March 17, 2014

To XP or not to XP . . . ?

As Windows XP nears its much-ballyhooed “end-of-life” on April 8, many of us will need to decide whether and how to keep using it. Basically there are 4 options:

1. Keep it: Hang the torpedoes and just keep running it on whatever it’s installed on;

2. Replace it: Buy a new PC with Windows 8/8.1 and say goodbye to XP forever (XP won’t install on newer hard drives, see below);

3. Dual-boot it: Install XP alongside Vista/7/8 on a new or used PC in a dual-boot arrangement;

4. Run it in a VM: Install XP in a “virtual machine” (VM), or emulator, in a regular Windows 7/8 partition. Popular VMs include Oracle’s "VM Virtualbox," discussed in several threads below, Microsoft’s “Virtual XP” (for Win 7 only), and MS “Hyper-V” (for Win 8 only).

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And here are the basic pros, cons, how-to’s and recommendations for all 4 options:

1. Keep it: Or, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. A perfectly reasonable option. MS will keep activating and updating MSE for XP until July 2015 at least.* (see link below)

Recommended: Get SP3 and all available updates before April 8.

2. Replace it: Hard drives in new PCs are formatted using GPT partitioning, which XP can’t boot from. (64-bit versions of XP can read data from a GPT partition, but 32-bit flavors can’t. To install XP on a GPT drive, you need to wipe the entire drive, reformat it using MBR, install XP, and then reinstall Win7/8 from a full backup. Lotta work.)

Recommended: Get a new PC before your old one is completely hosed so you can retrieve data and run XP as necessary.

3. Dual boot it: Possible on pre-2012 MBR-partitioned drives, or on newer GPT drives that have been wiped and reformatted MBR (above). Several steps are involved, and you might need to install a boot loader, so unless you have a taste for bricolage (tinkering) and a lot of time, or need XP for a critical application, it might be better to avoid the trouble.

Recommended: Get a full-retail copy of XP with a valid licence from ebay or elsewhere, as an old OEM back-up disk will balk if you use it to install XP on a different machine.

4. Install it on a VM: This involves downloading and installing an emulator (“virtual machine”) on your hard drive, and then installing XP into the emulator. This saves the hassle of reformatting your drive and finding drivers to run XP on newer equipment, which it won’t without a lot of help. However, VM’s are not a perfect solution, because a VM is basically one huge file with everything in it, including your data, and if anything goes wrong and XP won’t load, well, there goes the ball game. So you need to treat it gently, don't save any files you need on it, and be ready to reinstall if it goes south. And at some point it probably will.

Recommended: Go easy on the updates (forget Windows Live for example), back up your VM frequently (as a .vpi file for example), and use it only as needed, not as your primary OS.

So that’s it in a nutshell: how to handle Micro$haft’s latest Y2K crisis. I’m going to ask Steve if he’ll pin this thread so we can add links to previous discussions and additional info, updates, downloads, and help files as needed. Thanks Steve!

p.s. good luck and slaínte!
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* ZDNet, March 14, 2014: "Microsoft will continue to make all patches and fixes made to Windows XP up until April 8, 2014, available to users via Windows Update. 'There are no current plans to remove existing Windows XP security updates from Windows Update after end of support on April 8, 2014,' a spokesperson confirmed." link: http://www.zdnet.com/xp-sp3-download-it-while-you-still-can-7000027323/

March 17, 2014

The Nolan chart is a gimmick to get suckers to self-identify as libertarian.

That's pro-big-business, anti-labor, anti-regulation, anti-tax Goldwater libertarian, not the big-L-little-L figleaf pushed by Noam Chomsky, which is big business libertarianism by another name anyway:




David Nolan with a Nolan Chart at the 1996 Libertarian Party Convention in Washington, DC.

Nolan was a Nixon voting, Ann Rand loving Arizona also-ran who helped found the Libertarian party because the GOP wasn't right wing enough already.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Nolan_(libertarian)

March 15, 2014

Windows 8.1 style start button for classic shell:

Right click, settings, start button, button look, custom button. Upload image and set button size to 0. Way cooler than the one it comes with.

From: http://benjibrew.deviantart.com/art/Windows-8-1-Style-Start-Button-for-Classic-Shell-381802630

March 2, 2014

Last call for XP . . .

If anyone is thinking of installing XP on a hard drive, now is the time, for as Micro$haft is fond of reminding us, XP support ends March 8. That means it will be very difficult to auto-update a fresh XP with the hundreds of updates it's accumulated since its last release -- 206, by my count, the last time I installed it.

Unfortunately, even if you have a retail XP license, it's basically impossible to install XP on a new Windows 8 machine without nuking Windows 8, as the file system has changed to the point where it can't be done without wiping and reformatting the hard drive. And if you're going to do that what's the point of getting a new computer?



Anyway I found a workaround I'd recommend to anyone needing to run vintage software on a new PC, namely, an Oracle emulator called VM VirtualBox, downloadable here:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/virtualbox/downloads/index.html?ssSourceSiteId=otnjp

I tried the "Virtual XP" that comes with Windows 7 but for several reasons I could never get it working in any useful way. This one on the other hand is quick and easy and works perfectly, so if you've got an XP disk and license lying around, this is a way to get some use out of it. Best part: it's FREE!

February 19, 2014

Réseaux sociaux français - les plus populaires

Le réseau plus populaire de France est Facebook, quelle surprise:

Mais il y a autres:



. . . et les liens: Liste des meilleurs réseaux sociaux en France:



Et vous? Quel est votre réseau social préféré?

February 10, 2014

Obama sort le grand jeu pour la France

"Obama goes all out for France"

lundi 10 Février à 19H00




La Maison Blanche déroule le tapis rouge pour François Hollande qui arrive ce lundi à Washington. C'est la première fois depuis 1996 qu'un Président français est reçu en visite d’État, le degré le plus prestigieux pour une visite diplomatique


La dernière fois qu'un Président français avait eu droit aux honneurs d'une visite d'Etat à la Maison Blanche, le locataire de l'Elysée s'appelait Jacques Chirac. Il avait été reçu par Bill Clinton ; c'était il y a 18 ans. Depuis, pas même Nicolas Sarkozy n'a eu droit à ce privilège. François Hollande a même le droit à un "bonjour" en français dans une vidéo de la First lady, Michelle Obama.


Au programme de ce voyage de trois jours, François Hollande commencera par une visite du domaine de Monticello en Virgine, la résidence du très francophile Thomas Jefferson, 3e Président des Etats-Unis et ambassadeur des Etats-Unis à Paris entre 1785 et 1789. Le séjour se poursuivra par un dîner d'Etat le mardi soir à la Maison Blanche avant une virée à San Francisco mercredi à la rencontre des patrons de Google, Facebook et Twitter notamment.


Nucléaire iranien et sécurité en Afrique au menu des discussions


Pour l'occasion, l'Elysée met aussi les petits plats dans les grands : François Hollande a signé une tribune commune avec Barack Obama, publiée dans Le Monde et le Washington Post. Pendant la visite, la Présidence de la République proposera également un suivi en direct de la Visite d'Etat sur son site Internet.


Sur le fond, les deux chefs d'Etat devraient aborder les sujets brûlants du moment : nucléaire iranien et sécurité en Afrique pour lesquels les positions des deux pays sont très proches. Mais il ne sera pas question officiellement d'aborder les sujets qui fâchent comme les écoutes de la NSA ou le recul américain sur une intervention en Syrie.


Enfin, aux Etats-Unis, il sera difficile pour François Hollande d'échapper aux questions des journalistes sur sa vie privée. Les cartons d'invitation de la Maison Blanche pour le dîner d'Etat ont d'ailleurs été modifiés depuis la rupture du Président français avec Valérie Trierweiler.

http://www.franceinter.fr/depeche-obama-sort-le-grand-jeu-pour-la-france

February 10, 2014

François Hollande arrives in US for state visit to Obama

Source: BBC

French President Francois Hollande has arrived in the US for a state visit, as he and President Barack Obama tout their co-operation on issues from Iran to trade and climate change. After Mr Hollande's arrival on Monday afternoon, he and Mr Obama flew to Monticello in the state of Virginia, the home of Thomas Jefferson, one of the founders of the US, an envoy to France, and the third US president.

In articles published jointly in US and French newspapers, they said "our deepening partnership offers a model for international cooperation". A state dinner will be held on Tuesday. The trip comes as Mr Hollande is mired in low approval ratings at home and a personal scandal.

'Transformed'

In articles published jointly in the Washington Post and Le Monde, the Western leaders hailed their joint efforts in the Middle East, including negotiations with Iran that led to an interim agreement on its disputed nuclear programme, and in Syria, where they said their threat of force had "paved the way for the plan to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons".

Mr Obama and Mr Holland also urged action to combat climate change, writing their countries could "expand the clean energy partnerships that create jobs and move us toward low-carbon growth".



Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-26130252

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p.s. I heard Michelle give a speech in français on franceinfo, I'll post a link if I can find one. . .

January 25, 2014

French president splits with partner after affair

Source: AFP

French president splits with partner after affair

(AFP) – 30 minutes ago

Paris — French President Francois Hollande on Saturday told AFP he has split with his longstanding partner Valerie Trierweiler after his affair with an actress nearly 20 years his junior.

The announcement came after a day of rumours in the French media that Hollande would formally announce the rupture on Saturday, on the eve of a visit by Trierweiler to India for charity work.

Saying he was speaking as a private individual, Hollande announced: "I wish to make it known that I have ended my partnership with Valerie Trierweiler."

Trierweiler, 48, remains holed up in a presidential residence in Versailles outside Paris after leaving hospital last Saturday, where she was treated for a bout of "tiredness" brought on by press revelations of Hollande's affair with 41-year-old actress Julie Gayet.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5il7lZR-mURbMbxxG_VdceAR6nt7Q?docId=9eaa5a1c-c6ee-429b-9728-736b29baa74d

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au revoir Valérie

January 25, 2014

Francis à François: "Qui suis-je, pour juger?"

Friday, via the UK's top tabloid:

Francois Hollande meets the Pope as Valerie Trierweiler prepares to make her 'last stand' as French First Lady with charity trip to India
By Hannah Roberts In Rome | UPDATED: 21:23 EST, 24 January 2014


French President Francois Hollande, left, is welcomed by Pope Francis on the occasion of their private audience at the Vatican on Friday

In view of his much-publicised troubled love life, an audience with the Pope was probably the last thing Francois Hollande needed right now.


Heading out: Hollande arrives for his papal audience

Nevertheless, the somewhat sheepish French president fulfilled that obligation yesterday as it emerged that his estranged girlfriend Valerie Trierweiler is also determined to carry on with her duties.

Miss Trierweiler, recovering from an apparent drugs overdose after learning of Mr Hollande’s two-year affair with an actress, is keeping a charity commitment in India this weekend.


French President Francois Hollande, left, is welcomed by Pope Francis on the occasion of their private audience at the Vatican on Friday

Her trip is being seen by some as her ‘last stand’ as First Lady. Mr Hollande, who visited Rome with the threat of a reprimand from Pope Francis over France’s decision to allow gay marriage also hanging over him, is believed to be considering leaving Miss Trierweiler for actress Julie Gayet, 41.

Despite the unfortunate timing, yesterday’s private meeting with the Pope passed off without any further embarrassment for Mr Hollande – with Francis even showing his lighter side by joking about their shared name.


Swiss guards walk to the Cortile di San Damaso at the Apostolic Palace for the audience of Pope Francis to Hollande


Hollande and Pope Francis exchange gifts

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2545264/Francois-Hollande-meets-Pope-controversy-love-life-continues-dog-him.html#ixzz2rRGWP0VY

January 25, 2014

Hollande en Trierweiler: "la fin de sa vie commune"

dernière minute:

François Hollande a annoncé à l'AFP "la fin de sa vie commune" avec Valérie Trierweiler

LE SAMEDI 25 JANVIER 2014 À 18:55 Par Cécile Mimaut


La séparation du président de la République et de Valérie Trierweiler a été officialisée par François Hollande lui-même qui a annoncé samedi à l'Agence France Presse "la fin de sa vie commune" avec la première dame, deux semaines après la révélation de sa liaison avec l'actrice Julie Gayet. François Hollande a précisé qu'il s'exprimait à titre personnel et non en tant que chef de l'Etat.


http://www.franceinfo.fr/politique/francois-hollande-a-annonce-a-l-afp-la-fin-de-sa-vie-commune-avec-valerie-1295015-2014-01-25

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au revoir Valérie . . .