Re: [PLUG] OT: Manage Your (Windows) Computer Tweakomatically

[Fred Stluka <fred@bristle.com>]

Warning!  A few years back, in the height of the browser wars, when
Microsoft was doing anything it could to beat Netscape as the leading
browser, I made the mistake of installing TweakUI.  Never again!

I wanted a way to click on a folder in Windows Explorer and open a
command line in that folder.  Microsoft offered "DOS Here".  Great!
Looked like exactly what I wanted.  So far, so good...

But...

Couldn't get "DOS Here" by itself.  It was a feature of "TweakUI". 
Couldn't get "TweakUI" by itself.  It was bundled in the "Power
Toys".  Had to download and install the entire "Power Toys".  Did
so, and it updated a bunch of system DLLs and Netscape never worked
on that computer again.  Coincidence?  I tried to uninstall Power
Toys, but there was no uninstall available.

Eventually, I wiped the entire disk, reinstalled Windows and all my
apps, including Netscape (but NOT Power Toys), re-applied all my
customizations and security settings.

Still wanting "DOS Here", I searched the Web and found that adding
something to the right click menu of all folders is a simple
registry entry.  Wrote a tip on how to do what I call "CMD Here":

    http://bristle.com/Tips/Windows.htm#cmd_here

All of the TweakUI features are simple registry edits, and all of
the "Tweakomatic" features are probably simple remote registry edits.

You already have all of the Windows tools you need, delivered as part
of Windows, which you paid Microsoft for.  Do you really want a "free"
download from Microsoft running on your computer?  Think about why
Microsoft "gave" it to you for "free".  What is their motivation?
I'd suggest always searching the Web for the quick registry change
you need, and making it yourself.  You can undo it if you don't like
the result, and you know it isn't causing any malicious side effects.

Yeah, it's a funny read, but that's because it is intended to be
funny, and to create the impression that TweakUI is a good thing
by implying that a bunch of other Microsoft folks are jealous of
its "success".  Very effective form of propaganda.  Don't be fooled.
Read the "use at your own risk" disclaimers in the article. 
Basically, they say "we gave it to you for free and are in no way
responsible".

--Fred
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Fred Stluka -- mailto:fred@bristle.com -- http://bristle.com/~fred/
Bristle Software, Inc -- http://bristle.com -- Glad to be of service!
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JP Vossen wrote:
> This is a really funny read, and sounds quite useful to anyone needing 
> to manage Windows computers, especially outside of AD:
> http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/tools/twkmatic.mspx
>
> As it notes, TweakUI is a great tool also, for anyone not familiar with 
> it.  Think gconf-editor (or sort-of gtweakui :).
>
> Later,
> JP
>
> PS--Jeff, have you been moonlighting writing docs for MS?
> ----------------------------|:::======|-------------------------------
> JP Vossen, CISSP            |:::======|      http://bashcookbook.com/
> My Account, My Opinions     |=========|      http://www.jpsdomain.org/
> ----------------------------|=========|-------------------------------
> "Microsoft Tax" = the additional hardware & yearly fees for the add-on
> software required to protect Windows from its own poorly designed and
> implemented self, while the overhead incidentally flattens Moore's Law.
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