Al's Writings

Fixing Windows 7 Update - Restart Loop So your Windows Update does not return any updates anymore. This is a very common problem. Why doesn't Microsoft make their Update function more robust and forgiving?
China 2009 This is my latest trip to China in July! I spent three weeks traveling around the country including the cities of Xi'an, Jiuzhaigou, Chengdu, Hangzhou and Huangshan. My last week was spent in Beijing to attend FISM! The pictures are in the website and the videos are coming soon!
Sony Mylo COM2 This is my review of the Sony Mylo COM2. It's got a really sharp, crisp touchscreen, a slide out keyboard, a web browser and it supports Skype! I like it. What more do you want?
Installing Windows XP over Windows Vista on a Sony Vaio Laptop Ever try installing Windows XP over Windows Vista on a Sony Vaio laptop? It's incredibly hard to do but I did it! And I kept full functionality on the Vaio too! The details were sufficiently gory that I had to write about it.
Annoying On-Line Forms That Don't Work! Isn't it annoying to spend your time to fill out an on-line survey form only to discover it does not work properly? This has happened one too many times for me! Why don't companies check their forms first?
IOPS F5 MP3 Player My review of my second MP3 player! This is my upgrade to the F325 player I bought about 18 months ago. The F5 plays video files well but paradoxically displays images badly. The whole sordid story is here!
Rough Science Rocks! See practical applications of basic science and math in a very cool way. Amazing and clever!
Would You Work For Them? The weirdest series of phone interviews I have experienced to date.
Why GE Transportation Sucks Rather than do basic historic research, GE decides to perpetuate a racist lie on the joining of the transcontinental railroad.
Why the United Parcel Service Sucks UPS did it again. They screwed me out of receiving a package sent to me. This has happened at least three times now.
IOPS F325 MP3 Player My review of my very first MP3 player! The player is about the size of a pack of chewing gum. Despite the crappy user manual and firmware bugs, I really like it.
Getting Windows CE 2.00 ActiveSync to Run on the Local Area Network Why wait for slow transfers over the serial cable when you could make an ActiveSync connection over a much faster ethernet local area network? Share files and install new programs quickly on your Handheld computer. Many people have tried and failed. I solved it for Windows CE 2.00 even with a few unknowns.
Internet Connection Sharing With All Things Windows I recently created a local area network (LAN) with computers running five different versions of Windows. The neat thing is they all share the same dialup line via the LAN! I had been meaning to do this for some time.
Why Windows Sucks I can't stand it anymore! I have to vent. I have seen too many releases of Windows and they all suck. I am convinced Windows is a scam.
Secure Telnet for Windows CE 2.00: Installation Instructions for OpenSSH I just installed this onto my LG Phenom Express. The existing instructions are rather terse and scattered so I put everything in one place. The installation procedure is rather involved. OpenSSH is an Open Source telnet that supports SSH connections! I am sure someone else would find this useful.
Your Money is No Good Here I recently went to a Target store to buy some stuff and tried to pay with an older $100 bill. Read what happened.
China 1999 I got back from a long summer vacation into China! While visiting Beijing and Xi'an, I kept a daily journal which I uploaded to this webpage about once a week. I describe the good, the bad and the ugly. Overall, the trip was worth it. (10/25/99 Update - Some selected pictures and items were scanned and put on-line. Check it out!)
Fujitsu Poqet PC Plus Handheld Computer My review and experience with the Poqet PC Plus computer. The machine weighs a little more than a pound and has a nearly full sized keyboard. Also, it runs MS-DOS 5.0!
Learning Chinese For Chinese Americans trying to learn Mandarin. Should you learn to speak like a Chinese native?
What Is It? Here is a mystery object of unknown function and origin which has been piquing my curiosity for years. I found it in a junk drawer at my parent's house. I thought I'd ask the Net about it. Kudos to the one who can correctly identify it.
Disneyland's New Tomorrowland Sucks I went to Disneyland to celebrate July 4th! Also, I wanted to see the New Tomorrowland. After months of construction and $100 million spent on the facelift, I don't think it was worth the wait.
Why The Joy Luck Club Sucks A must read for all Asians! Demeaning stereotypes affects us all. I find it surprising other ethnic groups have stamped out most of their stereotypes except for Asians. Even if you don't agree with me, it will make you more aware.
Hong Kong 1996 My experience in Hong Kong, a year before the city reunifies with China. Includes travel advice and cool pictures. I want to go back!
Megs-O-RAM Ever added gobs of RAM and couldn't find any information on how to optimally configure it? I talk about my considerations when I upgraded my notebook computer to 40 MB! PC only.
No Spam! How to stop junk email. Describes what spam is and why it's a bad marketing tactic. Instructions on how to send a complaint against the spam you receive. Updated August '97.
Net Advertising Tips A short article giving pointers on good and bad marketing tactics on the Net. Definitely no spam!
Hallucinations About my hallucination experience while very ill. It was an interesting experience. Compare notes with me. How do you hallucinate?

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