Ten?

I have been looking forward to the release of Windows 10 for some time. Friends of mine inside Microsoft have told me that Windows 10 is what Windows 8 should have been. However, with just a couple of weeks to go before its public release, there are starting to be rumors that Windows 10 is going to be a “subscription” product. That is, you will subscribe to Windows and pay an annual fee. Then, Microsoft will roll out new updates and new versions to your machine, as long as you have a valid subscription. It’s not clear in this scenario if Windows will stop working when your subscription expires, or if an expired subscription would simply mean no new versions and fixes.

I’m really surprised by this. My sense is that for Microsoft to put the Windows 8 debacle behind them, Windows 10 has to be an out-of-the-park homerun. Windows 10 has to contain absolutely nothing that would cause anyone to pause for a moment before choosing to upgrade. I imagined Windows 10 as the heir apparent to Windows 7. That it would behave like a new and improved Windows 7; smaller, faster, and more secure, but with the familiar old Windows user interface. Sure, there would be an option to turn on the Win8 “Metro” UI for the three customers that actually liked Windows 8, but for the rest of us, Metro would just be a distant nightmare. I also imagine that Windows 10 will contain support for new hardware, such as M.2 SSD’s. Also, I hope that the new Windows might contain some killer app (not necessarily new to computing, but new to Windows), for example, built-in voice recognition that would knock Dragon Naturally Speaking off the block, or perhaps consumer-level photo editing software that would completely replace Google’s Picasa or Adobe’s consumer-level Photoshop SE.

That Microsoft is considering changing the Windows sales model ala Google’s Android OS, takes me by surprise. A subscription model for Windows is something that might give me, and other consumers, a reason not to buy. On the other hand, I have never been concerned by the fact that Google rolls out new versions of Android from time to time. Not only hasn’t this bothered me, I have usually been upset when my wireless carrier (Verizon) has been slow in providing the latest Android update. There are several reasons for this. For one thing, if a new version of Android were rolled out, and it was terrible, it would only impact my phone. Yes, that would be inconvenient, but nowhere nearly as disastrous as if my computer were forcibly upgraded to an operating system that I hated. Also, it’s worth noting that Android is actually open source. There are many variants of Android freely available that you can download and install on your phone, should you choose to do so. Were Google to create a new version of Android that is as hateful as Windows 8, one can be sure that in no time third parties would provide Android versions that fixed the problems. Such is not the case with Windows. Most important of all, I have never heard of a release of Android that people didn’t like. I do recall an update a couple of years ago that everyone agreed took some getting used to, but I never heard anyone say that it wasn’t a welcome improvement over the prior Android.

Microsoft, by contrast, has at least two recent OS duds under its belt: Vista and Windows 8 (to say nothing of prior missteps in both operating systems and applications.) Windows Vista was roundly despised by consumers and pundits. Personally I liked Vista and have no idea why people disparaged it. But, that said, it is clear that many people didn’t like it and if they had been forced to install it there would have been considerable gnashing of teeth. More recently, Windows 8 was absolutely catastrophic. I tried it on a virtual machine. After 15 minutes I shook my head in disbelief and deleted it. Subsequently I tried Win8.1 on a tablet for a couple of frustrating days before returning it to the vendor for a refund. Everyone I know that uses Windows 8 (outside of Microsoft) says that they find it utterly confusing. So, if Windows 10 ushers in a new era of Windows as a subscription service, potential buyers will have to ask themselves if they trust that Windows 11, 12, 13, and onward, will all be good upgrades. No matter how good Windows 10 might be, will I want to commit to letting Microsoft force new OS versions onto my machine? Honestly, the answer is “no”.

In just a couple of weeks we will learn what Windows 10 is actually going to be. Perhaps the rumors of Windows 10 as a subscription-only service are incorrect. Perhaps it will be good, old fashioned, installed software. Or, perhaps, like the most recent version of Office, you’ll have a choice of two flavors: a subscription version (e.g. Office 365) and a standalone version (e.g. Office 2013.) Regardless, I will be holding onto my Windows 7 discs in case I ever need to revert back to the last known good version of Windows.

Fixing leaky squeeze bottles

If you use squeeze bottles for arts & crafts or in the kitchen, you are no doubt aware of the sad fact that they always leak. Well, okay, maybe not always, but most of the time. This can be anything from frustrating to disastrous. I use squeeze bottles in my kitchen and am endlessly annoyed by this. Most often I use these bottles for dispensing simple syrup. I love lemonade, so I always keep lemon juice in the fridge along with a squeeze bottle of simple syrup. A few tablespoons of lemon juice, a squirt of syrup, cold water and ice, and I’m good to go. Except that the squeeze bottle is always sticky - because it leaks.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with this phenomenon, the bottles leak at the point where the top screws on. It doesn’t matter how much you tighten it, it will leak.

I’ve tried a couple different brands, but they are all pretty much the same. I have some Tablecraft bottles that I got at a local kitchen supply store, and other bottles made by Tar Hong Plastic Manufacturing (sold under a variety of names), which I got on Amazon.com. They all leak.

The other day I was so tired of leaky squeeze bottles that I decided to throw mine away and buy new ones. I went to Amazon.com to see what others were saying about different brands of bottles. Some had more negative comments than others. Some were clearly worthless. None were without critics.

While searching for the squeeze bottle of my dreams, I ran across an astonishing posting by a reviewer. I was looking at the comments on a set of New Star 26146 Plastic Squeeze Bottles when I found a review by someone calling themselves “djd in Woodbridge”. He or she describes a simple and apparently 100% effective way of stopping these leaks. It sounded too good to be true, but I had to give it a try. To my amazement and pleasure, the technique worked perfectly. I present it here for your enjoyment, but I take no credit for figuring it out. I am entirely indebted to “djd in Woodbridge” for this brilliant solution.

Quite simply, you sand down the top of the bottle until it is flat and smooth. Djd Woodbridge recommends 100 or 120 grit sandpaper. I used P400 Emery cloth (slightly finer than 320 grit sandpaper), which worked great.

Place the sandpaper or emery cloth on a flat surface. Hold the bottle upside down with the top against the sandpaper. Using circles or figure eights, lightly sand the bottle top until it is flat and smooth. Try and keep the bottle’s opening as flat and level as possible while sanding. Note that you will want to rinse the bottle before use.

After the bottle’s rim is sanded, you should find that the cap seals perfectly.

You can test the seal by putting your finger over the spout and squeezing the bottle. There should be no leakage around the bottle cap. Yay!