My error! Sony's head is DEFINITELY parked up their ass!
Bah! Turns out Sony has disabled the Intel VT and the ability to enable it using the computer's BIOS on ALL of their personal computers due to some bullshit worry that consumers might get attacked from the Internet. The technical challenge to do this and succeed is about as likely as having a UFO land in your backyard and deliver a pizza.
So I am sorely PISSED since the ONLY way to turn on VT (Virtual Technology which I need for Virtual PC development under Windows 7) is to use a hack developed by Igor Levicki in Serbia. Granted Igor should be out gathering brains for Dr. Frankenstein, but I am grateful that the hack exists. I am not too happy that if I attempt it and it fails that my new Sony notebook will be turned into a brick, as in no longer working in any manner at all.
Well, stayed tuned. I don't know what I am going to do about this.
P.S. (8/26) I did the patch and it worked! Woo-hoo! I have to put on clean underwear now, but it was certainly a thrilling experience.
Sony FW Memory Upgrade from 4GB to 8GB
Here's the solution which I bought from Amazon for $360:
Patriot Signature 8 GB (2 x 4GB) PC2-6400 DDR2-800 SoDIMM Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit - PSD28G800SK
Granted I've been a computer consultant for 40 years and have assembled my own computers since the mid-70s. It's cheaper in today's market to buy the core PC or laptop and then just do upgrades such as high end video boards, more robust power supplies, etcetera.
Let me tell you, it was a gamble that the above memory worked as there was nothing on Sony's site to give you a technical clue. Basically the only site I found that listed memory matched to my laptop was at crucial.com. However they wanted $229 per 4GM stick plus tax and shipping. So, without further ado, I started researching for a memory stick that appeared to match Crucial's. Well as shown above I found the kit on Amazon, which saved me money on the price as well as no taxes or shipping.
The memory arrived yesterday. I just removed the laptop battery and the one screw on the bottom of the laptop that covered the memory; removed the old memory and installed the new. Put the cover back on the memory, put the laptop battery back on and booted up the laptop.
After clicking on Computer and then right clicking to get to Properties, the laptop showed that it recognized the 8GB of RAM and all is well. Keep in mind that for this to be useful you must be running a 64 bit version of Windows (or whatever other 64 bit OS you might have).
The Parade
My theory regarding various states of involvement is (and you can quote me on this):
"Sometimes it's better to watch the parade than ride the elephant"
Sony's head is somewhat parked up their own ass
I bought a new Sony VGN-FW465J/H laptop for development last weekend to replace my aging Dell D620. It wasn't the optimal laptop available but I could buy it from Amazon without paying sales tax and it carried a $100 rebate, so basically I saved about $180.
However I found that I needed to "upgrade" it from the Windows Vista Home Premium x64 OS to Windows Vista Ultimate x64 in order to run Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2.
That required reformatting the hard disk drive, which of course erased all the the good and bad Sony utilities. So, upon going to Sony's site to download their utilities I discovered that because this particular model (VGN-FW465J/H) isn't sold with Vista Ultimate x64 that many of their utilities will not work under Vista Ultimate.
Of course this is total corporate bullshit.
One, why would you write drivers that only work under one particular version of Vista? Sounds like more work than just writing the driver normally.
Two, some but not all of the programs work under Vista Ultimate anyway, despite what Sony's site states.
Three, what I lack now is the ability to use the special keys for volume control and the built-in webcam which is a real pisser.
Four, Sony somehow makes it impossible to reach the BIOS on their systems.
Five, Sony seems to ship a different notebook model everyday and finding system RAM for this laptop has been a real pain it in the ass. I need to upgrade from 4 gb to 8 gb and hopefully the Patriot RAM I ordered from Amazon yesterday will work. ($75 cheaper than Crucial's RAM)
Six, there's no cable lock opening on this laptop, so if I am using it in a coffee shop and have to use the restroom, I will have to pack up the laptop and take it with me as there is simply no way to secure it.
Seven, will my next laptop be a Sony? Based on this experience, probably not.
Eight, it's not like I haven't spent money with Sony. I have two Sony Blu-ray players and have purchased 2 Sony PCs for my daughter, a Sony VAIO VGC-LS30E Desktop PC and a Sony VAIO VGN-FW290. I also have a Sony stereo, a Sony LCD TV, a Sony telephone, a Sony cell phone and probably a Walkman and God knows what else kicking around.
Cognitive Surplus
Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody, has a post (linked above) on Cognitive Surplus. This post is actually an excerpt from one of his speaking engagements.
It interested me as an unrealized concept that when we watch TV (I mean MINDLESS TV, not the news, although even the "news" is turning in mindlessness) we are spending time that is well defined as Cognitive Surplus.
Mr. Shirky better explores Cognitive Surplus than I can explain it, so please go away now and read his posting.
SharePoint sales pass the $1 billion mark
Let me tell you it's not because of anything Microsoft's SharePoint team has done. Nor have the MVP dolts passing themselves as SharePoint experts done anything to help the successful implementation of SharePoint in enterprises.
The SharePoint product needs an entirely new management team to set a strategic direction for the product that can be communicated to corporate clients and they totally need to clean up the product as it has many technical areas that need, for lack of a better terminology, repair and modification.
The Microsoft team presently handling the SharePoint product line needs to be removed right now from the top down. They simply are not providing actual improvements to SharePoint nor are they offering coherent enterprise solutions to the business community.
The MVP community needs to be eliminated and rebuilt from scratch with tangible requirements other than someone at Microsoft liking one's SharePoint blog. Nothing and I emphasize nothing, critical EVER comes out of the MVP community. Frankly it's a waste of my time to even discuss them any further.
I'll talk about the joke that is SharePoint 2010 in a later posting.
The SharePoint product needs an entirely new management team to set a strategic direction for the product that can be communicated to corporate clients and they totally need to clean up the product as it has many technical areas that need, for lack of a better terminology, repair and modification.
The Microsoft team presently handling the SharePoint product line needs to be removed right now from the top down. They simply are not providing actual improvements to SharePoint nor are they offering coherent enterprise solutions to the business community.
The MVP community needs to be eliminated and rebuilt from scratch with tangible requirements other than someone at Microsoft liking one's SharePoint blog. Nothing and I emphasize nothing, critical EVER comes out of the MVP community. Frankly it's a waste of my time to even discuss them any further.
I'll talk about the joke that is SharePoint 2010 in a later posting.
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