Sick and Tired of Machines Slow to Come Out of Standby

I am sick and tired of getting to work, docking my laptop - and not being able to do anything for 15 minutes.

This seems to happen when my laptop has been in standby overnight, and has not been connected to the network. Once it comes of standby at work it goes into a mode where the disk clicks madly, and everything runs like molasses, if it can be said to run.

Although the display comes up quite quickly, after less than a minute, nothing useful can be done for a much longer time. I understand that the folks who design things such as standby think that it is important to get the display up really quick, even if stuff is slow after that - byt 1 minute to display, and 15 minutes to useful work, is ridiculous.

It took 5 minutes to get to the point where my laptop started trying to enable the external monitor. 3 minutes more until my desktop was proper on external and internal monitor.

At about 4 minutes I ran CTL-ALT-DEL to get task manager. It took 3 minutes until I got the chance to press a button to get task manager, and 2 more minutes after that until I got to see the task manager.

Once I saw the task manager, I looked at top CPU consumers and PF Delta (recent PageFaults). I wish there was an I/O delta, but there does not seem to be. I swa processes such as the following:

scan32.exe
svchost.exe
cisvc.exe
naPrdMgr.exe
BESclient.exe
icdesk.exe
McScript_InUse.exe

It appears that most of the running and page faulting processes are related to virus scanning, with patching (BESclient) a close second.

I conjecture that the virusscanner's "cache" of recently scanned files has expired, and it is rescanning everything that needs to be open / which was open when I went into standby.

This sucks!!!

TTN

A new TLA especially suited to computer architecture at the large microprocessor companuies that I have worked at:

TTN. Time To Numbers. Specifically performance numbers.

Formex

I have a confession: I told a manager type guy at work that I needed to write a spreadsheet to prepare some hardware estimates. So, I wrote a spreadsheet programming it in Perl.

Actually, I am reviving a tool That I first wrote in undergrad circa 1984- a sort of free form spreadsheet. Not WYSIWYG in this incarnation, but could/should be. Actually started (re)writing it this summer. Formex = Formula Expander. I am quite happy.

Thunderbird (map Interface to Gmail.

I got sick and tired of Gmail's web interface, but I want to use it as my mail store-since amain has already outlasted of my PCs.So I installed Thunderbird. Imap to browse on the Gmail server; it appears that can use POP to back up the email, albeit without tags/ labels.

The mapping of Gmail tags/ labels to Imap folders sucks. Gmail needs some sort of structure for its tags.

TabletPC pen enables Gmail.

I have finally started using my new Tablet PC, and I am happy!!

I have used Gmail for my personal, non work stuff, for Years I but have always hated its interface: too much mouse clicking.

With the pen, fiddly I can use it.

Ironic that I just installed the Thunderbird Imap interface to G mail.

Heck, the TabletPC may help me write more on this blog. If only I could carry this Tablet every where - but since I also have a work laptop, that's a bit too much. OQO?

Google Personal Accounting

I used to be an assiduous user of Quicken for my personal accounts. I found that I could easily enter my receipts on my pen computer (originally a Compaq Concerto, later a Toshiba Tablet), and on myKyocera SmartPhone.

But then a series of unfortunate events caused me to fall off the diligent accounting wagon:



a) my employer, stopped allowing us to use our personal computers at work - so I could not do my accounts, e.g., at lunch. (Well, actually, I could, but who wants to carry two laptops/tablets around).



b) my Kyocera SmartPhone\ did not die, but it refused to work at my desk at work in Oregon. Only AT&T/Cingular phones work most places at my work campus. So I switched phone companies and, in the US, this meant that I switched phones. My wife and I still miss our Kyocera.



We have not found another software package that allows receipts to be entered on our phones. Actually, even if we had, we have not found a phone that we like using as a smartphone- mainly because we have not found another stylus based phone, and we hate teensy weensy keyboards.



c) the last straw was when my desktop died a few years ago. It had not be been backed up for quite a while. Although I talked about disk recovery, I basically just gave up on accounting.







Now I want to get back on the wagon. So this morning before work I googled far accounting software. Quicken of course - in both Quicken Online, and offline versions, the latter with a web entry option.

Now, I want to be able to enter accounts offline, when not connected to the net. E.g.. in an airplane. But I also want to be able to enter from other then my main PC, e.g. from my phone the way I used to. And I also want both any wife and I to be able to use it. fleck, I want us both to be able to USE it-not just enter transactions, but browse accounts, etc.

So, Quicken Online works, except for the offline requirement; whereas Quicken Web Entry works, but doesn't give 2 users full access.

While searching, I byes wading: does Google have an online accounts program? I came across the following conversation:



http://www.readwriteweb.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1880

I guess I am already an example: I am actively sanely for a web, plus offline, accounting system. And already use Google. I an wrestling with the security implication of online proud finance information - but heck, my bank and retirement and everyone else is all online. What would feet another do except provide one stop shopping for fraudsters?

Google has never done a good job at solving the "offline problem" - aka the "airplane problem". But apart from that, they rock.

I wonder which will care first: offline Google docs + spreadsheets 2 Calendar, on Google personal accounting?

eBeam

Yet another vain attempt to use Dave Sager's eBeam device to record my whiteboard scribblings.

By now, this device is so old that it would probably be best to buy a new one. Yet I cannot get buying a newone approved, because nobody ever really used the old one. Sager got it working, but its usage peetered out. I have never been able to get it working at all on my laptops.

It's a pity. I would love to have a way of recording what is written on a physical whiteboard. At the moment, it looks like a photograph is the best way... although I would love to record the time series.