Scott's Column Archive

September 2010 - Scott goes over all that he did for his vacation to Star Wars Celebration V. This includes ripping Blu-Rays to his Zune HD, and well as some info on his camera and a lens rental. At the end Scott will tell you about a free Blu-Ray ripping solution that is fairly simple to perform.

August 2010 - Star Wars Celebration V is getting very close. Scott gets a new lens for the trip and gets a USB 3.0 external hard drive to get some much need disc space relief.

July 2010 - Scott talks a little about Life 2.0 with his new start. He also explores the idea of a podcast on photography and starts planning for Star Wars Celebration V.

June 2010 - Scott reveals the results of his digital SLR camera search, and he also shows you how he built a complete 7.1 (yes, 7.1, not 5.1) Home Theater in his apartment for a total of $1,331... including the plasma TV, and all components and speakers.

May 2010 - Scott moves out so he tells you all about his search for the perfect apartment. He also tells the competition how to complete with Apple's iPad.

April 2010 - Scott takes a quick look at the Apple iPad just before it hits the streets and says why it will be a huge success. He also takes a peek into the future and tries to tell us what his computer eco-system will look like in a few months.

March 2010 - Scott follows up his recent DSLR Buying Tips with an article on SLR Lens selection. He also lays the groundwork for building a new computing eco-system by coving what he has and the direction he wants to go.

February 2010 - Scott publishes this month's edition early to beat Apple's announcement. He revisits his tablet predictions... for Apple and Microsoft. It is expected that Apple reveal a new tablet in two days. Let's see if Scott is on target with his hopes and predictions. Also, Scott has a domain name issue and some memory problems.

January 2010 - Scott is looking for a Digital SLR camera. he is going to take you through the entire process, so read along if you want to know how to pick the right camera for you.

December 2009 - Scott takes another look at SugarSync and compares it with DropBox. Which one is he using? You have to click to find out. As a prelude to getting a new camera, Scott takes you on a story of all the cameras he has owned over the last 25 years.

November 2009 - Scott plans out building a Windows 7 PC for some semi-serious gaming. He also compares Apple Genius playlist generator to the Zune's new Smart DJ. Finally Scott tells you what he thinks will be in the Apple Tablet... and what he needs in it to buy one himself.

October 2009 - Scott gets to use a Garmin GPS for a few days in New York. Plus Scott plans what to watch next on his Zune 80.

September 2009 - Scott covers his recent trip to New York and what he did with only one day in Manhattan. He also covers getting true HDTV.

August 2009 - Scott looks at the main differences between LCD and Plasma for flat panel HDTVs. While thinking about HDTV he also compares AT&T's UVerse package for HD channels and Internet speed against Time Warner with Road Runner.

July 2009 - Scott has some issues with his Zune, but still loves it. He and his son get an iPod Touch. Scott also gets a "new" laptop for work and has to trade GoToMyPC for VPN software and Remote Desktop. Scott even has time to reminisce about the passing of Microsoft Money.

June 2009 - Scott blows his monthly budget to pieces with home maintenance. But he also finds time to migrate his applications and data to his desktop and looks at a few 14" laptops on his quest to find his next laptop.

May 2009 - Scott visits a Sony Style store and checks out there line up of laptops. Also, in preparation for his new laptops Scott reads a few reviews of 13" laptops to see if any meet his needs.

April 2009 - Scott covers some issues he has had with ripping movies. He also covers issues with video stuttering on his Zune 80. Finally he starts making a list of possible laptops to be his next.

March 2009 - The XBox 360 continues to be the center of attention. This month Scott spends a lot of time on file formats and what he uses for the XBox 360 as a Media Extender. He also takes a brief look at Windows 7.

February 2009 - This month is all about the XBox, and very little of it is about gaming. Scott spends a lot of time getting the XBox 360 up and running as a Media Center Extender.

January 2009 - Scott's boys get an XBox 360 and Scott gets a 1.5 TB hard drive. Get a taste of what's to come with these two new "toys."

December 2008 - Scott takes a really in-depth look at the Price of Macs. Is there a "Mac Tax"? He also revisits movie formats and storing of movies and TV shows on his computers. Scott looks at the upgrade to DVDFab Platinum with version 5.1.

November 2008 - Scott talks about his plans for backing up his media files and file formats for video. He also starts the ball rolling on choosing his next laptop and thinks it's time to revisit the Mac vs. Windows cost issue again.

October 2008 - Scott gets started on his plan to get a Mac. See what he does as the first steps.

September 2008 - A lot of work doesn't stop Scott from getting a new TV and telling you his plans for a new web application.

August 2008 - Scott finishes coverage on his PC rebuilding project by covering the operating system and software for his media based PC. He also concludes his web hosting coverage and tells you how this site is hosted. Finally, Scott take a quick look at a new application for putting movies on his Zune and compares it to his favorite "old" program.

July 2008 - Scott completes his PC Resurrection. See which direction he ultimately went and what components he used. Scott also goes over his options for hosting his web site.

June 2008 - Scott continues his search for components to restore his PC to working condition. It all comes down to how important gaming is. His IP address also changes and sparks the issue of web hosting.

May 2008 - Scott's gets away from work long enough to discuss getting TV on a portable device, and what it will take to ressurect his desktop PC to a valid media capable PC.

April 2008 - This month Scott wraps up the talk about work. Also we will get a glimpse of what is coming up.

March 2008 - Scott works his butt off so all he can do is tell you what he worked on. Read about his migration off an HP 3000 mainframe using .Net and Oracle.

February 2008 - Scott takes a look back... at Windows Vista and Windows XP. Is Vista really as bad as all the press it gets, or do we just need to refresh people's memory about the first couple of years of running Windows XP. Scott also tells you about the best FREE software that he actually uses.

January 2008 - Scott gets a Zune 80 for his birthday, and proceeds to review it and does an in-depth evaluation of software to put movies on the Zune. Scott has one FREE solution for going from DVD to Zune, and one application you have to buy. Check it out.

December 2007 - Scott uses his usual zeal to compare 5 MP3 players. It's time for a new player. Which players is Scott considering? Which one is he going to get? Scott also builds on last month's Mac OS X information to determine what is the best Mac computer.

November 2007 - Scott does a lot of Mac OS X testing... without a Mac. How? What did he learn? Well, just click to find out. Is OS X the best operation system? You'll find out.

October 2007 - Scott spends time trying to get Mac OS X running on his laptop. He also takes a few Linux distros for a spin, and gives you the secret to his simple but effective backups. Finally a word about .Net.

September 2007 - Scott researches what it would take to upgrade to a DX10 capable computer... and how much it will cost. Scott finally gets around to telling why he likes Expression Web more than Dreamweaver. Also, Scott discusses his desktop and laptop situation.

August 2007 - Scott builds a "new" home server, looks at the new Dell XPS M1330 and finally finds out how much Windows Vista really costs.

July 2007 - Scott goes over using virtualization software to test Office and Outlook 2000 running on Windows Vista. He also tries to prove Macs are expensive only to show that Mac laptops are cheaper than Windows laptops when the hardware is comparable.

June 2007 - This month we cover Apple TV and why it should be free, virtualization software and how to build VMware virtual machines for free, repairing a crashed hard drive and an Oracle 8i to 10g migration.

May 2007 - Scott makes the switch to Dreamweaver and makes some minor tweaks to the format of his column, he looks at academic versions of some software and gets a new DVD player.

April 2007 - Scott "upgrades" his laptop to Windows Vista... and then upgrades it back to Windows XP. Get all the gory details. Also Scott goes to a conference in Las Vegas.

March 2007 - Scott almost finishes his comparison of Quicken and MS Money, He doesn't like last month's complete redesign so he takes a step back and goes with a design closer to what he prototyped, and Scott even covers the hardware he could use for his next home server.

February 2007 - Another big month. Scott talks about the new design, and compares Dreamweaver with Expression Web. He also compared Microsoft Money to Intuit's Quicken. There is also information on web development and starts planning the software for a home server.

January 2007 - Scott covers a lot this month. He talks about the redesign of this site, which will hopefully be ready next month. He also talks about Microsoft Money 2007, The final version of Windows Vista and more. Check it out.

December 2006 - Scott mostly tried to catch up on some gaming. He does touch on Firefox and Web Design.

November 2006 - Scott goes into depth on gaming on a widescreen laptop and gets back to testing Windows Vista.

October 2006 - Scott start's a blog, builds a Flash application, looks into web development and gets a new laptop. It was busy and going to get more so... hence the blog.

September 2006 - Scott does what he thinks is his best review yet... on the Sony DSC-T9 camera, complete with sample pictures and even a movie clip. Check it out. His son also gets a laptop to go into middle school.

August 2006 - Scott puts Windows Vista out to pasture... for now. He also goes to great lengths to pick a Sony DSC-T9 as his next digital camera.

July 2006 - Scott lives with Windows Vista Beta 2 for a little more than a month now. Is he going to make the change permanent? Is Vista up to the task? Read on to find out.

June 2006 - The saga continues for Scott's first Visual Basic 2005 application. Scott also downloads and runs the latest version of Windows Vista (Beta 2, Build 5384) and runs if full time. Finally Scott builds a special character conversion setup.

May 2006 - Scott's Visual Basic program almost goes to production. A funeral in New York slows his progress.

April 2006 - Scott finishes his first Visual Studio 2005 application. He also gets Windows Vista running. Oh yea, his boys entered the Pinewood Derby and did very well.

March 2006 - Scott takes another look at FireFox and realizes his latest redesign does not work with it. He also covers a little on Visual Studio 2005.

February 2006 - Scott gets a new hard drive and DVD burner. This gives him the chance to check out Windows Vista. He also looks at a computer poker game and starts getting into Visual Studio 2005.

January 2006 - Scott finally tells you about his new mouse. He also talks about installing various flavors of Linux under Virtual PC, and Goes to a Microsoft Visual Studio/SQL Server launch event.

December 2005 - Scott talks briefly about computer viruses and spam filters to help eliminate the worry.

November 2005 - Scott finally starts his comparison of Dreamweaver, FrontPage and Nvu.

October 2005 - Scott's Site moves to a new location, and he has to jockey a few things around to make it all work.

September 2005 - Scott makes his final decision about a possible DBA position. His house also takes a hit of lightning.

August 2005 - Scott has the chance to increase his DBA responsibilities, is it what he wants?

July 2005 - Scott builds a gaming machine for a friend. He also takes a trip back to the coast... where it all began. Read on to see what that means.

June 2005 - Scott takes a look at upgradeable computer components for a gaming based PC. See what he thinks you should do, and not do, when upgrading.

May 2005 - Scott continues his video upgrade. How far does he go to get great gaming performance. Also a word on FireFox.

April 2005 - Scott takes the plunge into gaming and buys a nVidia GeForce 6600 GT video card. Is it enough? Scott also takes a look at the Mini Mac and sees if a comparable Windows PC can be built for the same, or less money.

March 2005 - Scott spells out a budget gaming machine. It was planned for a friend, so we will have to see if/when it gets built. Scott also starts getting into his new development tools including Visual Studio .NET, SQL Server and Virtual PC.

February 2005 - Scott goes to a .Net Conference and replaces a noisy hard drive in his server.

January 2005 - Scott looks at FireFox after spending about a full month with the final 1.0 release. Also, Scott has to deal with his HD DVR. You may be interested in what happens, especially if you are on the fence for getting one yourself.

December 2004 - Scott dedicates this month's column to HDTV. Find out why.

November 2004 - Scott looks at Windows XP SP2 on his wife's laptop. He also deals with some monitor troubles for his in-laws, and gets back into gaming.

October 2004 - Scott finished his look at WiFi, converts to Windows XP Service Pack 2, and plays around with some games.

September 2004 - Scott plays around with a WiFi range extender, Windows XP SP2 and a new game called Zuma.

August 2004 - This month Scott takes a vacation, does a brake job and sets up a nice backup routine for his wife's laptop.

July 2004 - Scott shows pictures of the deck, takes another look at Linux and has a few words about blogs.

June 2004 - Scott finally finishes his deck... well almost. He also takes a look at Lindows. Can Lindows be a replacement for Windows? Read on to find out.

May 2004 - Scott's laptop see a little hiccup, he gets back to work on the deck and tells about finishing the web site redesign.

April 2004 - Scott tells about redesigning his web site, and revisits his deck after a long hiatus.

March 2004 - Scott spends some time with his old/new laptop and takes a look at some upcoming projects a work.

February 2004 - Scott's wife gets a new laptop and Scott finally burns a DVD. Also Scott takes a look at the spam issue with an interesting solution.

January 2004 - Scott turns 40 and receives some very bad news.

December 2003 - Scott takes a quick trip to New York and not much more.

November 2003 - Scott takes another look at MP3 players, and compact flash memory.

October 2003 - Scott plays around with his new laptop. Some of the things he covers are Wireless connection using 802.11? Wi-Fi, Relaxation and Security.

September 2003 - Scott gets pcAnywhere running, buys a UPS and is making a change to the format of his web site.

August 2003 - Scott doesn't make much progress on his deck this month, but he does get around to configuring his server while taking a trip to New York.

July 2003 - Scott gets very busy building his deck, but at least he finally installed some speakers on the back porch to make the work go easier.

June 2003 - With the yard finished the deck plans come to a halt then start up again.

May 2003 - The yard is finished, well as far as grass and dirt are concerned. Now Scott is onto a new deck as well as some info about printers.

April 2003 - Scott has nothing to talk about except work. So... he talks about work this month.

March 2003 - Scott starts his yard after being in his new house for over a year. He also gets more printers in production at work.

February 2003 - Scott takes some time exploring his new MP3 player, gives a few words about his new PC and server, and puts Turbo Tax in its place for adding activation and spyware to its software.

January 2003 - Scott's tells about his work with multiple digital printers, describes his new MP3 player using an IBM Microdrive, and finally looks at what he might do about a new computer.

December 2002 - Scott has some fun reading the logs of his Shoutcast server. Also, he starts to take a serious look at Windows 2000 for his home operating system and how it will eventually stand up to Windows XP and Linux.

November 2002 - In place of building a server from spare parts, Scott upgrades his computer with and makes the switch to Windows 2000.

October 2002 - Scott plays around with Warcraft III & Virtual CD. He also starts planning his next computer.

September 2002 - Scott spent most of the month getting the digital printing system running smoothly in production.

August 2002 - Scott briefly tells of some of the little things he went through to get digital printing going, and he celebrates his 10 year wedding anniversary.

July 2002 - Scott has one of the busiest months of his life. It makes it very hard to be a slacker. He endures as much as he can, but ultimately he will be late getting the digital printing system into production.

June 2002 - With little time on his hands, Scott tells a little about what's going on. Next month should have much more to report though.

May 2002 - Scott has fun with an application server, starts the redesign of his web site with the real start of his project car search, and finally hast to reveal his real e-mail address because a lifetime e-mail address had a limited lifetime.

April 2002 - Scott deal with a major crash of his Oracle server, deals with problems with his web site and gets another new laptop.

March 2002 - Scott screws up a critical application server, but manages to redeem himself by building a plan to recreate the server. Scott also takes his first look at telescopes and starts to think about his long term computer and Windows plan.

February 2002 - Scott tells how easy it was for him to setup his home LAN with CAT 5e cable in the walls. He also takes a look at his Desert Eagle 44 Magnum and contemplates selling it to buy a telescope. (Sorry, this page was permanently lost.)

January 2002 - Work is slow, as is normally the case in December. But Scott get a couple of cool presents for his Birthday and Christmas. Also Scott takes another look at Windows XP.

December 2001 - This month I built a budget PC as well as take another look at Windows XP. Plus I am dealing with a very frustrating Visual Basic problem. But work is fun again, so I am loving it.

November 2001 - Scott settles in at his new job and gets back to talking about technology. This month he has information on GoToMyPC, A development server, backup procedures, and Windows XP & his laptop.

October 2001 - Back in 1999 I bet my best friend in the Spurs vs. Knicks Championship series. The Spurs won and my friend had to pay up by helping my for a week on my house.

September 2001 - Scott takes a stab at the job search over the Internet. Learn what seems to work best. Also a lot of progress has happened on the house, and finally Scott contemplates way to use Wireless access to share an Internet connection among neighbors.

August 2001 - This month was very busy. We moved... but not into our new house yet. We had problems with the new laptop. And just for fun we test drove a few car based SUVs to see what we want next. Finally, at the end of the month I was laid off.

July 2001 - Obviously the house project is well under way. They are framing, and it is looking like a house. Also, our HP Pavilion laptop has so much trouble they exchanged it for a really nice Compaq model. Scott Also ponders the trouble he thought he had with Windows Me could be from a bad CD-ROM drive.

June 2001 - The house was officially start with true ground breaking. Scott build a special online calendar to track the project. On other notes, Scott gets a new camcorder, and upgrades his home network with a Linksys Router/Hub.

May 2001 - Scott's house project gets started, finally. However it does not happen fast enough to show you. In the mean time he has trouble with his non-digital camera, and tries out Netflix for renting DVDs.

April 2001 - Scott has to take care of a bad case of Windowsitis. The house project is running like an emotional roller coaster, but the appraisal is in.

March 2001 - Scott maximizes his Palm III, but contemplate why he would ever want one. He also plays around with MP3 files and learns some interesting things about sound cards. Finally enough bids are in that it is time to share the progress on the dream house.

February 2001 - This month Scott tears into MP3 vs. WMA. If you are believing the hype that WMA is better you had better read this first. With bids coming in on the house project Scott blows the cob webs off his Palm III to use with his new HP laptop. Scott also takes a look at a few interesting MP3 tidbits from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

January 2001 - Finally some excitement at work. We built a new database and screens to support a series of special formulas. The house plans are complete, but the door is open to make some minor changes as time goes by. I finally got a MP3 Player. Lastly, although I have every song from it... I bought The Beatles 1 CD.

December 2000 - This month Scott contemplates getting a MP3 player, and plans his future game room with much detail.

November 2000 - Scott's has house plans to see, and talks some more on ADSL. He also decided to take out a little frustration and rants about a situation with his job.

October 2000 - Scott's has more than a few words on HDTV as he does the research necessary before taking any such plunge, and then he uses that knowledge to buy one. Oh, yea, he also takes the next big step toward getting plans for his new house and has time left over to study his ADSL connection.

September 2000 - This month we get used to living in an apartment. I finally get ADSL and I am loving it. I have more information on Office 2000, and had to do a lot of juggling to keep my old e-mail addresses while making a major switch in ISPs. As I eluded to last month I bought a new hard drive, and at work we have picked up on our database conversions.

August 2000 - Now an apartment dweller, Scott gets ready for an ADSL connection to the Internet and plays around with Windows 2000, Office 2000 & Personal Firewall software.

July 2000 - Scott's site has been doing the moving thing only to come back where it started. The house goes up for sale and Scott looks at Windows 2000 & Office 2000.

June 2000 - Scott gets his preliminary house plans and finally gets some pictures online of the land. Also some fun with database imports.

May 2000 - Scott's printer dies, spurring the purchase of a new printer and digital camera. He also starts working on his land to clear it for his new house, and begins the preparation on his existing home for sale. Oh, and a little on UNIX.

April 2000 - Scott tell why his house building plans are accelerated by a good six months, and gives detailed accounts of the difference between client-server and a web based application..

March 2000 - Scott builds a computer with a DVD drive, and yes... he plays around with the DeCSS program that copies movies to a hard drive. Next Scott wrestles with the difference between a cordless and a "ball-less" mouse as he contemplates Microsoft's new Intellieye mouse.

February 2000 - Scott's cable modem is finally working after being more out than in since Thanksgiving. He also contemplates building an online radio station with WinAmp and ShoutCast.

January 2000 - Scott tells the woes of his cable modem, but there is some fun this month with a new force feedback joystick.

December 1999 - Money 95 vs. Money 2000, and an up and down cable modem.

November 1999 - No Servers, Uploading Files, and a Friend's Cable Modem.

October 1999 - Web goes to Production, Money 2000 and I reformat my hard drive.

September 1999 - Web site ready to go to production, and yet another sinus surgery.

August 1999 - The Web goes on, but double workouts come to an end, and we get a bigger vehicle.

July 1999 - Go Spurs Go!

June 1999 - Web site is underway, Oracle gives a bad class, and some tidbits on cable modems, land and workouts.

May 1999 - More countries, easier use, and a web site is born.

April 1999 - More On New computers, The New Briefing, and Stuff.

March 1999 - New Computer, Taxes, and Land.

February 1999 - New Computer vs. Land, and a little on Palm III and the new briefing.

January 1999 - New Location, Palm III, New Briefing, and maybe a new computer

December 1998 - Oracle Open World.

November 1998 - Updates on the client/server application, converting 16 Bit help to 32 Bit help, and scott gets a new computer. Also, a little on loads, Windows 98, and the move.

October 1998 - Client Server application development is moving along nicely, and we finally get the loads built to distribute the software. Also, more on the digital camera I borrowed. Plus a note on Windows 98.

September 1998 - Client server wins over Intranet, and Scott becomes a busy man. Also, we compress our workstations and I finally borrow a digital camera.

August 1998 - Scott has to load workstations for a series of classes, and finally takes a vacation.

July 1998 - Jury duty wipes out my vacation, I put Excel & PowerPoint files on an Intranet, and we start the challenge of buying a new house.

June 1998 - In the light of laptop problems Scott redesigns his site, and builds a new site dedicated to showing web design techniques.

May 1998 - Scott experiences major laptop woes.

April 1998 - Move to 32-Bits.

March 1998 - Surgery & Baby.

February 1998 - VB & The JukeBox.

January 1998 - Birthdays & Christmas

December 1997 - 2400 Baud & Windows 98.

November 1997 - Surgery & Windows 98.

October 1997 - Ramblings.

September 1997 - Who Am I?.

August 1997 - My Vacation