Okay, I have said it before and I'll say it again .. I am *not* a windows user. I used Win95 for a few weeks when it first came out (IIRC, I installed it from a stack of 3.5in disks), but then I moved into the *nix world and never went back. For the last 15 years or so, if I had to have Windows to make it work then I sought another alternative.
Having said that, because so much of what we do here is Windows-only, I broke down and built a Windows computer. My thought was "it's a tool for getting the job done" .. So I took an old Celeron system that I had laying around and installed XP Professional on it. After paying $79.00 or so for the OS then I had to install an anti-virus program. (I used FreeAVG .. because it is free). I'll admit it; I'm a cheapskate. I'll help out in any way that I can, but I hate to spend money that I don't have to. It is a constant source of amusement that people will accept buying an OS or a computer with a pre-installed OS, then having to purchase an additional product to keep the OS working ..
Since I've been a RedHat person for most of my career, I set up this computer to also boot Ubuntu 10. The difference in performance between Windows and Ubuntu is amazing. The old, dogged-out box that I had laying around, as I said, is a Celeron and was never top-of-the-line even when it was new. Ubuntu on this system is never going to knock anybody's socks off but it is reasonably usable.
Not so usable with Window, unfortunately. I have been constantly frustrated with Windows since I set up the system.
I normally use RDP to access Windows from my MacBook. This worked reasonably well unti today, when I could not log onto the Windows box. Being the troubleshooting guru that I would like to think I am, I set out to determine what was keeping me from using RDP to access Windows. Windows Firewall, disabled, check. Ping the gateway from the windows box, check. Ping the windows box, no-go. Re-check windows firewall, disabled. Ping google from the windows box, check. Ping the windows box, no-go. Re-check the settings on Windows firewall, still disabled. Reboot the system, ping out OK but still can't ping the Windows box .. you get the idea.
Eventually, I discovered that a recent update to FreeAVG had installed *their own* windows firewall, and that was what was causing me grief. Now, I do understand that Windows is full of security holes (never meant for the internet) and that a firewall is pretty indispensable in keeping the bad stuff off of your computer; but I have a router that handles the firewall so I don't really need another one on my internal LAN. As soon as I disabled the FreeAVG firewall, things started working again.
And this brings me to the point of this essay: Hey, FreeAVG, if you were going to firewall me out of business, couldn't you have told me? For crying out loud, it took me nearly two hours to get back in business after the "upgrade" .. and I really hate having to troubleshoot my tools before I can troubleshoot my product!
