it will list all of your computer's devices though, not mine!

Once you get there, you will see a list of all your computer's services. Now, if you want to check the status of a certain device, find it and just double click it. Once you do that, all of that particular device's components will come up. Right click on one and choose Properties. Under the General tab, you will see a Device status box. That will tell you if that piece of hardware is working properly or not. If there happens to be a problem, the description will tell you and you can then start troubleshooting. Just click on the Troubleshoot button if you need to do that.

In the description, there may also be a problem code number that you can use to call for technical support. That number will help them in determining what your problem is and they can use that to help you fix it. This should only be used if you can't get anything to work after some troubleshooting techniques though.

Now, if you would like to enable or disable a device through the Device Manager, just double click on the item, right click it and choose Enable or Disable. That's all there is to it. If you need to uninstall a device, double click the item, right click it and choose Uninstall. On the next box that comes up, click OK. You can then shut down your computer and remove the device for good. It will no longer be a part of your computer system.

Those are just a few of the things you can do with the Device Manager, but they are the most common. If you want to do something that I didn't talk about in this tip, use the Help file from the main Device Manager window. It will help you do anything you could ever dream of. So, here's to easier device management and control! 
 
 

Under fire from both the U.S. government and parental organizations, MySpace.com has announced that it is creating software to give parents a window into what their children are putting on their online profiles.

Once the monitoring software is finished and distributed, parents can install it on a home computer to see what any MySpace user who logs on from that computer lists as his or her profile name, age and location. It will also track updates made to those profiles. The software doesn't give parents access to the content of the MySpace profiles in question, and the members whose profiles are being monitored will be notified that the software is keeping tabs on them.

The development of the software, which is code-named "Zephyr," was reported in The Wall Street Journal Wednesday morning. There is no word yet on a release date.

Having a profile on the News Corp.-owned MySpace has become a staple for American high school students, and the social-networking service has recently been expanding overseas with international sites in countries like France and Japan. At the same time, MySpace has come under extensive scrutiny for allegedly endangering teenagers' safety by making it easy for them to share extensive personal information over the Internet.

Numerous third-party applications that aim to give parents access to their kids' MySpace activity have emerged over the past year or so, but "Zephyr" is the first monitoring software launched by MySpace itself.

Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace's chief security officer, described "Zephyr" as "an easy-to-use solution designed for parents to easily determine whether their teen has a MySpace profile and (to) validate the age listed in their teen's profile." In a statement, Nigam also asserted that "one of (MySpace's) goals is to empower parents to engage in conversation with their teens about Internet safety."

MySpace will likely face criticism from both sides of the fence: from privacy advocates who claim that "Zephyr" is invasive, and from parents who may complain that it still isn't doing enough. But in Nigam's opinion, the basic information that "Zephyr" will provide--which can give parents insight into whether their children are using fake names, lying about their ages, or giving too much detail about where they live--is vital information, especially with regard to their ages.

"Many of our safety features are built around age and it's important that people honestly reflect their accurate age while on our site," Nigam said. "By enabling parents to 'check' their teen's age, and have conversations, if necessary, with their teens to use the appropriate age, we are creating an even safer community for our users."

BOSTON -- Hewlett-Packard Co. extended its lead over Dell Inc. in the worldwide personal-computer market in the fourth quarter, according to reports released Wednesday by two top technology research firms.

The analyses from IDC and Gartner Inc. produced slightly different numbers but the same general results: With overall PC sales unspectacular, HP managed to outgrow the rest of the market and lead the worldwide tally of PC sales for the second quarter in a row.

PC sales increased roughly 7.4 percent in the fourth quarter, according to Gartner, while IDC pegged the rise at 8.7 percent. Both firms noted declines in the U.S. market, the second consecutive period with a domestic slump.

One culprit appeared to be heavy competition from flat-panel TVs and other consumer electronics over the holiday season.

Also, many people may have been holding off on PC purchases because of the Jan. 30 consumer release of the new Windows Vista operating system from Microsoft Corp. But analysts at both firms said the Vista effect was hard to measure _ many consumers just as likely took advantage of low PC prices that manufacturers offered to clear their inventories before Vista arrives.

For all of 2006, PC sales rose around 9 percent to roughly 230 million. The leading vendor for the year was Dell, but just barely. Dell and HP each registered 16 or 17 percent market share in the IDC and Gartner tallies. Lenovo Group Ltd. was third with 7 percent, while Acer Inc. had 6 percent and Toshiba Corp. 4 percent.

HP ate away at Dell's dominance by outselling its rival in the third quarter and keeping it up in the fourth. HP's sales jumped 24 percent in the fourth quarter _ its best such period since 2000 _ while Dell's sales dropped about 9 percent. The shift left HP with 17 to 18 percent of the worldwide market in the fourth quarter, to Dell's 14 to 15 percent.

The trend tracks the opposite directions that Dell's and HP's stock prices have been heading the past two years. HP has retooled itself as a leaner giant under CEO Mark Hurd, while Dell has struggled with strategic questions, an accounting investigation and huge laptop battery recall.

Dell remains the leading vendor in the U.S., with about 31 percent market share in all of 2006, according to IDC. HP was second at 22 percent, followed by Gateway Inc. at 6.7 percent, Apple Inc. at 4.7 percent and Toshiba at 4.3.

Even with the Vista launch, Gartner expects PC sales to only slightly increase their pace in 2007, with 9.9 percent growth in units sold. IDC expects to see a slightly better rise.

But Gartner vice president Charles Smulders cautioned that overall revenue should be just about flat because of brutal price competition.

"It's a very challenging market to operate in, with very slim margins, one which requires the highest levels of execution in order to maintain profitability," he said.

This 1 From A  01/26/07  Worldstart Newsletter
Watch Your E-mail

The main subject lines you will see in your Inbox are "Fidel Castro is dead" and "Saddam Hussein safe and sound." If you open an e-mail with a suspicious title like either of these, your computer will instantly be infected with the virus. It has already hit thousands of computers, according to news Web sites.

Some of the other subject lines you should look out for are "Hugo Chavez dead," "President of Russia, Putin dead," "US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has kicked German Chancellor Angela Merkel" and "The US Supreme Court has been attacked by terrorists." Now, you all know the drill. If you see anything out of the ordinary like this, delete the e-mail immediately. Don't take any chances, especially with this one. 

Many home PC users may have been infected after a large-scale sustained Trojan horse attack that took place over the weekend, security vendors believe.

The Trojan, named "Storm Worm" by antivirus vendor F-Secure, first started to spread on Friday as extreme storms engulfed Europe. The e-mail claimed to include breaking news about the weather, in an attempt to get people to download an executable file.

Over the weekend there were six subsequent waves of the attack, with each e-mail attempting to lure users into downloading an executable by promising a topical news story. There were e-mails that purported to carry news of an as-yet-unconfirmed missile test by the Chinese against one of its weather satellites, and e-mails reporting that Fidel Castro had died.

Each new wave of e-mails carried different versions of the Trojan horse, according to F-Secure. Each version also contained the capability to be updated, in an attempt to stay ahead of antivirus vendors.

"When they first came out, these files were pretty much undetectable by most antivirus programs," said Mikko Hypponen, director of antivirus research at F-Secure. "The bad guys are putting a lot of effort into it--they were putting out updates hour after hour."

As most businesses tend to strip executable files out of e-mails they receive, Hypponen said he expected that companies would not be overly affected by the attacks.

However, F-Secure said that hundreds of thousands of home computers could have been affected across the globe.

Once a user downloads the executable file, the code opens a backdoor in the machine which that it to be remotely controlled, while installing a rootkit that hides the malicious program. The compromised machine becomes a zombie in a network called a botnet. Most botnets are currently controlled through a central server, which--if found--can be taken down to destroy the botnet. However, this particular Trojan horse seeds a botnet that acts in a similar way to a peer-to-peer network, with no centralized control.

Each compromised machine connects to a list of a subset of the entire botnet--around 30 to 35 other compromised machines, which act as hosts. While each of the infected hosts share lists of other infected hosts, no one machine has a full list of the entire botnet--each has only a subset, making it difficult to gauge the true extent of the zombie network.

This is not the first botnet to use these techniques. However, Hypponen called this type of botnet "a worrying development."

Antivirus vendor Sophos called Storm Worm the "first big attack of 2007," with code being spammed out from hundreds of countries. Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, said the company expected more attacks over the coming days, and that the botnet would most likely be hired out for spamming, adware propagation, or be sold to extortionists to launch distributed denial-of-service attacks.

The recent trend has been toward highly targeted attacks on individual institutions. Mail services vendor MessageLabs said that this current malicious campaign was "very aggressive," and said that the gang responsible was probably a new entrant to the scene, hoping to make its mark.

None of the anti-malware companies interviewed said they knew who was responsible for the attacks, or where they had been launched from. 

View a timelapse video of the 'Storm Worm' Trojan horse as it surges across the globe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH8cS1AkqiI

Trend Micro, more commonly referred to as Housecall, offers free virus scans and in most cases can fix damage down by a virus or worm that your computer may have contacted.  The program works well.  The first time one uses the free program it is necessary to download a small program. Trend Micro walks you through the process.   Then the virus scans are quite simple for each return.  Go to http://housecall.antivirus.com/  then choose the link   "Scan without registering".  Follow the directions.

You should disable any anti virus program that you have running.  If you do not have a virus program I recommend that you use one of the programs offered above first and then download and install one of the free programs listed below or install any anti virus program you have purchased.
**************************************************************************************************
Free Anti Virus programs for download. 
Quite a few KCnet members use these programs and like them.
Be careful if you download a virus program and you already have one installed on your computer.  You need to at least disable the program already installed.

AVG Free
AVG Free Edition is the well-known anti-virus protection tool. AVG Free is available free-of-charge to home users for the life of the product! Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high-level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. AVG Free is easy-to-use and will not slow your system down (low system resource requirements).
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

Avast
Avast has been "anti virusing" for quite awhile.  The following info comes from their download page:   Avast! Home is now free of charge for HOME users for NON-COMMERCIAL use. You can find more info here.
http://www.avast.com/eng/down_home.html
Note: This product is free for home non-commercial use after registration!
HINTS:   Click on the English Version Link and download the installation file.  Then click on the installation file and follow the directions.  You will need to return to the download page and click on the link to get the registration key.   It will be sent to you in an email after you provide some registration information.  This will give you 14 months of coverage including any updates which can be set to auto download.  You can reregister for additional free coverage at the end of the 14 months.
You will want to browse around and choose from the many options available for operation.  This process will take some time and digging.

Another good free program is:
http://www.free-av.com/
This one installs a bit easier than Avast.

**************************************************************************************************
Free Spybot and Adware programs for download.

Get ewido anti-spyware Free
ewido anti-spyware Free is a free anti-spyware protection tool developed by GRISOFT for home use. We invite you to join the millions of satisfied customers worldwide who have downloaded the software and now enjoy the benefits of ewido anti-spyware Free.
What you get with ewido anti-spyware Free
Easy to use
Daily database updates
Heuristics to detect unknown threats
Automatic Cleaning Engine
And most of all ... great customer satisfaction!
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/20/lng/us/tpl/v5

Windows Defender (Beta 2) is a free program that helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software. It features Real-Time Protection, a monitoring system that recommends actions against spyware when it's detected, and a new streamlined interface that minimizes interruptions and helps you stay productive.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.4 - product description
Application to scan for spyware, adware, hijackers and other malicious software.
Choose one of the sites to download from.
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html

Ad-Aware Personal provides advanced protection from known data-mining, aggressive advertising, Trojans, dialers, malware, browser hijackers, and tracking components. This software is downloadable free of charge.
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
 
 
 

Here are a few sites of many that can help you determine if an email is a hoax or real.

http://www.snopes.com/
http://vil.nai.com/VIL/hoaxes.asp
http://kumite.com/myths/
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
http://www.scambusters.org/VirusHoaxes.html
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/hoaxes/
http://www.truthorfiction.com/
http://www.quatloos.com/

Google does it again. 
The search giant's mission is to index all the information in the world.

What is Google Scholar?
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations. Google Scholar helps you identify the most relevant research across the world of scholarly research.

Features of Google Scholar
    * Search diverse sources from one convenient place
    * Find papers, abstracts and citations
    * Locate the complete paper through your library or on the web
    * Learn about key papers in any area of research

How are articles ranked?
Google Scholar aims to sort articles the way researchers do, weighing the full text of each article, the author, the publication in which the article appears, and how often the piece has been cited in other scholarly literature. The most relevant results will always appear on the first page.
http://scholar.google.com/

Citizendium Web Encyclopedia Opens Doors 
By PC Magazine Staff

Users can visit Citizendium, open an account, and begin posting, subject to what the site calls "gentle expert oversight" by a staff of 150 "expert editors".

The Citizendium has also launched an online fundraiser to request tax-free donations from the public to help make the project a reality. It plans to use new funding, or in-kind support, to obtain the server space and bandwidth needed to open the project up to the world and hire new staff. The site is also now officially affiliated with the Tides Center, an incubator for charities, so the site can receive tax-free donations while it works to achieve an official not-for-profit charity status.

The site, launched in October of last year, is designed to eliminate the pure "wisdom of crowds" that dominates Wikipedia, where virtually anyone can sign up and edit entries and create new articles. Traditionally, the site allowed newcomers to immediately have access, although recently the site has restricted some capabilities until edits or new content can be approved.

Citizendium was founded by Larry Sanger, Wikipedia's co-founder, who has called the site an "experimental workspace" rather than an encyclopedia. 
Read More:  http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2086988,00.asp

Play SimCity Classic  Here you can play a classic online for free!
(SimCity Classic is not compatible with Netscape Navigator)

Quick Start Guide  Getting started is easy, we have provided a Quick Start Guide for those of you that want to jump right in.  If you want a lot more action, try the Waterski Challenge.

Instructions  We have also created more in-depth instructions on how to build your Classic Live! cities, click through these handy instructions -- you'll be bragging about your booming population in no time!

Registration and playing is free.
http://simcity.ea.com/

So, it’s a new year and you want to get organized, but in order to get organized, you have to clean your house up first. And yes, I’m speaking from personal experience.

I’m just getting over a very nasty bout of the flu and my house is a mess. There are dishes that need done, laundry is piling up and vacuuming to get to. Not to mention, cleaning the cat’s litter box. I just can’t seem to get motivated to doing any of it. So, I went looking for some help to get my house back in shape.

I found this site and it’s worked for me so far! I’m still not all the way 100 percent better from being sick, so the burst cleaning is working fabulously for me. To find out more about it, just click the 3 Step Cleaning Solution bubble. This breaks the way you clean down into three steps, which makes keeping your house tidy so much easier. They are: two daily bursts, one focus room and one weekly cleaning. For more information, check out this section yourself.

About Me – The Happy Slob: In this section, you learn all about Christina, the author of the site and how the site came to be.

The Happy Slob Newsletter – For more tips and tricks, you may want to join the Happy Slob newsletter. It’s free! You can also check out the past newsletters in this section.

Under the heading of More Happy Slob Stuff, you will find links to more cleaning tips, recipes, the blog, getting started with happy slob cleaning and cleaning business tips.

I found the recipe section very useful, as I’m often worried about the harsh chemicals used to clean my house with, since I have animals. My animals like to be in the middle of whatever I’m doing and my cats practically live in my bathtub, so I’ve worried about them licking the tub and getting sick from the cleanser that may not have rinsed all the way off. There is also a huge listing of the things you can use, like baking soda, which I simply adore.

All in all, I’m very happy to get my house in order with these handy tips. You should try it too!

http://www.happyslob.com/

The latest version of Google Earth makes it, indubitably, the only free mapping app worth considering. Accessible enough for casual users, Google has been added features that make it a necessity for those whose topographic desires are more serious.

Most of the interface's real estate displays a rendering of the globe, which slowly zooms in on a satellite image of your destination once you've keyed it in. The control panel has changed and is now translucent and sits unobtrusively in a corner of the map. The new diagonal movement control and flexible north anchor, so you can re-orient the map, are useful additions.

The Layers, Places and Search panes are now a left-side navigation bar, and have more options for determining what information appears on the map. Everything from roads and restaurants to crime statistics can be displayed; subcategories and individual items can be unchecked to show only what you need. Google's driving directions are incorporated, and the user community has produced several nifty mods, including historical maps. There's also integration with Google's 3-D rendering program SketchUp, so you can design a building and see it in a real-life setting.

The only downside to the program is that it can consume a large amount of RAM, so as the developer notes, older machines might experience performance issues. But everyone else is bound to love Google Earth, both as an entertaining novelty and an informational tool.
Download Google Earth:
http://www.download.com/Google-Earth/3003-2054_4-10411076.html?tag=nl.e404