This page contains text from some of my forum posts. Most of the posts are on Maximum PC's Delphi forum. Last updated: ~2000

Anti-Virus Software

• Symantec AV
• Cheyenne AV by Computer Associates
• McAffee AV which got it's reputation because of a virus hoax. hmmm....

But popularity is best for beauty pagents and politicians. If you want the best protection for your computer, the anti-virus engine in Anti-Viral Toolkit (AVP) is the best. It was created by those crazy programmers in Russia. It's the best thing that came out of Russia since... well, I don't know what, but it is great.
You can also get the Datafellows F-Secure which has the AVP engine and their own engine. Either one of the two would be great. Hell, even John Dvorak recommends it. He's my favorite columnist and has some great insight in computers. he's pretty critical of everything so most of the stuff he recommends turns out to be a winner.
Or you can be impressed by the flashing lights and buy one of those other AV products.
F-Secure
AVP

Broadban Cable vs. DSL

The two technologies, dsl and Cable Modem have their own advantages. The primary advantage of cable is the max throughput of 10 Mb/s at a cheap price. The primary advantage of xDSL is it's dedicated connection. Both technologies use a modem (though the name is misleading) that translates data from the cable/phone line to your network interface card (NIC). Both can offer speeds comparable to a T2 line. Both are great for online gaming. I prefer cable modem because I get it for $30/mo. aDSL is $50(now $40) for 640Kb/128Kb download/upload which is much slower than 1000Kb/1000Kb download/upload of the cable modem. The dedicated connection of xDSL is not an important factor since Cable is just as reliable as xDSL. Most slow connections occur from internet congestion, not from shared bandwidth. Another advantage with Cable is that I get an excellent connection to my friend's PC's which is great when playing games or transferring files.

Ugly Parts of The Internet

This post is mostly of the ugly parts of the internet.

The internet is a great tool for information. There are many great possibilities related to the internet, but still, many problems remain and will remain for the foreseeable future.

The internet is not new. It's been around since 1969, though access was restricted. Only the last decade has the internet impacted the general public. All this growth has been from commercialism. The internet is a giant medium for companies to advertise their products, expose themselves to the public eye, and to affect the lives of all that log on.
First of all, there is no organization of internet sites. You can spend hours looking for information when a trip to your library may take only a few minutes. The easiest way to find information on the internet is through search engines, but the truth behind that is that they are corporately funded. Companies pay to be on the top of the search list. Go ahead and do a search on GOTO.com. You'll see what I'm talking about. These biased searches limit our knowledge. The main reason is that we accept the reality we are presented with. Reputations sometimes give a false sense of security. Which goes into my next statement.
The biggest problem with this commercialism is probably privacy. Some companies build a database of visitors. A few visits from the visitor, either voluntarily or from popup ads can reveal a large amount of personal information. Your computer can be sending personal information through the internet without your knowledge. Real Networks, makers of Real Player and other software has admitted to taking personal information. And there was also a fiasco with Microsoft and the NSA (National Security Agency). There are countless other security issues you are not aware of.
Another problem is the huge gap in usage of the internet. It is predominantly used by middle and upper class citizens. There is an effort to spread usage to lower income families, but a quick successful rollout would cost billions which would receive widespread protests. Clinton's technology push is quite radical, but it will take years before those people will fully benefit from the aid.
But we have more to worry about. Within 2 years, half the content on the internet will be in languages other than English. Many people are only literate in English and will be disadvantaged to people in other countries that educate their students in multiple languages. The internet is crucial to the future of not only this nation, but to the world. Whomever controls the internet controls much more.
And Americans are getting lazier than ever. TV use to take most of our free time. People who have gone on the internet are on more than they watch TV. The term "couch potatoe" is no longer valid.
So go outside and get some fresh air. A cool night and a clear sky will clear your mind. Don't worry about what I've said. Information doesn't always make you a wiser person. Ignorance is Bliss. And before you all flame me, this is just my opinion of the darker side of the internet. (This was written some time around 1999/2000)

Removing Windows 9x from Dual Boot Configuration

[boot loader]
timeout=4
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT
[operating systems]
C:\="Win 98"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000" /fastdetect

Remove the line 'C:\="Win 98"' and save the file. Reboot and make sure you don't have the option to boot to Win98 anymore. Then you can just delete the "C:\Windows" directory. Remember to save and backup any files you may need from that directory.

Removing Internet Explorer 5.0

Actually, you can remove IE. I've done it before on about 2 dozen machines. This fix usually will resolve any weird errors from IE or fatal exceptions/illegal ops.

1. You must have a full copy of IE 5.0 setup. You can get it from most PC magazine cd's (or the Maximum CD).
2. Click Start->Run and type regedit.
3. Click Registry->Export Registry.
4. Save the registry backup with today's date.
5. Delete these reg keys: HKEY_CURRENT_USER->Software->Microsoft->INTERNET EXPLORER HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->Software->Microsoft>INTERNET EXPLORER
6. Exit the registry. DO NOT REBOOT YET.
7. Delete this directory: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer.
8. Empty the Recycle Bin (you never know) and Reboot.
9. After rebooting, install IE 5.0 from your source.

This fix does work. It will also not affect your mail or your favorites. Good luck.

At night my mind does not much care, If what it thinks is here or there. It tells me stories it invents, And makes up things that don't make sense. I don't know why it does this stuff. The real world seems quite weird enough.

Source: http://www.st-hans.de/n64.htm

Something Microsoft should have done: make their OS on hardware. Put it on non-volitile ram card.