I was asked by a client on how to tell if someone’s password was strong enough. I was not sure on the need, and at first I was looking to either build or find a webservice that would test strength. After hearing the need over the phone we were able to use some already build applications (web sites) to do what they were looking for.

http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/checker.mspx

http://www.securitystats.com/tools/password.php

I love “Mar#h M@dness”. I would have used the words but did not want to get sued.

I’m currently just relaxing and watching basketball. My brackets are not doing well, however it is still fun to watch.

I have heard people say they love vista, I have heard others curse it and go back to XP. In one case I know of a Microsoft Developer who will not run vista. I love new technology but respect speed and performance and I do not see either of those in vista. Currently I am running vista x86 and I am enjoying it other than some compatibility issues.

Here is an interesting post regarding vista.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/microsoft-top-brass-also-had-vista-problems/2008/02/29/1204226975087.html

In this new tech age, we have lots of options Linux, BSD, MAC, and windows. So what keeps you using windows?

As of Wednesday the company I work for NuSoft Solutions (www.nusoftsolutions.com) has been acquired by RCM Technologies (www.rcmt.com) a publicly traded company.

The role I have been in as Principal consultant for our Kinetic IG initiative will still continue. Being part of the RCM family will increase our ability to scale and obtain growth.

Press Release

http://www.forbes.com/businesswire/feeds/businesswire/2008/03/19/businesswire20080319006197r1.html

So far my dell d830 running Vista 64 is doing really good. I have found that it eats the battery faster than before and that there are a few more issues with some programs.

I have found that my favorite image capture program (cropper) does not work.

the performance increase and reliability are worth it.

I finally got a new laptop from work to replace my dead D820. I now have a refurbished d830. So far I am very happy. It has the same case, look, and screen as the last one. However, this box has 64bit Vista running on it. I am excited to be using 64.

I have only noticed a few things that don’t work, but I just got it and have not had time to install all of my apps.

One of my favorite tools on the web (www.dnsstuff.com) recently made a site change. They took their free tools and lookups and moved them to a different area. They also added a subscription model and want to make some money.

I am not against the change, in fact I am excited that they could make some money off their great tools. But after a few visits to the site and having to click to find the tools, I found that I automatically went to another network site I use (www.network-tools.com) instead of dnsstuff.

It is interesting that a simple change can cause users to leave. I am sure that dnsstuff still has the same if not more users, but all of a sudden I found that the limit they put on lookups and the promotional materials they are using to get me pay $10 a month was a bit annoying. With out even thinking I went to another site that provides the same service.

It is amazing how short of an attention span internet users have (or maybe it is just me)

If you are like me and your computer died and you are now using another for every day use and don’t have your collection of images for wallpaper (I hope you are not like me) You may find this site useful

http://marcogomes.com/wallpapr

It is a very nice wallpaper search. I just selected soccer and got a great selection of Soccer images for a background.