a113n’s daily dose

I have been using Windows 7 for many weeks now. Some concerns have been placated, which gives me the courage to continue working with the system.

Some major points I have worked out include:

• Quick Launch status and pinned applications
• Default folder configuration

Quick Launch/Pinned Apps

The Quick Launch, though a favorite Windows feature, is on its way out. The idea is to make more efficient use of the commonly-accessed orb/start menu or the new “dock”, which doubles as the list of open programs. My main concern with the loss of the Quick Launch was that my “pinned” applications were not present after the upgrade from Vista. Some were easy to get back, many were not.

One major sore point was an important business file–an Access database to be exact. The file has a system-friendly name, which is not friendly to human readability. A shortcut exists with a human friendly label, but the shortcut cannot be pinned via any manner of right clicking with or without other keys. The actual Access file could be pinned (CTRL+Right Click) but the name is not simple and includes an extension. I have the direct file pinned, but there was no problem pinning the shortcut in Vista.

Google was not helpful this time, but the “Orb”/Start Menu properties had the answer. While viewing properties of an existing pinned application, I found this folder on my computer:
C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned

What I love is that this folder is found within the Quick Launch folder. Imagine that. This folder is hidden of course, but only the top folder. Inside are 3 folders, but only 2 should be modified unless you are a program: StartMenu and TaskBar. The names are clear, but the process not so much. I expected to simply move some of my already existing shortcuts in Quick Launch to the StartMenu folder and have a working system. Not so fast, Microsoft says.

There is some internal switch that gets flipped when applications are “properly” pinned, i.e. via the context menu. I got around this by creating a dummy shortcut inside of my Quick Launch folder that I pin to the StartMenu (or TaskBar). I then open the StartMenu folder and change the properties (target, start in folder, name, icon if necessary) to the correct shortcut properties. This process should be automated, but hopefully such complicated changes will be limited.

In the end, I was able to set my StartMenu and TaskBar up appropriately. You can use your imagination to consider what type of shortcuts would go in TaskBar–say a Show Desktop shortcut to give that full Quick Launch functionality, which would make a good post.

A personal note to Microsoft here. All of my programs were compatible in the upgrade, meaning they work and their shortcuts work. If the Quick Launch must be dropped, why not migrate these shortcuts to this special folder of “pinned” applications? For me, this is a major oversight considering how reliable Quick Launch was.

Default Folder Layout

The folder configuration is a different story. It differs most importantly in that I am not the only it bothers. I might be the only who appreciated the Quick Launch, but the default folder configuration is painfully annoying. Microsoft now assumes we care more about previewing files in Windows Explorer than viewing important details such as file size, modification date, etc. The default view makes only the file name visible; another pane sits on top of the additional details which will preview most files accessed in Windows Explorer. This pane is resizeable, and every time I open a folder, my first instinct is to re-size the pane so that I can see these details.

I am prone to just putting up with a problem until it really bugs the hell out of me. Unless, someone else has the problem and wants help. This problem is not as diluted as the Quick Launch concern, but could escape many common users. The solution lies in a feature that has been present since pre-2K, but I doubt many users have used it even once. Further complicating matters, in Vista and Windows 7, with the new “ribbon” UI and other enhancements, the menu which accesses advanced functionality is now hidden.

To start, open Windows Explorer, where you can see any of your files/folders, like the Computer. With Windows Explorer open, click the ALT key. A small menu will appear near where we would expect to see the “File…” menu option. This menu actually includes “File…“. We will select the Tools menu option, and the item Folder options….

From within the folder options dialog, select the View tab. Under Folder views, two buttons provide advanced folder layout functionality. The Reset Folders is obvious, and the Apply to Folders can alleviate the default folder layout headache. Now my folders open up with a small, unobtrusive preview pane.

• Current Location: cabin
  

I was browsing and attempting to download some content from the Office Online Template section, when I got an interesting error. Evidently, my operating system (defined in the System as Windows Vista Business Service Pack 2) fails to meet the system requirements to download the template content. I am advised to use Microsoft Windows 2000 or later…but evidently not too much later. It’s not even in FireFox, I switched to IE specifically to use this feature of Office Online. And we’re told there are no remaining Vista compatibility issues. See the screen shot for all the details.

• Website: http://thedesigninspiration.com/articles/25-unique-and-outstanding-website-designs/
  
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I am it seems.

69%

Are you? Thanks to Mama Bear for the Stumble suggestion.

• Current Location: Living room, my chair
  

Salem, NC just got a bit more enticing from my point-of-view. The citizens of this small town, supported by their local government, have taken on Time Warner Cable by establishing a civil-run ISP, providing 10 Mbps both up and down at each house, cable television, and internet phone, all for $99/month. The system, named Greenlight, came into existence after the town petitioned Time Warner for better service in the area; Time Warner refused, and the citizens took it upon themselves.

Now Time Warner is pulling together it’s lobbying forces on a bill in the North Carolina legislature that will make it more difficult for other cities to follow suit. In the name of “anti-competition”, Time Warner is claiming that Greenlight unfairly leverages the power of the government to push Time Warner out of business in Salem and any other city that follows suit. Mama Bear would call shenanigans. I’m going to come out right, with no child-filtering, and say this is BULL SHIT. I am sick and tired of the large corporations pushing around their weight in order to maintain their bottom line while stomping in the American people. Tiered pricing. (Un)Net-Neutrality.

And, I’m very jealous that my small town of Unionville or even Bloomington does not do something similar. I may have a friend in the higher-up–should I contact her and ask for advice? This town would jump on this in a heartbeat. So long Comcast–Time Warner’s brother-in-arms.

• Current Music: Apocalyptica - One
  
• Current Location: Office
  

I stumbled upon this article when I Googled for dangers of sending spacecraft beyond solar system. Through my Stumbling, I found a page discussing Saturn’s icy moon and the space craft having flow past it. These craft are going to explore the outer realms of our solar system, but I stopped to wonder who–or what would be there to retrieve them. The article, in a long-winded manner, more-or-less covers some of my concerns:

“Along with the famous plaques attached to Pioneer 10 and 11 and the two phonograph records carried by Voyager 1 and 2—four spacecraft that will soon leave our Solar System—these messages are mostly symbolic efforts unlikely to betray our presence to the denizens of planets orbiting other stars. Our civilization is still hidden from all but those ardently searching for our kind, or those so far beyond our level of sophistication that we couldn’t hide from them if we wanted to. To date, all our “messages to aliens” are really more successful as communications to Earth, mirrors reflecting our dreams of reaching far beyond our terrestrial nursery.”

At a minimum, we need to keep the considerations on the table and think twice before blasting “We’re here!” just because we can.

• Current Location: Cabin
  
• Website: http://www.elderscrolls.com/
  
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• Website Description: Information for The Elder Scrolls series including Oblivion and Morrowind, well-designed video games with intricate story lines and original RPG components