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Posts Tagged ‘computer’

There have been a number of wonderful inventions during the 20th and 21st century. Some of these creations have been both massive and minute. Very few of mankinds modern creations have revolutionized working life so much as the USB flash drive though. Ok now that might seem a bit much for some people but the reality remains the same – USB flash drives have made the working lives of millions of office workers, teachers, students, IT and other professionals massively more simple. If you already one (or a few) USB flash drives then you’ll know just how incredibly useful they are. If you don’t already own at least one USB memory stick then hopefully this article will help convince you of their absolute usefulness in both your working and personal life.

So what’s so great about USB flash drives?

Small

Prior to the creation of USB flash drives all external storage devices for computers were either bulky or awkward (dozens of blank discs for example) or sometimes an annoying combination of being both bulky and awkward. USB flash drives are also called Thumb Drives because they’re about the size of your thumb (although some are much smaller now) and you can easily fit several gigabytes of data in your jeans or shirt pocket thus eliminating the bulky and awkward factor straight away.

Portable

USB flash drives are about the single most portable data backup device possible. They don’t require an external power source of any kind, nor do you need any cables or tools to set them up and last but not least they don’t require any additional software to be installed for them to work on any modern computer (Windows XP, 2000 and Vista and most Macs) so you can quite literally pick them up and use them anywhere you want.

Reliable

Once the data is stored on a USB flash drive you can rest assured that it’s going to stay there and be there when you next need it. This is totally unlike the world of floppy disks or rewriteable CD/DVD discs where they can just stop working for no apparent reason. Flash drives were built to provide consistent and reliable performance. Most of these drives come with built-in write protection to prevent you from overwriting your own important data – if you were silly enough to do so.

Tough

For years people fiddled with boxes of floppy disks and CDs/DVDs. These were bulky, easily lost and easily damaged. External hard drives also provided another method of transporting data between systems but the smallest jolt was and is enough to kill an external hard disk stone dead. USB flash drives are based on what’s called Solid State Memory – this simply means that it’s the same as standard computer memory in that it has no moving parts and is therefore almost impossible to damage (except for jumping up and down on it or maybe hitting it with a hammer for example. Please don’t test either of these theories at home!)
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Tech support tells me to type ‘regedt32′ as opposed to ‘regedit’ to access the registry from the command line (Start > Run). I question the use of ‘regedt32,’ but he says to do it anyway. Whenever I use the registry editor, I recall this incident and never look up the tale of the two regs… until now.

Regedt32.exe is an alternative registry editor available with Windows NT/2000 with features of its own. Regedt32.exe does not support importing and exporting registration entries (.reg) files. Regedit has limitations of its own as quoted here:

“You cannot set the security for registry keys. You cannot view, edit, or search the value data types <>REG_EXPAND_SZ and <>REG_MULTI_SZ. If you try to view a <>REG_EXPAND_SZ value, Regedit.exe displays it as a binary data type. If you try to edit either of these data types, Regedit.exe saves it as <>REG_SZ, and the data type no longer performs its intended function. You cannot save or restore keys as hive files.”

Research indicates regedit has:

• a better search tool
• bookmarking of subkeys
• opens to last edited subtree, export and import capabilities
• all keys are visible from a window similar to Windows Explorer

Regedt32 (pre-WinXP) can:

• run in read-only mode
• allows you to edit values longer than 256 characters (who wants to do that???)
• displays subtrees in their own windows
• modify access permissions to subtrees, keys, and subkeys

In WinXP and Server 2003, the two have been replaced by a new version of regedit that has features from both. Try typing ‘regedit’ and ‘regedt32′ to see what happens. They’re the same. To prove it, while in ‘regedit,’ select ‘edit’ and you’ll see ‘permissions.’ This is a feature that was only available in the old ‘regedt32′ and not ‘regedit.’
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IT network managers have to fight the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mindset to win resources. With computer networks, that mindset is dangerously complacent. IT networks will keep pumping data until they die or let in hackers. Here are some winning arguments against “if it ain’t broke…”

IT Network Maintenance: Better Analogies

Don’t let your IT network’s budget get lumped with IT in general–or worse, operations in general. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” sometimes makes sense in IT or operations. Upgrading workstations or desks can cost productivity, making it self-defeating.

You have to stress that IT networks are different from workstations or desks.

• IT networks are harder to repair.
• IT networks cannot be done without until fixed. You depend on them for email, web, file transfers, and in some organizations, printing, fax and telephone. If your network breaks you may be forced to rely on hand-written letters.
• IT network improvements rarely lower productivity on the front line. Instead, a faster, more reliable network can improve front-line productivity.

Here are the analogies you should stress to counter “if it ain’t broke”:

• Plumbing: IT networks will appear to function until they burst. The damage will be more expensive than maintenance ever could have been. In the meantime, you are losing productivity to all the little “leaks.”
• Dams: If a poorly maintained IT network bursts, the eventual flood will harm overall productivity.
• War: There is no such thing as “good enough” when you are in competition. With an IT network, you’re in a quiet arms race with hackers. You are also competing with your business competitors in terms of productivity.
• Health: Your IT network has to be in top physical condition. You can’t make up for bad habits with a week or two of “rejuvenation.” Meanwhile, your day-to-day performance will suffer.
• Cars: Don’t wait for your IT network to conk out. Get a regular tune-up of up-to-date equipment.

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I was reading The Big Moo: Stop Trying To Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable this morning, and I’d recommend a copy of this to anyone who wants to improve their career and their future. And that’s all of us, right?

There was one particular line that really stood out to me: Betting on change is always the safest bet available. That describes life perfectly, but it also describes a career in Information Technology perfectly as well. There is no field in the world that has the constant and never-ending changes that IT does. And every single one of us can look at this as a massive opportunity for personal and professional growth.

Is that how you’re looking at it? I remember when I passed my first certification exam, the Novell CAN, back in 1997. Man, I thought I knew it all then! But I quickly learned that you’ve got to keep learning in IT. I also learned that if you’re willing to put in the work and make the sacrifices, there’s no other field with the limitless potential for growth and excellence.

Like everyone else, my career has had its ups and downs, but I always kept learning and growing. Today, I’ve got my dream job, working with studI was reading The Big Moo: Stop Trying To Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable this morning, and I’d recommend a copy of this to anyone who wants to improve their career and their future. And that’s all of us, right?

There was one particular line that really stood out to me: Betting on change is always the safest bet available. That describes life perfectly, but it also describes a career in Information Technology perfectly as well. There is no field in the world that has the constant and never-ending changes that IT does. And every single one of us can look at this as a massive opportunity for personal and professional growth.

Is that how you’re looking at it? I remember when I passed my first certification exam, the Novell CAN, back in 1997. Man, I thought I knew it all then! But I quickly learned that you’ve got to keep learning in IT. I also learned that if you’re willing to put in the work and make the sacrifices, there’s no other field with the limitless potential for growth and excellence.
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