This is really important, since the out of the box WinXP installation is full of well exploited security exploits. The Internet Storm Center tracks the average time before an unpatched system is exploited by the white noise of port scanning and exploit hunting viruses. It is currently tracking at about 23 minutes.

Unfortunately it takes longer than 23 minutes to download the required security patches to protect the system. So my first step was to load up antivirus and firewall software. My product of choice at the moment is Symantec Internet Security 200x. There are arguments against using this, like “virus writers create viruses specifically to defeat Symantec software”, and “there are better apps available for free”, but so far this is what I have at hand and it has performed well for me so far.

Ironically is was the loading of this software that killed my system in the first place, but this time around it loaded up without a hitch. Of course now i have a completely out of date antivirus program, but you have to start somewhere.

Time to get online. I was a bit worried that this would be a problem since I have a wireless network at home, and getting the proper drivers etc might have required a download. I used the old Netgear software that can with the network card in the first place. I was actually surprised that it all worked so easily (even after a bit of stuffing around with network security keys, etc.).

Knowing that I now had to act fast my first stop was to ‘Windows Update’ for the first of many downloads and installs. All I can say is thank god for Broadband. Without it I there is simply no way that these downloads would be feasible. Although the process is not difficult it takes a long time. Each wave of downloads are 10′s of MB in size. With the broadband link I was also able to start updating the Symantec software in parallel.

After multiple downloads and re-boots, and in excess of 150MB of downloads (i lost track after a while) the basic operating system and security software was completely up to date. In total this took over 4 hours. Quite frankly this is absurd, and highlights the reason why the average PC user has no chance to really protect themselves properly even if they are trying to take all possible precautions.

Probably a bit belatedly I then loaded up the remaining hardware drivers for the PC, i.e. motherboard chipset, Video drivers, Sound drivers and USB. Probably should have done these first. No matter.

I guess the next action demonstrates my order of priorities…
* download Firebox for browsing
* downloaded iTunes and iPodder to get the podcast stream back online.

This has turned into a big hassle (not a problem though) as I try to get iTunes to recognise all of the previously downloaded podcasts, and to get iPodder re-subscriber to all my previous podcast feeds.

That is where I am at today. The iPod is at home getting nearly 3GB of music and podcasts re-loaded into its little shiny case.

More geeky updates to follow

Well last night it decided to lend me a hand in my decision making. After being prompted for the 5th time to upgrade the antivirus software that I had been using, I decided to load up a newer version that I was no longer using from a different PC.

Everything was going fine until the first reboot. Just after the Windows logo screen disappeared there was a flash of BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) and then the system rebooted again. I was able to restart in safe mode before and attempted a few systems restores but to no avail. After a few cycles of this I dropped back into the safe mode and started copying files. Just recently I had dropped in an old hard drive from an older PC which I am now using as a backup drive. This has turned out to be an unexpected blessing since I could easily move all data off the systems drive an put it on to the backup one.

So today I am back at ground zero. A clean install is in progress that I hope can be completed tonight. There is actually a lot to do particularly with all of the Microsoft updates that will be required to get the systems back up to a secured level.

I post an update when it is done.

One of the things that has bugged me for years has been looking at the source code of other designers with really nice looking sites, only to find an absolute mess of tags all through it. I remember trying to layout a webpage so that the content sat in the middle inside a box shape of some sort, and being thrilled about discovering that I could use a ‘table’ to control where stuff landed.

There was another part of me though that thought that was cheating a bit. I mean a table was for putting data in right? Of course I then discovered that even though my table created a page that looked ok in one browser when I looked at it in a different one I was appalled. It looked nothing like I had built it.

Well times have changed, and it is time that I caught up. The thing that was bugging me was that I wanted my words to stay in their own context (ie not in a table) while being able to apply formatting with fixed styles. I could do this in MS Word but nothing seemed to do what I wanted. This separation of content from display formatting is now built into the latest web standards. I have been reading a book about them by Jeffrey Zeldman. It is interesting what a small core community there is in standards land. Many of the google / blogger / a-list-apart folk all are linked to the promotion and development of these (not so new now) standards.

DECREE: I Will strive to make every webpage that I code compliant with web standards.

Surprisingly this is easier for me now even though the coding is much stricter because the standards enforce the separation that I was looking for. Content is content, Design is design. The two should be able to work together without having to be dependent on each other. This is what web standards brings to the game.

Probably around a year and a half ago I went to a Japanese drumming concert in the city. I was absolutely awed but the intensity of the barrage of sound and energy that was released into that concert hall. There were big drums and little drums all beating in unison with an athleticism that looked more like a martial arts display.

Last night I tried this experience for myself. The group that I saw performing was TaikOz, an Australian based Japanese Taiko Drumming outfit. I discovered not long after seeing their show that they offered classes for newbies like me. Last year I had been trying to find an appropriate window of opportunity to join one of their sessions. Just after Christmas I took the plunge and signed up. Yesterday was my first class.

Wow!! What an experience! It started off quite slowly with some gentle stretching that was infused with subtle Japanese culture. Then the drums (the Taiko) were arranged – Big ones, little ones, and huge ones. The class took up positions behind the drums and my nerves began to rise. The instructor handed out earplugs and at that point I realised this was going to be really, REALLY loud.

With no further prelude the drumming began. I was worried that I would feel quite uncoordinated and screw the beat up, but instead I fell into time easily and loved it. It was incredibly physical, starting with a wide half-squat stance that is held for the duration of the piece. The arm motion ranges from small beats near the drum to powerful beats where the arms are raised straight in the air before crashing down.

By the end or it my legs were shaking with the strain, I was drenched with sweat and my hands were beginning to blister and bruise. It was fantastic. Even with the earplugs the sound was massive, and was felt as much as heard. Now I just can’t wait till next Wednesday for class number two.