Finally ditched the last version of Symantec Internet Security.  I had the 2004 version, which I used on my old computer.  When it died, I scavenged parts to build my PVR/server and installed the software on it.  Don’t know exactly what their license is, maybe that was not allowed.  

I do know it is ridiculous when you own a valid software license and can’t uninstall it on one computer and reinstall on another.  At least on a personal level.  I can see it, to a degree, for corporations or large organizations, but that is because you often purchase or download one copy and install it on the network.  Here, in my home, I had a valid copy and will have to go purchase another over-packaged box.

Why is this the case?  Well, a few weeks ago my server’s power supply failed.  It knocked out the system drive and I had to rebuild the system from scratch.  I installed the OS on one of the older drives, with software, before I realized that drive was also acting up.  So, I installed it on a pristine drive.  I had registered Internet Security on each of the drives (the first thing I do after installing my OS is to install security).  But, on the final drive, it came back with an error. I had registered the software too many times.

I looked on the Symantec site and finally got routed to start a chat conversation with an operator.  I told them my problem and the response was, ‘Sorry, the server deactivated your serial number.’  That was it.  I asked again and got the same answer.  I finally gave up and uninstalled the software.  As I did so, I realized that I have refused to buy an upgraded version since the copies were were using at work on university computers were causing lots of problems by taking way too many resources.  And how the university was moving from it as well.

In the end, my server isn’t without security.  I don’t really do that much with it and it doesn’t have any important information on the drives.  I don’t order using my credit card on it.  If they hack in and want to see the shows I record, Tivo-style, they’re welcome to it.  So Windows Firewall and installed PC Tools Antivirus, free at Download.com and worth checking out in place of an expensive, resource hungry software with way too many strings attached.

A long time ago, I had the idea of writing about technologies which I use on a regular basis.  To include my honest opinion about the technology and how I use it, whether to the full capability or not.  Time ran away, as moving can do, and I’m just now getting back to the thought.

I then had to think about what to start with.  Technology can, after all, include an extremely wide range of items from our world.  Language could be a technology, as computer languages are considered.  Why not English or Spanish or sign language?  I was struggling a bit.

In the end, I wanted to begin with something that didn’t plug into a wall socket.  No batteries.  No knobs or pins or wheels.  I finally discovered it last week when I was walking around Toronto and realized I left my map at home.  At that moment I realized what a valuable bit of technology it is.

The Map
I really don’t know why it took me so long to figure out I should start with maps.  I have tons of maps.  Use them all the time.  I have books on them, I have them on the walls (or will once I get a house), I’ve even created a few.

Maps are one of the oldest known technologies we have.  It is believed they existed prior to any written language.   They are, in many ways, the language of space as translated to two dimensions.  As much as musical notes, when written on a page, represent sounds.

The map I use the most frequently is from a British company called Mapgroup and is a PopOut Map of Toronto.  They offer maps for cities around the world and we originally used one for traveling in Munich last summer.  Using folding paper, you get four maps including southwest Ontario, the Toronto transit grid, a view of greater Toronto and a local view of the downtown area from the waterfront to slightly north of Bloor.  Overall, it gives you an amazing amount of information I can easily carry in my back pocket or my wife in her purse.

For $7 USD, this might be the most affordable per use item I have purchased with the exception of my keyboard or mouse (certainly not my Macbook Pro, though I love it, that thing is expensive).

Map Info
I could probably go on and on about maps, but I’ll cut it short (for once!) and give you some info about maps.  Take a moment and look at some different designs and understand a bit about one of our oldest technologies.

Links
Wikipedia entry on Maps
Wikipedia entry on Cartography (mapmaking)
Library of Congress: Geography and Maps
The Map Rooom: A Weblog About Maps

Online Map Collections
Odden’s Bookmarks: A massive collection of maps
American Memory
The British Library

Some Books I Recommend
As soon as I get them out of storage, I’ll list these as well.