Rick's Cafe: 2009

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Why Pay Hundreds for Microsoft Windows?

Microsoft has announced its pricing structure for Windows 7, and here's how it will stack up:...

Upgrade retail products

Windows Vista as of 1/2007	Price	Windows Vista as of 2/2008	Price	Windows 7 as of 10/2009	Price
Home Premium	$159.99	Home Premium	$129.99	Home Premium	$119.99
Business	$199.99	Business	$199.99	Professional	$199.99
Ultimate	$259.99	Ultimate	$219.99	Ultimate	$219.99

Full retail products

Windows Vista as of 1/2007	Price	Windows Vista as of 2/2008	price	Windows 7 as of 10/2009	Price
Home Premium	$239.99	Home Premium	$239.99	Home Premium	$199.99
Business	$299.99	Business	$299.99	Professional	$299.99
Ultimate	$399.99	Ultimate	$319.99	Ultimate	$319.99

If you Plan on purchasing the new Windows 7 OS, it will run you a cool $ 319.99 for the Ultimate Edition. Okay, you can probably wait a few months to buy a new PC with Windows 7 pre-installed, or even upgrade from Vista or Windows XP on your current computer - but in all reality the Microsoft licensing fee is built in to the cost of your new PC, so you're still paying one way or the other. (Incidentally, if you intend to upgrade to Windows 7 from XP, it will require a new "clean" install: you won't be able to download it and go.)

And that still leaves you with no productivity applications. Microsoft Office Home and Student will set you back around $150, while Standard, Professional, and Ultimate Editions start around $400 and range up to the $670 mark. Throw in additional software apps and it could easily end up costing more than the hardware itself.

You can't fight city hall, and you can't fight Microsoft, right? Why complain about the price, since you can't do any thing about it?

Here's a little secret. You can do something about it. There are alternatives to Microsoft (and not just Mac, either).

What would you pay for a modern, secure, and well-designed computer operating system with a complete office suite (including spreadsheet) and hundreds of professional-level applications available for download at the click of a button?

There is such a system, and it will cost you absolutely zero. The system I'm talking about is called Linux Mint.

First, a little history. In 1991, about a decade after Bill Gates was awarded a contract by IBM to develop a DOS (Disc Operating System), Linus Torvalds decided to develop a version of the mainframe operating system (UNIX) suitable for use in small computers.

Linux, as it became to be known, was from the start fundamentally different from Microsoft. It was part of a growing movement of dedicated professionals who passionately believed in free and open-source software, and who were dedicated to work together as a community to make that come about.

After more than 25 years of intensive development, Linux has graduated from a being toy for developers and programmers into a mature system suitable for use in the home desktop. Over the decades, Linux has become available in many different varieties, suitable for countless specialty applications, often of a scientific or highly technical nature.

These Linux "distributions," commonly known as "distros," serve every conceivable niche, but the ones we are concerned with are targeted to non-technical users for use on their desktops or laptops.

The most famous of these distros, Ubuntu, was the first to bring Linux to the masses, but my favorite is Linux Mint. Mint sets the standard for ease of installation, ease of use, and ease of installing new software.

Windows 7, A Review

For the past few months, we've had the opportunity to preview the "new" Microsoft Windows OS (operating system). This successor to the much maligned Windows Vista has been available for download from the Microsoft website, so we decided to give it a spin. Windows 7, as it is known, is free to use until June 2010 - after that, you have to pony up to Microsoft, or revert back to your previous OS (Vista, in our case). The download, and more information, is available here.

If you'd like to try the free version, it might be best to hurry. Microsoft reports the release candidate will be available "at least" until July 2009 - after that, who knows?

The Windows 7 installation was pretty easy, even for a computer illiterate like me. You first download what is known as an ISO image file from Microsoft. Next you have to burn the file to DVD; make sure your computer can burn DVDs and that it is capable of burning ISO images (there are several free programs that burn ISO files, if your computer is not supplied with this capability). Microsoft supplies you with a "key" to activate your Windows 7 installation, so make sure you print the key code out and store it in a safe place.

Okay, now you have your two most important ingredients: a Windows 7 installation disc and the key code to validate it. But before you pop that disc into your DVD player, you should take care of a few preliminaries.

First you should read the Windows 7 download section and verify you have the minimum RAM and hard-disc memory to successfully operate your new OS. Make sure your download corresponds to your computer's architecture, either 32 or 64 bit. Then you need to locate your current system's restore disc (or make one if it wasn't supplied with your computer); this will enable you to restore your computer in case you decide Windows 7 is not to your liking, or your installation isn't successful. In addition, it would be prudent to back up important files, such as documents and pictures, to disc for later retrieval.

The actual Windows 7 installation took about 20 minutes. Simply place the DVD you created in the player, restart your computer, and follow the onscreen prompts. Your computer will automatically start and stop a few times, and then you will see a new screen that looks like this:

It didn't take us long at all to get Windows 7 set up for our personal preferences. Anyone familiar with Windows Vista will have no problem navigating the start menu, icons, and file system. However, you should be aware that the Windows 7 Release Candidate comes with no bundled software (other than the usual Internet Explorer). The first thing I did, after finishing the installation, was download the Firefox browser, Open Office Suite, and AVG Antivirus, all of which are free. The included Windows Firewall and Windows Defender (anti-spyware) seem to be quite sufficient.

All in all, Windows 7 seems to be a solid system - what Vista should have been.

UPDATE - 7/16/09

Microsoft will continue to offer downloads of the Windows 7 Release Candidate until August 20, 2009. You can get your activation key, installation instructions, and the OS itself at the download page. Starting October 22 it will be offered in new PCs and on store shelves.
Related articles by Zemanta

Microsoft announces free antivirus, limited public beta (arstechnica.com)
Microsoft ditches Windows 7 E plans (theregister.co.uk)

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Lost Maples State Natural Area

Sunday, 11/15/2009

"The Land That Time Forgot" might be an apt description of the Lost Maples State Natural Area in Texas. A holdover from the last ice age, the area is protected by surrounding mountains and has retained a colder and wetter climate than Texas desert, forest, and coastal areas. Lost Maples State Natural Area is located about 5 miles (8 km) north of Vanderpool, Texas and 71 miles (114 km) west of San Antonio. The park sits along the Sabinal River in western Bandera County and far eastern Real County.

The approach to the area is through steep passes carved through the Guadalupe Mountain Range, and enters into a high mountain plateau (elev 2100 ft).

Evidence suggests that the maples that give the park its name are relicts: remnants of a larger, more widespread population that flourished during the cooler and wetter climate of the last ice age. Today, soils and microclimate control their present distribution. Some of the flora and fauna are unique to Lost Maples.

In the heart of the Texas Hill Country, the 2,208-acre Lost Maples State Natural Area is an inspiring mixture of sheer limestone cliffs, deep canyons, dense woodlands, and numerous clear streams. Designated as a National Natural Landmark, Lost Maples State Natural Area contains the state's largest stand of bigtooth maples east of the Guadalupe Mountains. When conditions are right, the maple leaves put on a dazzling show of fall colors, attracting thousands of visitors to the park. Peak fall foliage viewing is during the last two weeks of October through the first two weeks of November.

Sandy and Rick decide to take advantage of the peak season (second week in November) and take a Sunday day trip to the Lost Maples reserve near Medina and Vanderpool.

Purple Sage meadow.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Castroville, the Alsace of Texas

Castroville is a historic little town with a rich cultural heritage nestled in the Medina River Valley just 15 miles west of San Antonio. It is known as “The Little Alsace of Texas” because of its origins. The town was founded in 1844 by Henri Castro, for whom the town is named. The first European emigrant settlers in this area were mostly Catholic farmers from Alsace, a region of France, brought over to fulfill Castro’s contract to colonize vacant Texas Land. Calling themselves Alsatians, they were mostly of German decent speaking a dialect of German and French.

Henri Castro, founder of Castroville

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Elegy for a Dead Soldier

My father died at the end of May this year...just a couple of months past my own heart attack. It was surprise and a shock, of course; you can never be ready for the death of a parent. Dad was a young man during the Great Depression, and learned the craft of carpentry serving in the Civilian Conservation Corps. He joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor, later island hopping throughout the Pacific with the Seabees (somewhere we still have the set of dominoes he meticulously carved from native mahogany).

Image via Wikipedia

He was a classic representative of the "greatest generation," surviving the Depression, World War II, and supporting a family as a skilled tradesman - a member of the last generation that would extend respect to a man that worked with his hands.

Everything I learned about being a good man, I learned from him.

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Elegy For a Dead Soldier

Karl Shapiro, 1944

A white sheet on the tailgate of a truck
Becomes an altar, two small candlesticks
Sputter at each side of the crucifix
Laid round with flowers brighter than the blood,
Red as the red of our apocalypse,
Hibiscus that a marching man will pluck
To stick into his rifle or his hat,
And great blue morning-glories pale as lips
That shall no longer taste or kiss or swear.
The wind begins a low magnificat,
The chaplain chats, the palm trees swirl their hair,
The columns come together through the mud...

...The time to mourn is short that best becomes
The military dead. We lift and fold the flag,
Lay bare the coffin with its written tag,
And march away. Behind, four others wait
To lift the box, the heaviest of loads.
The anesthetic afternoon benumbs,
Sickens our senses, forces back our talk.
We know that others on tomorrow's roads
Will fall, ourselves perhaps, the man beside,
Over the world the threatened, all who walk:
And could we mark the grave of him who died
We would write this beneath his name and date:

EPITAPH
Underneath this wooden cross there lies
A Christian killed in battle. You who read,
Remember that this stranger died in pain;
And passing here, if you can lift your eyes
Upon a peace kept by a human creed,
Know that one soldier has not died in vain.

A Childhood Friend

The year is 1958, the place is the southside of San Antonio. Midway between the ancient Mission San Jose and the abandoned Terrell Wells (a natural hot springs spa whose sulfuric rotten-egg scent wafted for miles) lay tiny working class tract houses, one of which was my childhood home. On lazy summer afternoons, the boys of the neighborhood would play baseball in the street or explore the woods adjacent to our subdivision...

Approaching dusk might bring out blinking lightning bugs, or if you were really sharp-eyed you might spot a horny toad on a tree branch or fence post. It wasn't actually a toad (the real name was horned lizard), but the crowning achievement of a summer day was to capture one of these creatures and drop it in your pocket.

I haven't seen a horny toad in 50 years. I suppose they're still around - some say they fell victim to the fire ant invasion from South America. Progress has its place, I suppose, but I'm glad not to have lived my childhood in the sadly depleted world I see around me now.

Take a look at:

Rick's Photoblog

Two Tons of Steel crash into Landa Park!

Texas favorites Two Tons of Steel give a decidedly western swing twist to the Ramones punk classic Sedated. (2009 KNBT Crossroads Party):...

Monday, September 07, 2009

Rose Hill Manor

The Luckenbach, Texas Sign over the Post Office

Vacation time for Rick and Sandy! We had an overnight stay at the Rose Hill Manor, near Stonewall.

Our room was called the Carriage House.

Our short trip allowed for a little shopping in Fredericksburg, a trip to fort Martin Scott, a visit to the Wildseed Farms, and a quick stop at Luckenbach.

View slideshow:

Dinner was a four-course formal affair featuring quail stuffed with rice and cous-cous, canneloni, a chocolate box drenched in cherry syrup with strawberries and blueberries inside…that’s all I can remember, anyway!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

King of the Texas Dance Halls

In the long and storied history of the Texas dance hall, Gruene Hall holds a unique place. And it's not just because it's the oldest continually operating dance hall in the state of Texas, but also because it has served as both a launching pad and a continuing venue for some of the most influential musicians in American music. Gruene Hall has been pivotal in the careers of such musicians as George Strait, Lyle Lovett and Hal Ketchum, and has nurtured blues, rockabilly, folk, and singer/songwriter artists. This famous stage has also welcomed the likes of Bo Diddley, The Dixie Chicks, Jerry Lee Lewis, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Junior Brown, Robert Earl Keen, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and many more.

Website:

Gruene Hall

Monday, June 29, 2009

Remembering LBJ

The presidency of LBJ coincides roughly with my teenage years. Looking back, his presence looms large over my passage into adulthood. Most of us who are old enough to remember Lyndon Johnson will probably recall the vivid last months of his presidency. The American public had grown tired and disillusioned with the Vietnam War, and maverick Senator Eugene McCarthy had won surprising early primary victories against a sitting president. The final blow was the entry of Robert Kennedy into the primaries - even the brother of his ticket mate had turned against him.

A weary and defeated LBJ made his fateful decision: "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President."

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LBJ has been part of my family history for as long as I can remember. My maternal Grandmother voted for the young Congressman in the depths of the Great Depression. It didn't take long for LBJ to gain the fierce loyalty of his poor rural constituency.

It was the common wisdom of the day that a Republican could not be elected dogcatcher in Texas. The loyalty to Johnson (and the Democratic Party) would last for decades. Not until Nixon's "Southern Strategy," would the tide begin to turn. Along with the new prosperity, a wave of Republicanism swept the Lone Star State. It seemed Texans had forgotten their humble past.

Certainly LBJ never forgot his past. He was born in 1908 near Stonewall, in a small farmhouse on the Pedernales River. Despite the poverty of his childhood, this land never lost its hold on him. As family fortunes improved, Congressman (and later Senator) Johnson built a sprawling
ranch home that became a hub of political activity.

The LBJ Ranch is now a part of the National Park System, and is open to the public. Rangers lead guided tours of the home (no interior photographs are permitted, unfortunately). The residence, although large, is quite unpretentious, with plain furnishings. It's very little different from other ranch dwellings of the era.

The only hint that this was not an ordinary residence are the ubiquitous telephones in every room, and the Secret Service command center in an adjacent trailer.

In the old airplane hanger are some of LBJ's favorite vehicles. I love the Ford Phaeton from the thirties and the classic Continentals. One of Johnson's infamous pranks was to take foreign dignitaries on a tour of his ranch, head straight for the water, and scream "the brakes are out!" Of course, he neglected to mention the convertible they were riding in was amphibious.

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Despite the tragic end of his presidency, Johnson will be remembered as central figure in the reconstruction of the nation, first as an ally of FDR, and later shepherding the civil rights and voting rights measures through Congress.

Johnson was the greatest master of getting things done in Washington. His powers of persuasion were honed to perfection in a technique known as "The Treatment."

"Historians Caro and Dallek consider Lyndon Johnson the most effective Senate majority leader in history. He was unusually proficient at gathering information. One biographer suggests he was "the greatest intelligence gatherer Washington has ever known", discovering exactly where every Senator stood, his philosophy and prejudices, his strengths and weaknesses, and what it took to win him over. Robert Baker claimed that Johnson would occasionally send senators on NATO trips in order to avoid their dissenting votes. Central to Johnson's control was "The Treatment", described by two journalists:

The Treatment could last ten minutes or four hours. It came, enveloping its target, at the LBJ Ranch swimming pool, in one of LBJ's offices, in the Senate cloakroom, on the floor of the Senate itself — wherever Johnson might find a fellow Senator within his reach.

Its tone could be supplication, accusation, cajolery, exuberance, scorn, tears, complaint and the hint of threat. It was all of these together. It ran the gamut of human emotions. Its velocity was breathtaking, and it was all in one direction. Interjections from the target were rare. Johnson anticipated them before they could be spoken. He moved in close, his face a scant millimeter from his target, his eyes widening and narrowing, his eyebrows rising and falling. From his pockets poured clippings, memos, statistics. Mimicry, humor, and the genius of analogy made The Treatment an almost hypnotic experience and rendered the target stunned and helpless."