Archive for the ‘windows’ Category

22 Jan

Fixing Orange Uganda Modem Issues on Windows

Posted by ssmusoke in tips and tricks, windows. Tagged: .

I have been having alot of trouble with my Orange Uganda (http: Modem (Model E173), since my laptop running Windows 7 would not see the modem despite installing Orange Internet Everywhere. I tried installing, un-installing, even had a terse exchange with their support staff via twitter (https://twitter.com/orangeugandaltd/status/290720191099310080) where the only option was for me to take it to their offices for troubleshooting.

After a long search (I am not one to leave problems hanging), I ran into a solution which works for Windows and may provide a starting point for other OSes by replacing the Orange Internet Everywhere software with the latest version of the Huwaei mobile partner and configuring the connection. Steps follow:

  1. Download Huwaei Mobile Partner for Windows (https://www.dropbox.com/s/ma578lpg9816y7b/Mobile_Partner_23_for_windows.zip) – 25MB 
  2. Insert the modem into a USB slot – if you have other service provider applications they may start, but close each one that comes up
  3. Install the Mobile Partner software
  4. Create a new profile for Orange Uganda – use orange.ug as the APN (http://www.orange.ug/mobile-plans/iew-linux.php)
  5. Dial and you are off

Hope this helps somebody else

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12 May

Opinion: Microsoft Demise being Overrated but they are still a Major Player

Posted by ssmusoke in database, technology, windows. Tagged: .

This post was intially a comment on this Mashable post Why Microsoft Is Being Left in the Dust but I figured it was too long and needed its own post

The demise of Microsoft has been predicted continuously over the last 20 years however what most commentators forget is that Microsoft innovates best when its the under-dog:

a) Browsers – beat Netscape to a pulp and was the browser kng for the next 10 year do I hear IE 6, and today after steady decline IE has 50% market share and holding steady, watch out for a rise with IE 10

b) Desktop – anybody remember OS2

c) Office Productivity – Wordperfect, Lotus 1-2-3 anyone

d) Exchange – Novel Groupware

e) Networking/Active Directory – Novel Netware, hey Windows NT, how many people use Windows boxes for Active Directory and File and Print against Samba

f) Xbox – do I hear Nintendo DS/PS3 is just picking up but Sony is suffering

g) Databases – Watchout Oracle/DB2 SQL server is deep within the departments and getting many enterprise features

h) Antivirus – McAfee/Norton/Kaspersky watch out for the free MS Security Essentials I know I have never looked back

i) Corporate Intranets – Documentum watch out for Sharepoint

j) Open Source – top 10 contributer to Linux, being a developer PHP/MySQL support for windows excellent

k) Programming Languages – .NET has caught up, seems like each and every NGO/UN department is running licensed Windows/IIS/SQL Server/Sharepoint/Exchange

l) Android – who has made the most money from licensing patents, Samsung/HTC/Barnes and Noble/Motorolla are all paying

m) Mobile – they may be late to this game, but PCs are here to stay and compliment smartphones/tablets, so there is no danger there, Linux is not yet mature enough for the desktop and Mac OSX not available

n) Research Labs – apart from IBM which uses research as a competitive edge, HP closed down their, Google are still in the game, the only other company in this big time seems to be Redmond

o) Healthcare – with those US automation dollars flowing down

p) Enterprise Applications – they may have faltered but this market is growing with Navison and Dynamics

q) Channel – who else is bigger and better at harnessing this resource, these are an extension of the sales force

r) Development tools – I do not use them but they are the envy of many a developer

Please share your thougts and opinions

1 Mar

Browser Wars – 2011 Q1 Edition

Posted by ssmusoke in chrome, firefox, internet, safari, web development, windows.

Yeap, I have just upgraded to the new Firefox 4.0 b12 and it seems to bring Firefox back in the browser race which was being dominated by Google Chrome (www.google.com/chrome) and Internet Explorer 8 with 9 coming back

I have always been against Firefox for being  a memory hog, blame me for running many plugins in my install, but I am not patient enough to have multiple profiles. The beta is fast, and it seems a marriage between Internet Explorer 9 and Chrome.

I hope that the release cycle speeds up since Chrome seems to have the advantage in that area. My browser usage now stands as follows:

  • Firefox 4.0 b12 – RSS feed reader, web development (Firebug, Web Developer, YSlow, Google Page Speed)
  • Internet Explorer 8 – browsing since this is the default browser on my computer
  • Chrome – still used for a lot  of my browsing, though its now competing with Firefox for browsing time

That’s all for Q1, I will be back in Q2 with another update

16 Dec

Browser Wars 2010 – Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome

Posted by ssmusoke in chrome, firefox, internet, safari, web development, windows.

Almost 85% of the Internet population uses the top 3 browsers which are as different as they are similar. I do love and hate each of them in their own ways.

Internet Explorer

  1. Has improved since IE 6 which as a web designer is the worst thing that happened to the Internet
  2. IE 8 I like, its fast, however it provides no debugging features, error messages are cryptic. It seems standards compliant yet breaks without warning at each HTML or Javascript issue.
  3. The Inprivate browsing mode is great and is the default mode that I use on shared computers since “nothing” is kept when I close my session
  4. The development cycles are too long, we are waiting for IE 9 beta, not sure what changes are coming in just waiting to see

Chrome

  1. Nice, fast, speedy, uncluttered, can handle many tabs without crashing or consuming all the memory
  2. We are already at version 8, I think this development is too fast for me and a bit creepy

Firefox

  1. The swiss army knife which consumes so much memory that it always brings my computer to its knees
  2. The addons are to die for Brief, Firebug, Google Page Speed, Yslow, Web Developer
  3. Fix the memory and speed issue and you will be come my #1 browser, till then I will just use you for RSS Feeds and Development

Safari, and Opera I do not use you enough to have an opinion …

Till later

  1. Hey we are at version

2 Dec

Windows 7 and the 2GB RAM Issue

Posted by ssmusoke in windows. Tagged: , , , , .

Now that Black Friday offers are sinking in, some of which are being extended into the holidays. Be it that laptop or desktop that you want, the issue always remains do I get 32bit or 64bit OS.

Times have improved since Windows Vista, where 32bit and 64bit were two worlds apart. They are almost similar, but the more technical people can deal with that.

The good news is that Windows 7 (Home Basic and above) supports 4GB RAM out of the box, without any additional configuration on your end. Just install and it will run.

For more details http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366778(VS.85).aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_7

So unless u need more than 4GB you can stick with your 32 bit Windows 7 install

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