On the Rag: Windows and Bit Rot

Because there's always something to rag about...

I hate Microsoft.

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I think it's worth repeating.

I hate Microsoft.

Why, you ask? Well there are many, many, many reasons to hate Microsoft, IMHO, but today I'm here to talk about Bit Rot. Bit Rot refers to “degradation of a software program over time.” (Wikipedia). Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), this problem occurs only in PCs—computers configured to run Windows operating systems (XP, Vista, Windows 7, etc.) and Windows based programs.  

Back in the '90s, many experts claimed Bit Rot was due to electrical problems. They claimed that if your computer was not plugged into it's own dedicated wall receptacle, it would start to deteriorate which would result in said Bit Rot. This seems completely illogical to me. Computers have built in transformers which convert 120 AC into low voltage DC. They're designed to deal with voltage fluctuations, and can easily handle anywhere from 110 to 130 volts—and still produce the correct output. If there's an electrical problem, it's going to burn out the transformer first, long before it effects the PC. Again, this is my personal opinion.

Recently, some experts owned up to the truth. Bit Rot is caused by three basic things: Microsoft's Window OS uninstalling software incorrectly, badly written software programs, and conflicting hardware drivers.  

When you install software onto your computer, not only is it written into the file system but also the computer's registry. If you're unfamiliar with the term, the registry “is essentially the catalog or reference source for your computer. When you attempt to open a program-for example, your word processor-your computer queries the registry to find where the program is stored.” (Registry Repair Learning Centre) The problem is, though most programs are good at installing themselves on your computer, they are terrible at uninstalling, and often leave not only bits of the program in the filing system, but also in the registry. Neither does Windows have the ability to clean up the registry. So while you think you've uninstalled a program, its left it's mark on your computer and added to the ever expanding size of your registry.

Unlike Apple, Microsoft does not make software developers meet certain criteria when writing Windows based programs. This means anyone can write a program for Windows, even someone who doesn't know, or care, what they are doing, which will result in conflicts between various programs. This most commonly occurs with Freeware & Shareware programs. Be sure to double check the source or developer of the program before downloading it into your computer, because once you do so, you may have a hell of a time removing it completely.

The third culprit of Bit Rot is drivers for hardware, such as printers, audio and graphic cards. In recent years, it seems manufactures have gotten “lazy” when it comes to uninstalling the old driver before updating your system with the new one. This can cause tremendous conflict and often leads to freezing up and even crashing your computer. It also leads to Bit Rot as it effects Windows as a whole.  

Now, some will try to claim this is Microsoft bashing or Windows “urban legend”, but I and my family have personally experienced this with five of our Windows based computers over the years. Most recently, was with my Toshiba Laptop, A40, one of the best computers I've ever owned. I wrote several romance novels on that keyboard and probably well over a million words. Needless to say, I wore out the lettering on the keyboard. But after four marvellous years, it too gave up the ghost. As I loved this laptop, I did tons of research and tried hard to “bring it back from the dead.” I even restored it back to the original factory settings using Toshiba's own software, but the blue screen kept appearing, which meant the laptop was no longer stable. It seems to me, Bit Rot may have corrupted the motherboard, and perhaps even the processing chip. And once Bit Rot starts eating away at your computer, there is no stopping it.  

How do you prevent Bit Rot? Well...according to the experts, there's not much you can do. Other than try to limit the software or types of software you install on your computer, but that's not always possible as you will never know which software is going to cause a conflict in your PC. Because most software released to the public is not properly beta tested, even programs from trusted developers can start the ball rolling with bit rot. And lets not forget all those drivers you'll be installing with each new printer, scanner, etc. Once you're computer starts slowing down, and especially when you receive your first “blue screen”, it's just a matter of time before it breathes its last...

To learn more about Bit Rot, check out this excellent article at ZDnet – Windows bit rot – fact or fiction?

On the Rag #1

Because hey, there’s always something to rag about...

I’ve decided to create my own “must blog” days because I can never seem to find the time and this will force me to make time—well that’s the theory anyway. And so I’m starting off with my new “On the Rag” because there is ALWAYS something to rag about... LOL

I hate bugs!

And I’m not talking about the your average annoying, winged, eight legged, flying, crawling, garden variety. I’m talking about programming bugs, software glitches. The kind that make you want to take a sledge hammer to your computer and smash it into tiny little bits. And then gather up all those bits into a box and toss them into the ocean!

But the truth of the matter is, it’s not the computer’s fault, it’s the developers!

For the last three months, I and Meister E have been working on my other website, Historical Romance Club, dedicated to promoting historical, fantasy, time travel, and paranormal romance. For three months we programmed, we tested, over and over again, fixing programming glitches. Finally we had it all figured out, and three days before the big “Grand Re-Opening” we slammed it onto the website and did a thorough test. Well guess what? Everything went wrong. The Iframes were conflicting with each other, the java buttons were moving as slow as molasses in the dead of winter, and the Ajax was ignoring it’s instructions and sitting at the top of the page overlapping a bunch of other text... Oh, the aggravating list goes on and on... By the end of the first day, I was about ready rip out every single strand of hair on my head! I mean hey developers, why don’t you test your scripts before releasing them to the programmers! Okay, we DID get everything fixed and HRC is running smoothly (no worries there), and I’m proud to say it looks and works beautifully...

But this got me thinking about all the other computer glitches and bugs WE as consumers have to deal with every single day. How many times have you downloaded an update for Windows, and suddenly your computer starts acting screwy, and then three days later Microsoft sends you an emergency patch? Lets take a look at the new Internet Explorer 7, shall we? Ohhh... Ahhh... Yes, it looks great (though it kinda looks like a copy of FireFox if you ask me) but what about all the bloody glitches? It is suppose to be ten times more secure than the old one, which is great, the last thing I’m gong to complain about is more security on the internet. But how well does it work? Almost right off the bat, I had a problem with Google and Blogger. The damn IE7 wouldn’t accept ANY of Google’s or Blogger’s cookies, no matter WHAT I did. No matter how many times I put them on the acceptance list, it didn’t change a damn thing. The only thing I COULD do was turn the cookie controller off, which really doesn’t help in making your computer more secure if you’re surfing the net and accepting ALL cookies. So finally I gave up and had to go to FireFox for all my Google and Blogger needs. And then my computer had a major crash which had to do with IE7, and suddenly I had 13 emergency downloads from Microsoft, which really has to make you wonder!?!?

Whatever happened to beta testing your software, and THEN releasing it to the public “bug” free? Nowadays, the only thing the big and little software companies seem to care about is the bottom line (no surprise there). Yeah, they “beta” test it for a while and make sure the program isn’t going to make your computer explode, but after that, they leave it up to the consumer to find all the glitches. I don’t know how many times I’ve been writing in WordPerfect or Microsoft Word, and suddenly there’s an illegal shut down and I just might loose a day’s work, but it wants me to send and error report back to the company... I’ll give you an error report! @#*%$!

The bottom line is, developers need to start thoroughly testing their software BEFORE releasing it to the public. Come on, start taking some responsibility for your actions and your bug-filled programs and leave the glitch-free results to your customers.

A rant a day, keeps the doctor away! LOL