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sjvn

sjvn

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Member since: August 2009

Bio: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols(sjvn@vna1.com) has been writing about technology and the business of technology since CP/M-80 was cutting-edge and 300bit/sec. was a fast Internet connection -- and we liked it!

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Activity

  • sjvn sjvn wrote USB 3.0 vs. eSATA: Is faster better?
    Up-to-date computers now include external ports that, in theory, can handle data at rates of up to 5 Gigabits per second. But which is better, USB 3.0 or eSATA?

    2 weeks 3 days ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote For the good of the nation, broadband for all
    Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski recently announced a plan that would expand the Universal Service Fund's Lifeline program to include broadband Internet service.

    2 weeks 4 days ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Fedora, Mint, openSUSE, Ubuntu: Which Linux desktop is for you?
    There are more interesting Linux desktop distributions to choose from than ever before. However, if you're looking for major distros with a great deal of support, you'll want to look at the big four: Fedora, Mint, openSUSE, and Ubuntu.

    5 weeks 3 days ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Rumble in the cloud: 5 cloud storage services compared
    Clouds aren't just for IT departments looking to cut costs anymore. Today, free and low-cost cloud services are available for everyone. But which is right for you?

    7 weeks 5 days ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Goodbye BIOS, hello UEFI
    Your computer's basic input/output system (BIOS) is about to become history and be replaced by Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) -- and that brings both advantages and problems.

    13 weeks 4 days ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Microsoft's Metro is on the wrong track for many Windows users
    Twenty-five years of user-interface development and this is what we get? Scary.

    17 weeks 6 days ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Thunderbolt: Beyond USB and eSATA
    Very quietly, there's been a war brewing in computer peripheral interfaces. Backed by Apple and Intel, Thunderbolt may end up surpassing both USB 3.0 and eSATA. Here's what you need to know about the new interface technology.

    20 weeks 6 days ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Free antivirus software: The best and the rest
    It used to be that only Windows users had to worry with antivirus software, but now Macs and smartphones are finally getting attacked as well. What's a user to do?

    21 weeks 4 days ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Life on Jobs-less earth
    Some people have already forgotten about just how important Steve Jobs was, not only to Apple, but to all of technology.

    23 weeks 2 days ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote 7 days in the cloud: My week with the Samsung Chromebook
    Steven Vaughan-Nichols recently spent a week working with nothing but a Samsung Series 5 Chromebook. Here is a day-by-day accounting of what he found. It's a tale of both triumph and tragedy. Well, OK, so it's really a story of what worked and what didn't work, but you get the idea.

    29 weeks 14 hours ago

  • sjvn sjvn answers Is there anything like the Apple Time Capsule for Windows 7?

    32 weeks 6 days ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote USB 3.0: Great technology, but hard to find
    USB 3.0 offers data transfer speeds that are five times faster than USB 2.0, so why hasn't it caught on?

    34 weeks 10 hours ago

  • sjvn sjvn asks So, what are you using instead of Skype?

    36 weeks 5 days ago

  • sjvn sjvn answers Has anyone ever seen software TOS that requires shareholder restrictions?

    39 weeks 5 days ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote OpenSUSE 11.4: A blast from Linux past
    OpenSUSE is back with a new, improved version, but it reminds me of how spoiled I've been by other Linux distributions.

    I've liked openSUSE since before it was named openSUSE and went by the unlikely name S.u.S.E Linux 4.2 back in 1996. It's come a long, long way since then. Today, this Novell-supported community Linux distribution makes both a strong, server and desktop. For all that, though I've found in this go-around some fit and polish issues.

    …

    47 weeks 8 hours ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Image gallery: OpenSUSE 11.4

    Editor's note: This image gallery accompanies the ITworld review of OpenSUSE 11.4. Click through to that story for an in-depth look at the latest OpenSUSE Linux distribution.

    …

    47 weeks 8 hours ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Ubuntu Linux for beginners: Tips for getting started
    So, you want to try out Ubuntu, do you? We've got answers to all your Ubuntu setup questions -- and some you didn't think to ask.

    50 weeks 4 days ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Painless password management: The best free and paid tools
    Password managers and other options to keep your passwords safe on the wild and woolly Web.

    1 year 1 week ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Upgrade your business network with Windows 7 Pro features

    Though Microsoft doesn't make a big deal of Windows 7's many networking improvements and new features, they offer a fine reason to upgrade from XP. There used to be many reasons to skip migrating to Windows 7; but as the operating system matures and XP ages, Windows 7 is becoming a worthwhile update.

    …

    1 year 2 weeks ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote 4G mobile broadband and you: Coverage, cost, and, yes, caveats
    Soon, your mobile broadband network might be able to deliver faster Internet speeds than your cable or DSL to your home or office... if you with go with the right service and you're at the right place and you can afford the bill.

    1 year 3 weeks ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote The day of the password is done

    When the popular Web site Gawker was hacked into recently, more than a million user IDs and passwords were released. If you were one of the people compromised that's annoying -- very annoying. Not that it's a big deal that someone could log into a gossip site under your name. But many of those people used those same IDs and passwords on other sites that are a wee bit more important, such as LinkedIn. Now, that's a problem.

    …

    1 year 5 weeks ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Have yourself a very Linux Christmas

    Whether you cut your teeth downloading Linux 0.x source code or you want to give Linux a try for the first time, we've got presents for you.

    …

    1 year 8 weeks ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Image gallery: Arch Linux

    Editor's note: This image gallery accompanies the article ITworld review: Arch Linux for Linux fundamentalists. Click through to that story for an in-depth review of Arch Linux. After booting up with your CD or USB stick, Arch lets you either run it as a live Linux or move right on to installing it.

    Next page: Arch setup

    …

    1 year 9 weeks ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote ITworld review: Arch Linux for Linux fundamentalists

    Most users like their operating system to be like their cars. They stick in the key, turn on the ignition, and off they go. For these users, I recommend Ubuntu. But, if you're the kind of person who likes a car with manual transmission and getting your hands dirty under the hood, then Arch Linux deserves your consideration.

    …

    1 year 9 weeks ago

  • sjvn sjvn wrote Image gallery: Ubuntu's Unity interface

    Editor's note: This image gallery accompanies the article: Ubuntu's Unity interface: What to expect. Click through to that story for an in-depth look at Unity and what it means for users. Here is a typical Ubuntu 10.10 GNOME 2.32 interface.

    Next page: Welcome to Unity

    …

    1 year 10 weeks ago

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Comments

sjvn's Comments (20)

  • Commented on ITworld review: Fedora 14 is leading-edge Linux

    Download links here: http://fedoraproject.org/en/get-fedora-optionsSteven

    1 year ago

  • Commented on ITworld review: Fedora 14 is leading-edge Linux

    All I can tell you is that when I tested the system with the RC, with the updates, these problems were still turning up. As I said in the story I expected these all to be fixed by the time Fedora 14 was released. They were not fixed in the updated RC I used for the review. Your usage may vary. Steven

    1 year ago

  • Commented on ITworld review: Fedora 14 is leading-edge Linux

    Fedora 14 final should be available later today,11/2/2010. At the moment, 9:55 AM Eastern, it's still not up.Steven

    1 year ago

  • Commented on ITworld review: Fedora 14 is leading-edge Linux

    I did test it on real machines. I also reported on what I found on VMs since that's what many people use these days when they want to kick the tires of a distro.

    1 year ago

  • Commented on Upgrading to Windows 7 isn't Cheap

    Which means you also need to bring over all the applications, the data, login profiles, customizations for all of the above and then re-hook it into the AD forest, etc. etc. A standalone PC is easy. A corporate PC in an enterprise network is another, and much more expensive, kettle of fish entirely. Steven

    1 year ago

  • Commented on Dedicated E-Readers: They're History

    I just don't swear much. Never have. Your verbage may vary.Steven

    2 years ago

  • Commented on It's time to update your Web Browser

    Well, what do you know. No sooner than I say wait until Firefox 3.6.3 comes out then, ta-da, it comes out. I don't about its stability yet, but it does come with a fix for the Pwn2Own bug.Steven

    2 years ago

  • Commented on Getting the most from 802.11n

    No, while you can wire it to other networking, the firmware, which isn't Linux, doesn't support its use in a bridge mode. You can flash it with a Linux-based BIOS. I recommend DD-WRT. For more on DD-WRT and the 160N see http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Linksys_WRT610NI found the last build to be a little dodgy, but there was anything that an experience firmware/Linux hand shouldn't be able to handle.Steven

    2 years ago

  • Commented on Windows XP's built-in Wi-Fi Security Hole

    The fact that it can be fixed, by both the way you described and the ways I mention, still doesn't take away from the fact that its default is to behave in an unsafe, and somewhat silly, manner. Steven

    2 years ago

  • Commented on Windows XP's built-in Wi-Fi Security Hole

    is, by default, any Wi-Fi network you connect with and that includes an ad hoc network you only try the once.Steven

    2 years ago

  • Commented on Who's really to blame for the Windows XP Patch BSOD?

    Alureon has a long history and it's works like any typical Windows trojan. You can get it from infected e-mails, through Internet Explorer, etc. etc. What it won't do is anything what-so-ever to Linux or Mac systems. I can spend all day downloading Alureon variants to any Linux or Mac system and it would never do a thing to me.There are very few Mac viruses, and almost no Linux viruses.And, even of those, there have never been any with even a fraction of the impact of an average Windows virus. Steven

    2 years ago

  • Commented on Don't need it? Don't install it.

    Miracles happen. Hours after I, and lots of other people, wrote about Apple's mis-step, it appears they've pulled iPhone Configuration Utility from Software Update for Windows.See: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9138620/Apple_pushes_unnecessary_software_to_Windows_PCsfor the details.Steven

    2 years ago

  • Commented on Microsoft says turn off Windows feature to protect Windows

    I observe that instead of a fix, Microsoft is saying to kill the feature for now, and that they will fix it... eventually.Read what Microsoft says and look at what MS does, not what you want Microsoft to have said and to do. Steven

    2 years ago

  • Commented on Protecting Mom's PC

    Turning a Windows power user into a Linux power user would take a while. Albeit, anyone's who really into the details of Windows would probably get into learning the details of another OS as well. Putting that aside though I'm talking about Uncle Joe, who's primary use for a PC is the Web and e-mail. Foxfire is Foxfire on any platform. Steven

    2 years ago

  • Commented on Geeks with problems: Drunken chess grandmaster forced to forfeit

    Tkachiev may have been the first to lose by default in this way at the GM level, but he certainly isn't the first drunk at the chessboard. Alekhine lost the world chess championship to Euwe in 1935 in large part because of his drinking. Sobered up he won it back in 1937. Steven, who remains perpetually vexed that he's never made master.

    2 years ago

  • Commented on Fake virus infection Web pages are everywhere

    if you have a clueless relative who can't stop clicking on messages of this sort, get them a Linux-powered PC. You can still get into trouble with Linux, but it will stop 99.9999% of the common problems.Steven

    2 years ago

  • Commented on What's really the safest Web Browser?

    I've yet to find a page--except for those sad IE6 optimized pages that fail for everyone not running IE6--that Chrome can't render. Your viewage may vary.Steven

    2 years ago

  • Commented on What's really the safest Web Browser?

    is the next generation of Opera. So, yes, I can't recommend Opera. Their developers seem far more interested in features than security. That's a Bad sign.Steven

    2 years ago

  • Commented on Law firms are newest victim of SEO, marketing

    They've actually been doing this long before SEO existed. It took law firms a while, but starting about 20-years ago, law-firms finally figured out that they should start doing something about their reputation and marketing, and part of that was dumping the convention that every senior partner should have his or her name in the firm's name.Steven (Who in his non-writer life is married to the first person who was ever a law firm's Chief Marketing Officer.)

    2 years ago

  • Commented on Security is a process

    Yes, that's another "built in by design" Windows mistake. They have backed off on that one starting in Vista, but it's still a problem since a lot of software is built to assume it's running with Admin-level privileges.Steven

    3 years ago

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