jarandhel

Does anyone happen to have a spare invite for google's grandcentral.com? I'm very interested in getting access to this service, but so far I've placed a reservation and have just been waiting...

As I'm currently switching cell providers, it would be very handy to only have to give out one new number, rather than one now and one whenever Google responds to those of us who have placed reservations.

As I'm sure anyone reading my journal has noticed, I like to write. A lot. I particularly like to write essays, though since losing my laptop I've had less and less time to work on them. I've tried to make up for that tendency somewhat by reverting back to using notebooks, but frankly I've gotten into a mental state where I write more quickly and more eloquently if I can simply sit down and type my thoughts. Normally, I'd be making use of my usb key to transfer data back and forth between the various computers I use, and keep drafts of my work with me at all times. My trusty usb key, however, has finally failed after a year of very heavy use. I will be getting a new one as time and money allow, but right now it's not a priority. I'm finding other ways around it. The way I would normally use to do this would be to get on gmail and send an email to myself with the draft in it, but frankly that clutters up my inbox. My backup, google notebook, is kind of clunky for real writing, and even for notes really. I'm moving away from using it. So where does that leave me? Actually, with a near-perfect solution: Google Documents and Spreadsheets, Google's answer to Microsoft Office. It may not be as full featured as a desktop-based word processor yet, but it more than fills my needs for jotting out a quick draft to later be pasted into LJ or wherever. I'm actually surprised I never thought of using it this way before. And it appears that Google Docs now has collaboration features built in, so if I ever want to write anything in tandem with someone else... *grins and winks at kyoudai02*

Now, maybe I'll FINALLY get around to writing all those essays I've been meaning to...

For anyone who is interested, and doesn't want to pay over two hundred dollars to test the new OS, a free (official, non-pirated) copy of the new Microsoft Windows Vista is currently available here.

Get yours while the offer lasts. Mine's currently downloading at home. It's dvd sized, so you will need a dvd burner to use it (or more techno-magery than I currently possess.)

Edit: Or, you could completely ignore me, open up the iso, and copy the FILES onto cds, then copy the cds onto another computer's hard drive, and run the install from there... just as you would if copying the older XP cds to hard drive to install from there. Once the files are actually on the computer, installation should even be faster than normal since you won't have to wait for everything to transfer from the dvd. This, of course, assumes that Microsoft hasn't come up with any new DRM to prevent this. I have no information on that either way. Another drawback of this method is that you would have to partition the drive you were using to hold the files (and format the partition) before beginning installation. Not a major problem with XP, and I don't foresee it being a significant problem for Vista either. The major tool needed for this would probably be a boot disk, though I surmise that it may work directly from older versions of windows as well. Not certain. I'll be testing these ideas out at my earliest convenience.

Another Edit: I should also add that I hate Windows, so I will not be making Vista my operating system of choice, I just want to test it out enough to be able to explain to people what sucks about it, and to be able to use/Administer it if necessary in the workplace.

Also on the cool downloads list, Google is set to begin offering free downloads of books in the public domain.

In other news, the Army is starting to get some things right with regard to security: They plan to encrypt the hard drives of portable devices. A nice start, but frankly they overestimate the security that stationary devices provide. Physical access negates most security, not just the security of portables, and while it is easier to snatch a whole device (obviously) hard drives can indeed be yanked from stationary machines as well. Not to mention the fact that it would help harden them against network attacks as well. My main question, though, is this: why wasn't this done already? It's the fucking ARMY for the gods sake!

And for the truly geeky (even geekier than me), I give you: Quantum Cryptography. No, really. I mean it.