Hard Drives Cluttered?

In times like these, computing resources need to be maximized and original functionality restored WITHOUT having to spend the big bucks for new systems. WipeDrive 5 by White Canyon Software promises to deliver just that. Here’s an excerpt from their description page: 

Erase Hard Drive Data with WipeDrive

WipeDrive has been used to erase hard drive data on over 20 million hard drives! It is approved by the Department of Defense, and it is trusted by government agencies and major corporations.

Erase Hard Drive Data to Start Over with a “Good as New” PC

If your computer is running slower than it used to, it is not because it is old! It is because your computer is cluttered with junk programs and files, or infected with a virus or spyware. Computer clutter can destroy performance, and it only takes one virus to infect and take control of your computer.

Signs that your hard drive needs to be wiped

1. Your computer is much slower than it used to be
2. It takes forever for your computer to boot up
3. You or your kids have downloaded junk files
4. You have lost control over what your computer does

Ready to Start over with a Fresh, Clean Hard Drive?

Regaining control of your computer doesn’t have to cost $200 at your local fix-it store! With WipeDrive 5, you can completely remove 100% of the information on your hard drive. Then, after reinstalling Windows, your computer will be as good as new and computer performance will be restored…
 

Let It Rain

The BettiZen takes a different tangent on MLK Day, we’re seeking some rain, Tracy Chapman-style:

Back to sniffing out Open Source tomorrow!

Open Source Abroad…

The Open Source hound is on the hunt!  Here, we live within hegemony, marching to the Pied Piper’s tune and choosing to pay for what others elsewhere get free:

Nonprofit chooses Ubuntu for servers, OpenOffice for desktops

Clarity of thought prevails for this CIO:

Open source: Cheaper and easier
The net result of the conversion to open source software has been a 15% to 20% decrease in IT spending over the past two years, despite the doubling of the company’s workforce, he said. 

In addition to saving money, open source products have made the work easier to manage. There are no licenses to worry about; ditto for virus updates. The staff just installs software on the servers, tweaks them, then leaves them alone and never thinks about them again, he said.

“My choice is to pay for software and have problems or not pay for software and have problems,” Puttick said. “This is very pragmatic. It’s not that I never have a problem. But at least I’m not paying for the software and still having problems. 

Open source for the long haul… 

 ”But with Open Document Format adoption, we have a good guarantee that our data will be readable in 50 years. And we won’t have to pay for an upgrade ever again.”

From Wikipedia: What is Open Source?

2009 is still young; let’s run the Open Source theme for the full year. We begin today with the condensed definition garnered from Wikipedia:

Open source is an approach to design, development, and distribution offering practical accessibility to a product’s source (goods and knowledge). Some consider open source as one of various possible design approaches, while others consider it a critical strategic element of their operations. Before open source became widely adopted, developers and producers used a variety of phrases to describe the concept; the term open source gained popularity with the rise of the Internet, which provided access to diverse production models, communication paths, and interactive communities.

The open source model of operation and decision making allows concurrent input of different agendas, approaches and priorities, and differs from the more closed, centralized models of development.[1] The principles and practices are commonly applied to the peer production development of source code for software that is made available for public collaboration. The result of this peer-based collaboration is usually released as open-source software, however open source methods are increasingly being applied in other fields of endeavor, such as Biotechnology.