//beconfused

I’m terribly sick of finding out how to make Windows Vista boot first using GRUB, so I posted it here. I dual-boot Ubuntu and Windows Vista and spend most of my time using Windows Vista. Hope it helps you guys too.

First, you’ll have to launch your terminal in Ubuntu. It’s probably at Applications > Accessories > Terminal.

Type this in terminal

gksudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst

You’ll be prompted for you password as this operation requires elevated permissions.

There are some GRUB settings that you can consider changing:

timeout sec

You can change it to 5 seconds like I did so it loads into your OS faster. I’m always away from my computer during the boot up ’cause I hate to watch things boot up.

timeout 5

default num

Changing the default startup OS is extremely helpful.

default 6

(Booting up to Ubuntu or Windows Vista using GRUB.)

Why set default to 6? Windows Vista is the at position 6, remember that programmers, unlike my kindergarten teacher, loves counting from 0. From the above picture, my ‘default’ should be set to 6. It may be different in your set up.

Below is a preview of how the GRUB options look like, from the item 0 (Ubuntu) to item 6 (Windows Vista).

## ## End Default Options ##

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic
root (hd0,1)
kernel ...
initrd ...
quiet

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,1)
kernel ...
initrd ...

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.20-16-generic
root (hd0,1)
kernel ...
initrd ...
quiet

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.20-16-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,1)
kernel ...
initrd ...

title Ubuntu 7.10, memtest86+
root (hd0,1)
kernel ...
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
# ones.
title Other operating systems:
root

# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/sda1
title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader)
root (hd0,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1

The above codes worked for me and I hope it is helpful for you. This should work for Windows XP too I guess. Please know what you’re doing before you save anything. You may want to backup menu.lst too.

I was looking at some of my friend’s Windows Live Messenger personal messages. Most people have all those inspiring quotation said by God-knows-who. It really doesn’t matter, it beats putting lame shit like some long Chinese lyrics that is so long and got cut due to Live Messenger’s character limit. And I can’t even understand half of what the Chinese quotation is about, it probably is a song, probably is a senseless lament about love. Matters little.

Some friends come and go, only true friends leave footprint etched deeply into the heart. Thanks for being one!

Nicely said.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Quote by Lucius Annaeus Seneca that I don’t quite agree on. True luck is when opportunity comes without preparation. Hahaa…

FRIENDS: 2 (maybe +1) | CLOSE FRIENDS: 3 , identifying in process… am i such a failure in life or is it the world???

Erm… Okay, kinda strange. Let’s see some others.

Spending an inordinate amount of time romancing the impossible.

Okay.

“Silence can be a expression of love” – Chika Umino, Honey and Clover season 2, epsiode 2.

The above personal message actually has a citation longer than its quotation. It’s almost like Harvard referencing style. Where is the year dude?

“Love doesn’t make the world go round, Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.” – Franklin P. Jones

Ridzuan has this. I stole the quote from him. And he, erm, borrowed it from someone.

“We know accurately only when we know little. With knowledge, doubt increases.” – Goethe

That’s my previous personal message before I stole Ridzuan’s.

A recent case of Microsoft updating Windows Vista and Windows XP has got quite a heated discussion on the internet. Apparently, Microsoft gives an option for users to choose not to update Windows automatically. However, there are several updates that seem to have some sort of a stealth ability and sneak through those options to update. And that really is a bad idea.

The Windows Update Program Manager has explained that the updates are pertaining to updating the Windows Update software only:

any user who chooses to use Windows Update either expected updates to be installed or to at least be notified that updates were available. Had we failed to update the service automatically, users would not have been able to successfully check for updates and, in turn, users would not have had updates installed automatically or received expected notifications. That result would not only fail to meet customer expectations but even worse, that result would lead users to believe that they were secure even though there was no installation and/or notification of upgrades. To avoid creating such a false impression, the Windows Update client is configured to automatically check for updates anytime a system uses the WU service, independent of the selected settings for handling updates (for example, “check for updates but let me choose whether to download or install them”). This has been the case since we introduced the automatic update feature in Windows XP. In fact, WU has auto-updated itself many times in the past.

Some users’ computers are set to download for do not install them automatically. However Windows Update went ahead to install it anyway. The files updated are as follows:

• wuapi.dll
• wuapp.exe
• wuauclt.exe
• wuaueng.dll
• wucltux.dll
• wudriver.dll
• wups.dll
• wups2.dll
• wuwebv.dll

This time Microsoft is in trouble with many techies beings rather upset. If you really do not want Windows Update to update itself, make sure you disable the download completely.

The option to download but not install is a good idea. It should have been a lot more clear. And allowing Windows Update to install itself without consent it just double standards and I’m sure no administrator is going to like that at all.

What I dislike about Windows Live Hotmail:

The ads are simply too big. I can imagine Windows Live Hotmail looking much prettier with the removal of the ad on the top. I’m okay with ads but when the designer is planning for the application, at least take in consideration how the website would look like with an advertisement.

One look at Hotmail tells me how much advertising revenue mean to Microsoft. They are probably trying to get people to upgrade to their paid plans. I like the whole Live service bar idea but let that be on top, not ads.

This explains why I spend so little time at Windows Live Hotmail even though that supposed to be my primary mail address that’s for work.

Yay, who doesn’t like new software – Windows Live Messenger 8.5 is released through the Windows Live Suite. Windows Live Suite is Microsoft’s new unified installer. You can select what you want to install through their webpage. Here is a screenshot:

(Windows Live Messenger 8.5 screenshot.)

Windows Live Suite products include:

• Mail: Multiple e-mail accounts on your desktop
• Messenger: Connect, share, and make every conversation count
• Photo Gallery (Beta): Organize and share photos and videos
• Writer: Easily publish rich content to your blog
• Toolbar: Search from any Web page
• OneCare Family Safety: Help protect your kids online

I only installed Windows Live Messenger, Photo Gallery and Writer. I’m just not interested in the others I guess. I kinda got it for the sake of Live Messenger actually, love the sleek new interface.

Make sure that you do not have Live Messenger or Internet Explorer running when you do the installation. Mine fails as Live Messenger is running.

Download Windows Live Suite now.

[NOTE: The above link is a public beta. It is not clearly labeled and I misunderstood it. Windows Live Suite Public Beta includes the Windows Live Messenger 8.5 Beta 2 it seems. However, no where in the product seems to suggest that this is a beta.]

I was trying to copy a Expression Blend preview over to my thumbdrive and Windows Vista reports that it will take it 25802 days 5 hours. I still smile when I see the following screenshot:

Software is the only product that you actually purchase with the expection that there will be bugs. There are typically 2 types of software – buggy software and very buggy software. It almost seems excusable for companies to sell buggy products.

Oh yeah, it didn’t take 70 years of course. It took just a minute plus.

Symantec thinks Microsoft’s security suite is showing signs of monopolistic pricing? Haha, Symantec, you’re so funny, it’s just your anti-virus software being too expensive.

Remember the time when you disappointed me with your ugly yellow interface, your resource hogging tools. You have the most confusing set of products, your Antivirus software is cross-bundled in numerous of your flagship titles. Now you micmic the Windows Live OneCare idea and offer everything in one simple suite you call Norton 360 and you’re calling their price ‘monopolistic’.

Symantec CEO: Microsoft security ware pricing ‘monopolistic’

Symantec Chairman and CEO John Thompson blamed Microsoft on Tuesday for the current pricing competition his company faces in the consumer security market, suggesting Microsoft’s pricing scheme for its first entry into the space is “monopolistic.”

Speaking at the offices of the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York, Thompson said Microsoft’s decision last year to offer Windows Live OneCare, a service that combines firewall, antivirus and backup capabilities, for $49.95 per year for three PCs “clearly recast prior expectations for consumer security technology.”

“I don’t want to say it was monopolistic, but it looked that way to some of us,” Thompson said. (more…)