I guess by now it is taken for granted that candidates have websites. In fact, Obama has a website complete with a social network. I guess it is also taken for granted that both sites are best viewed on a high speed connection and include flash elements vital to viewing the site. McCains website begins with a very direct video from VP-hopeful Palin. But I guess the idea that technology does not need governmental aid and support to continue to thrive and (dare I say, advance) is also taken for granted. In watching the debate last week and in preparing for this weeks vice-presidential debate I can’t help but to ask, where do the candidates stand on these issues?

The ASSS (Advancing Science, Serving Society) has recently administered a series of science and technology questions aimed at the presidential hopefuls to help us better understand their positions on this seemingly overlooked category. Their responses to the most relative questions (in the computer fields) are as follows:

INNOVATION Mr. Obama calls for doubling federal budgets for basic research over a decade and supports broadband Internet connections “for all Americans.” Mr. McCain stresses policies to provide “broad pools of capital, low taxes and incentives for research in America,” as well as the streamlining of “burdensome regulations.” Mr. McCain also said Congress, “under my guiding hand,” adopted wireless policies that “spurred the rapid rise of mobile phones and WiFi technology.”

EDUCATION Both candidates advocate policies to develop a highly skilled workforce, partly with cash incentives for teachers. Mr. McCain would put $250 million into a program to help states expand online education.

So, there you have it. That is the full discussion to date on the future of computer and Internet technology as represented in the 2008 presidential election.

If you have heard something more or have other websites for us to read, please do let us know. I am beginning to wonder now if the candidates even understand how much of our nations economy and the burgeoning global community relies on computer and Internet tech.

Living in the land of mass transit I am constantly reminded of the need for personal entertainment. Our society cannot just be expected to sit in silence or engage strangers in small talk. Rather we travel the ‘city of strangers’ with tunes blaring from our ear buds, our fingers constantly on the dog ear of the latest non-fiction or our minds fully engaged in an otherwise boring game of cell phone Tetris. If there is one thing I can count on though it is the amount of people dressed in their corporate uniform staring intently at the morning headlines in the Times or the Post or even the Journal (depending on their social status and obvious need for a sports page). But that may soon be about to change.

Not too long ago Amazon released the Amazon Kindle (retail $399) - an electronic reader that uses electronic ink to do for literature what the iPod did for CDs and their accompanying jewel cases.

The unit itself displays enormous potential and is even easy to read. I know, I checked one out yesterday. It has a sort of ambient light rather than a projecting light. The immediate problem is that it is thereby limited to nothing brighter than a dingy grey; not the bright, vivid colors we have come to expect from our gadgets. But I am not here to review the product. Rather, I am here to ask a few questions about what this means for us as humans and as Technicians.

Eco-friendly attitudes notwithstanding, where do devices like the Kindle leave the book industry? I personally love the smell of ink on never-before read pages as well as that crisp, cutting sound that comes from breaking the spine of a new hardback. I like the weathered look of a favorite paperback and the sense of accomplishment I get knowing I have plowed through its literary offerings. If the manuscript of old is replaced by electronic readers will the print media industry fall apart? Everyone from typesetters to pressman (yes, these jobs do still exist) right down to the graphic designers that are constantly working on new, more legible typefaces will be effected. And my gosh! As technicians, if we are asked to help someone fix their computer because they cannot get it to turn on, how in the world can we expect them to read the manual. The manual will now be on another, separate electronic device that they may not be able to work correctly.

It really just seems to open up a can of worms and I am interested to know if I am the only one who has thought about this or the only one who even cares. In the meantime, I am going to go hug my first edition “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance“ one more time.

As a Mac user and an employee of a company that currently services Windows exclusively, I have become quite familiar with the Parallels application. I am sure there are other users out there as well and we may even run into some as Technicians. It’s important then to know our options in terms of dual booting and running parallel operating systems. You can imagine my delight then to see the first update to Parallels that I am aware of in the last year. In fact, the newest version of Parallels supports Vista SP1, XP SP3.

Parallels, Inc. recently released a new version of its namesake application Parallels Desktop (3.0.5600), which includes support for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3. It also fixes some kernel panic issues, unusually high CPU usage, and provides improvements to Shared Folders. For those of you who don’t use Parallels, I can attest to the frustration of the overwhelming CPU usage as I have had to reboot on several occasions just trying to start Parallels. I would get a frozen app and a “not responding” error in the Windows…well, window.The point of Parallels is so that Mac users with Intel processors can run Windows apps alongside Mac apps. It works rather smoothly and has saved me on a number of occasions.

If you should run into this problem with a friend or a family member or even a customer, the update is free for existing Parallels 3 users, and is available as a 88 MB DMG package.

I read an interesting topic that I think is pretty relevant to the community we have built and are constantly cultivating here at MinuteFix. It has to do with who owns the relationships made between technicians as well as between technician and customer. Most workers know that the “information” they collect and create on the job belongs to their employers. But what about the professional relationships we build? Who owns them?

Businesses are increasingly turning to software that searches through employees’ emails and calendars to determine not just what relationships they have, but the depth of those of relationships, according to today’s Journal. For example, if the software saw that an employee exchanged several emails and had a lunch meeting with someone, it would conclude that the two had a close relationship. Coworkers can find out who in a company has these relationships and take advantage of them to make a sales pitch, recruit a potential employee or just solve a problem. That, of course, doesn’t apply to MinuteFix as we don’t have that fancy software and really encourage Technicians to cultivate relationships with each other.

Think of it as corporate-imposed social networking. One problem many businesses face is that employees willingly share this information about who they know, but they do it on Web sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. It makes sense for a business to try to keep control of this information, or at least try to recreate its own version of it for workers to take advantage of. And as many people have observed, email may be the best untapped social network out there.

Of course, on sites like LinkedIn and Facebook the individual decides what information to share and what information to keep private. A business can choose to install the monitoring software with restrictions that let workers hide some relationships or force searchers to ask the relationship owner for permission before contacting someone. But it doesn’t have to. I think this is the information that floored me. I can’t imagine one of us using a MinuteFix help session to steer a customer to another business or a private session outside the realm of our own great network. I can’t imagine doing it myself either in any workplace; corporate or otherwise.

It’s easy to see how this benefits a business as a whole and workers who don’t have these relationships. But it could come at the expense of workers who have gone to great lengths to build these relationships. In fact, in many professions – journalism, for example, but many others – these relationships can make or break a career.

Any thoughts? I am still mulling over the pros and cons of all this but would love to hear what anyone else has to say.

I would say the world is familiar with basically two types of blogs: personal and corporate. The first is one of those collections of mommy/daddy stories or musings about a favorite sports team or just random Haiku poems. They are live pages that provide a much needed or wanted outlet for anyone willing to put in the writing time.

The second is that new fangled branding device that Scoble always talked about. It is a blog with a purpose and it helps to add identity to an otherwise faceless entity; the corporation.

I like to think there is a third kind of blog though. It is the community blog. Based on the idea that it takes a village, the community blog allows each member to speak when he/she has something to say. So it is with great delight that we offer each of you the chance to speak (or write in this case) on the blog. My space is your space and I would love to hear from each of you. If you have an idea of what you might want to post or you just have a question feel free to send me a quick email and I will respond to you almost immediately.

UPDATE: The first Certified MinuteFix Technician has stepped up and taken the challenge. Douglas Wong from Canada weighed in with a bit about wireless security. Read more here.

I hate going to most grocery stores to buy fresh produce or fruit. Generally it is either underripe or overripe. Neither is an acceptable option in my opinion. Then the item is underripe it is often bitter and causes me to clench my teeth and make a rather ugly face. When it is overripe it gets soggy and discolored and makes me want to just spit it out. But then there are those times when I am driving down the highway and I pass a “mom and pop” stand that has all sorts of fresh fruit and beans and produce. It is a small slice of epicurean heaven. I think this is the same principle that we are going to operate with.

I have been asked a lot since November 15 when the tests will open up and customers will start pouring in. It is coming. That much I promise. However, we haven’t felt that the fruit is ready to pick. Neither it is underripe or overripe, per se. We just don’t think it is as tasty as it could be in another week or so. That is part of our commitment to our customers as well. We refuse to put out a product that doesn’t make them long for more. We don’t want to appear bitter or foul to the buds. Likewise we don’t want to be overly confident and come off as soggy or discolored. We want to be that refreshing “mom and pop” stand that sets it sites on revolutionizing both tech support and customer service. Perhaps that is why we are being so stringent on our tests and our site before we let everyone in. We want each of you to have a pleasurable dining experience too; a technology you can simply sink your teeth into and find complete decadence.

I personally thank each of you for staying loyal and allowing us to farm our fruit for a few more days. We are anxious for you to savor the taste but we are also careful in the time we pick. So for now, rest easy knowing we are watching the branches carefully and making sure all is well for consumption.

There is no doubt that Windows users across the globe are often unfamiliar with all of Microsoft’s licensing requirements and features. It goes well beyond a simple UELA. This lack of familiarity often breed dissatisfaction and frustration. I thought I would put together a few common FAQs that I have either heard or read in the last few months.

What are the upgrade paths available to me that would enable me to run MS Vista?
You can basically just purchase a fully-loaded copy of Vista in the box. If you are looking for more info you can search here.

Can I sell or give away old versions of my Windows software when I acquire or purchase an upgrade?
No. You will need to keep your old version in order to establish your eligibility for the upgrade license.

If I have upgraded from an earlier version of Windows, do I still need to keep my earlier copy of Windows as part of my legally-licensed software?
Yes. You will need to keep the earlier version (including all media, manuals and the Certificate of Authenticity) in order to establish your eligibility for the upgrade license.

Can I install my OEM Windows Vista on more than 1 PC?
No, Windows Vista is licensed per device - this means one license is required for each device that it is installed on and must be purchased pre-installed on a fully assembled PC.

I have purchased OEM Office 2007 and can I can install a second copy on my laptop PC?
No, OEM Office is tied to the original PC and does not have portable use rights. These are only available in Full Packaged Product or Volume licensing.