Windows Up Time

In the System Event Log of Windows you will sometimes see an entry from the EventLog showing "The system uptime is ... seconds." Just how many days:hours:minutes:seconds is that?

Open a command window and type:

systeminfo | find /i "up time"

National Debt Clock

Learn more about
us debt.

Desktop Wallpapers

I have always collected high resolution images, going all the way back to my DOS days.  Early on just for viewing, then when Windows came out for desktop backgrounds.  There are many excellent wallpaper sites around the web, I am not going to try to post them all, just the ones I found in the past ten minutes.
http://images.google.com/ (old reliable standby - adjust the resolution for what you need and then search)
http://www.freefunandgames.org/wallpapers.asp
http://www.usingmac.com/2008/7/28/200-mind-blowing-nature-wallpapers
http://www.travelblog.org/Wallpaper/
http://www.wallpaper-place.com/
http://www.popularwallpapers.org/
http://stock-photos-windows-wallpapers.blogspot.com/
http://www.psxextreme.com/home/ps3-wallpapers.asp

Chili Cook-off

One year ago I started this blog with my first post cheering the fact that I lost the hottest chili contest for the first time in many years.  We recently completed this years chili cook-off, but this time there was a twist.  My main competitor for the hottest chili had a death in the family that week and would not be entering.  With my greatest (only) competition out of the way I decided to make my favorite chili, which is also very hot but much more flavorable.  [As a side not, I have several preferred chili recipes:  Southwest, White (2003 winner best chili, http://thecabin.net/stories/031803/sty_0318030035.shtml), Hot and my Favorite.]  The results of this years cookoff?  I didn't win the hottest chili, but I got second place for the best overall.

15 Internet Annoyances

I found this list of Internet Annoyances out at PC World. I can't really improve on what they have, so I'll just share it.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/189198/15_internet_annoyances_and_how_to_fix_them.html

Top Free Software

First, the absolute essentials:
Windows Updates (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com)
Flash [browser plugin] (http://www.adobe.com)
Shockwave [browser plugin] (http://www.adobe.com)
Reader [PDF file viewer] (http://www.adobe.com)
Java [enable playing of java apps] (http://www.java.com)
Quicktime [media player] (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download)
Security Essentials [anti-virus] (http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials)

Next come the very Useful:
CCleaner [system cleanup] (http://www.ccleaner.com/download)
CutePDF [PDF writer] (http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp)
VLC [media player] (http://www.videolan.org/vlc)
Open Office [Office Suite] (http://www.openoffice.org)
Gimp [photo editor] (http://www.gimp.org/downloads)
Irfanview [graphic viewer] (http://www.irfanview.com)
FreeCalc [calculator] (http://www.moffsoft.com/freecalc.htm)
Windirstat [directory statistics] (http://windirstat.info)

And then there are the misc:
IESpell [Add spell check to IE] (http://www.iespell.com)
Stellarium [planetarium] (http://www.stellarium.org)
Wallmaster [manage desktop wallpaper] (http://www.tropicalwares.com/wallmast.html)
Filezilla [FTP Client] (http://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client)
CRON-o-meter [diet tracking software] (http://spaz.ca/cronometer)
Google Earth [virtual globe] (http://earth.google.com)
Windows Live Essentials [Misc Collection] (http://download.live.com)
Audacity [Sound Editor] (http://audacity.sourceforge.net)

Finally, the alternatives*:
Google Docs [Office Suite] (http://docs.google.com)
Firefox [web browser] (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ie.html)
Chrome [web browser] (http://www.google.com/chrome)
Safari [web browser] (http://www.apple.com/safari)
AVG [anti-virus] (http://free.grisoft.com)
Avast! [anti-virus] (http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download)
PCTools [anti-virus] (http://www.pctools.com/free-antivirus)
Avira [anti-virus] (http://www.free-av.com)
Clamwin [anti-virus] (http://www.clamwin.com)
ZoneAlarm [firewall] (http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/zonealarm-pc-security-free-firewall.htm)
Comodo [Firewall] (http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/free-download.html)
* These are listed as alternatives either because Windows already comes with something that does this, or because I have listed an item above that performs the same function.

Disclaimer: I didn’t have to pay for anything, but I have made voluntary contributions to many of these projects in the past.

This list is not meant to be all inclusive, so here are some other lists of free software:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2338803,00.asp
http://100-downloads.com
http://www.opensourcewindows.org
http://lifehacker.biz/articles/best-open-source-software
http://downloadpedia.org/Open_Source_Windows

Expert makes "stupid" comment.

"I'd switch out of Internet Explorer, if you use it. Serious flaws are regularly discovered in IE. I recommend Firefox, although there are other good browsers."
RE: http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=8167&page=3

One more computer "expert" who ignores the simple fact that serious flaws are regularly discovered in all browsers. The only reason IE is a greater vulnerability is because it is the default browser on the most popular OS in the world. Those who write malware target the largest user base. In areas where alternative browsers and OSes are gaining a greater user base there is also a growing trend targeting users of those systems.

In fact, much of the malware that spreads via browsers is browser independent. This class of malware relies on social engineering scare tactics and not browser vulnerabilities. In this respect, people running Windows and IE are less vulnerable because they do not have the false sense of security that comes with someone running a different OS or browser.

For a comparison, I refer you to this story on cnet, http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10444561-245.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20. This article discusses Mac vs. PC, but take it to the next level and you also get IE vs. alternative browser. From the article: "More than half of Americans believe that PCs are 'very' or 'extremely' vulnerable to cybercrime attacks, while only 20 percent say the same about Macs", "Mac users are victims of cybercrime just as frequently as PC users", "Mac users are just as vulnerable to Web-based attacks like phishing as PC users are, and Mac users who fall prey to phishing tend to lose more money on average than PC users do" and "Viruses are a diminishing percentage of what we're seeing ... A lot of attacks have to do with social engineering and that kind of attack is platform agnostic."