Bye, bye U3...

When it was introduced, U3 seemed an interesting technology that would allow you to install specially tweaked applications onto a USB flash drive, in such a way that any configuration data that might normally end up residing on the computer's hard drive would instead be stored on the USB device. The result would be a flash drive you could insert into any computer and (a) not have to wonder if your preferred applications were installed on the machine, and (b) not have to wonder if your work left any data on the machine.

After playing around with the technology for a while, I was underwhelmed. First, there are a number of "portable" apps being developed out there that do not require U3. Second, some publishers, sensing some kind of premium value in the air, actually charge more for U3-enabled apps than for their normal ones. Finally, it turns out that, like most "portable solutions," it really isn't unless the folks that own the machine you want to use it on agree that it is.

Thus, a lot of people wonder: Why not just wipe it off my flash drive?

Conventional methods do not work, because the technology is designed to regenerate itself even if the USB device is wiped, presumably accidentally. Eventually, the U3 consortium did come up with a program that will zap U3 "permanently" (meaning there's a way to try get it back, which works most of the time), and SanDisk came up with its own, separate program to do the same thing on units it manufactures.

Since I have a SanDisk U3 drive, I downloaded and attempted to use their software to kill the U3 on my flash disk. The software does not work. Google suggested the consortium's software would do the trick just as well. It did.

Recovering the 4 MB or so (out of a gig) is not the point. Not having useless software run on my computer is.

* * *Natalie called a little while ago to tell me Galina is on the road, passing Lafayette, Louisiana. She's convinced one of the people who's been helping us in Texas to come along on the trip, so I'm pegging an ETA of mid-day tomorrow.

This means I need to get cracking on translation, at least. I managed to decline a weekend job yesterday. I've accepted a 300-word warmup for this morning, and two hazard reports for next Thursday.

Cheers...

CD changers...

About a half dozen years ago, I was browsing through the Methodist Thrift Shop in downtown Pagosa Springs when I ran across a Sony sound system - one of those boxes with twin cassette bays, a tuner, and a CD changer. The unit seemed in pretty good condition, and was complete. The price was $5.

In response to my raised eyebrows, the woman behind the counter said "The CD player doesn't work."

If figured, hey, what the heck, it's for charity, right? I slipped the woman a fin (plus a little something for the governor) and carted the unit home.

Taking it apart was child's play. Once the cover was off, it was pretty easy to see what the problem was: a CD had fallen out of the 3-disk tray and wedged itself in the works. Apparently, the unit had been transported without first removing the CDs.

Today, I moved the sound system from the living room to my office and immediately started having trouble with the CD player. My experience from that first unit didn't kick in until I removed the cover and saw - yep - that one of the disks had slipped out of its carrier and wedged itself in the works.

It now works.

Let that be a lesson to me: Always check to make sure there are no CD's in the player before moving it!

Cheers...