Hello,

I know some of you use eSet Smart Security as your antivirus and firewall software of choice, so I thought I'd post this in case it's of any help. Note this mainly focuses on accessibility. The tips are relevant to eSet Smart Security v4, but some of the options may be available in earlier versions.

First, open the main eSet Smart Security program and press F5 to open the advanced options dialog. Note that you may have to allow the F5 keystroke through if using some access software, as many also use this key as a function of the same. A list of option categories is given on the left. Use the tab key and up/down arrow keys to navigate through it, and between it and associated options. Use the spacebar to select/deselect options or to click the OK/Cancel button at the bottom of the screen.

Alerts and Notifications Category: Deselect 'Display notifications on desktop' and Display balloon tips in Taskbar for sec'. This removes the annoying pop-up balloon tips, which steal the focus away from whatever else you're working on at the time. They are also difficult to close with the keyboard and usually require mouse intervention. Mostly, they relate to the daily update of the antivirus definitions and so do not require user intervention. Deselecting these options will cause the notifications to appear as a standard message box on screen. You can hit OK to close it immediately, and usually you will return to the exact place you left off before the interruption. Advanced users can disable the notification altogether, so you will never be prompted when a successful update has been completed.

User Interface category: Deselect 'Show splash screen at startup', 'Use animated controls' and ‘Use animated icons for progress indication'. Select 'Advanced Mode' and 'Display menu in standard mode'. This tidies up the interface a little as well as giving access to the menu through which options can be selected. However, note that the 'Advanced Mode' will override this, but you can disable that if you're more comfortable with a simpler interface with fewer options. I have noticed some slightly faster response times with the animations disabled, and it seems to work better with the screen reader as well.

Some system settings:
Antispam Module category: Use this tip only if you do NOT want to mark messages as spam. Select 'Enable antispam module’ Deselect 'Add text to email subject' and 'move messages to spam folder'. I have noticed that disabling the antispam module causes Outlook 2007 (and possibly earlier versions) to hang for a few minutes at the 50% mark when doing its initial send/receive. I feel this may be down to poor logic in the eSet Outlook add-in, which may be attempting to find the module even if it is disabled in the main program options. Enabling the module resolves this problem. Deselecting the other two options will prevent the module from having any impact on the e-mail messages themselves. I have not noticed any degradation in Outlook performance with this configuration.

System Updates category: Use this tip only if you have Windows set to notify you of or automatically install new updates, or if you check Windows Update manually. Select 'No updates' from the drop down list. This will prevent eSet needlessly notifying you of missing updates and tidies the interface a little.

I hope these will be of some use to you. Note however that these are only a few of the many options you can configure within eSet, but I felt these were the most important. My aim here is to make the program easier to use in terms of accessibility, but also to reduce the interaction level required by the user. I've tested all of these with eSet Smart Security v4 and latest updates, running on Windows 7 with all updates. I use Supernova 11.04 as my screen reader/magnifier.

Feel free to add any comments or suggestions that may help others.

Hello!

It seems I can't keep away from writing for long. I've just started the first chapter of my submission for Nanowrimo, the National Novel Writing Month. You can find my user profile and learn more about it here.

Paul in the SVQ department at Cornerstone first told me about it, and I thought it would be a great idea as I'd actually have motivation to write with the potential of winning something, and also I'd be working to a deadline - I guess I'm just one of those people that work best when under pressure.

I've almost decided what I'm going to write about, and am just at the stage when I need the final push to get started. Once I get going, it's almost as though I'm on automatic, when everything else becomes irrelevant and the whole thing just seems to flow. So I'll be hoping to come out the other side with something reasonably good. Watch this space for more.

Talking of articles, I've been busy on the shooting front as well. The new Disability Shooting Project founded by Liz Woodall of the NSRA was set up a couple of months back. Naturally, I was on the phone to her right away to see how I could be involved, and it turned out they were happy to publish an article on the Scottish Championships. Read it here. I also had an article on the same event written by a fellow shooter but edited by me published in the Autumn 2009 issue of Target Magazine (BBS). Read that here.

As if that weren't enough, I've another article due to the NSRA next week, an introduction to acoustic shooting for those not familiar with the sport. This is a fantastic publicity opportunity and one, which will hopefully raise the profile of the sport amongst able-bodied shooters. I'll be pushing for that to be placed on the NSRA website too, and you'll have a link to it here just as soon as it goes live.

Finally, just this evening I decided to enter a competition being run by STV. They're looking for a writer to work a six-month freelance contract writing articles for their website. The winner will win the contract, but I expect it to be tough competition. Also, it's short articles, (which for anyone that knows me is not something I'm terribly good at!) but I live for the challenge.

Happy reading, and for anyone else doing Nanowrimo, writing as well.

After some time running the RTM through a virtual machine on the desktop, I finally installed Windows 7 Ultimate on my laptop. So far, I have to say I'm quite happy with the performance and features, even though I've disabled most of the media and network related ones.

Originally, I was hoping to use a slimmed down version based upon work by Liquid0624 over at the MSFN forums. However, after a successful installation, which was completed in 8 minutes flat, I found that a small component had been, overlooked meaning there was no detection of the Ethernet controller at all. Even the Intel automatic detection facility couldn't find it on this machine. As I was anxious to start playing around with Windows 7, I finally just went and installed the full version.

I've since done some tweaking to improve performance, mainly focussing on display settings, and disabling quite a few services based on Black Viper's work (actually, I've almost entirely used the 'Tweaked' services configuration) apart from a few modification to allow the Volume Shadow Service to work.

I've recently been having an issue with my laptop battery whereby it drains completely from a full charge in less than a minute. I'll admit I've been scared to even try the battery again after I tried the deep freeze trick, but it's something I'll have to do soon if only to know how Windows 7 fairs under a power saver profile.

I'm really happy that some obvious problems that annoyed me under Vista are resolved. These include the time to resume from hibernation, and Outlook 2007 hanging during the initial send/receive. It also seems slightly more stable and responsive, although that's impacted negatively by the screen reader. It'll be fascinating to see how the upcoming release of v11.50 affects performance in this regard.

So, all in all both me and Nicole (yes, I'm still naming things!) the laptop are happy with the new OS. I think I'm going to opt for a lean model this time, and will only install what's necessary rather than going full out and installing everything at max settings as I did before. I'm hoping I can still get some useful life out of this baby yet - after all, it's already been two years and she's on her third OS.

The only question remaining now is, how long till the first service pack? After all, we've already had a number of security fixes within the first week after commercial launch!

Hi. Long time no write, ja?

Well, since I last wrote the project at cornerstone has ended (26/10/2009). As a reminder, it was to investigate the impact of Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQ) on the quality of service delivered to the people they support. It was later expanded to include staff and management's perspectives due to the low number of supported persons that could effectively communicate their views.

I can't believe it has passed so quickly, but I'd be lying if I said there weren't times when I felt totally down and ready to throw in the towel. My fingers haven't helped. For a few weeks, things were great, then I went through a spell, weeks on end where I just wished everything would come to an end and the pain would stop.

I'm reasonably happy with the final report, but absolutely kicking myself and in a real fury over the final presentation. It was a disaster. Although I'd practiced and planned for it, when it came to the day itself, it all just seemed to fall flat on its face and I found myself saying something completely different and far from the polished delivery, I'd intended. What was worse was I knew I was messing it up royally whilst I was speaking, but I couldn't seem to do anything about it. That's never happened to me before.

I suppose it's not all my fault though. The University have had an appalling lack of communication; I was given two sets of instructions for the presentation, with the last coming just as I walked in the door. Then, they seemed to totally disregard the poster I spent several days putting together, and still expected me to fit the salient points of 3 months of work into 10 minutes. After that, it completely went downhill when Lyn Batchelor, the course coordinator started attacking the methodology of the project and saying I must have asked the wrong questions to get the results I did, just because they disagree with what Cornerstone previously heard about the service they provide. Then she got all hung up about qualitative research methods, and completely disregarded the recommendations and conclusions I outlined in the presentation. Of course, I know it's important to ask the right questions, but is it my fault people told me what they did? And it's not as though I didn't revise the questions several times during the project, although I admit that only comes out in the reflective journal and I didn't do a good job of stressing this during the talk.

Sorry guys, I'm not trying to make a big deal out of this, but it was only when I came to look over the reflective journal and noted all the points against the University that have probably caused this project and my resulting mark to drop to rock bottom that I really started getting mad. I didn't realise this earlier, as it's just part of my nature to try and work through problems myself where I can. No doubt had I made a song and dance about this earlier and really pointed out the University's failings, something may have come of it.

For now, I've done the only thing I can. I've put all this into the reflective journal, and even though it's not marked, the feedback form for the project that the University asked me to complete - thank God I waited until after the presentation to submit it. I was originally only going to gently put forth my views, but my friend rightly told me I've little to lose now so it ended up being a lot harsher than it was originally - and yes, I do have the original version to hand. I've also said I'm ready to fight tooth and nail for my marks should they be unreasonable when they come out, and more importantly, if they can't give a reason to justify the mark. In addition, and following advice from many people, I've told Lyn I'm considering making a formal complaint but of course, I'm not going to specify the full extent of this until the appropriate time.

I've lost all confidence and trust I ever had in this course coordinator. A reliable source told me she's leaving for RGU in December, and I can only hope the student's there know what's in store for them when she arrives. Part of me thinks she's just lost interest in the whole course here seeing as she's not got long left here, and part of me is sorry she just doesn't seem to see how passionate her students are to really make a decent job of their work. One would think she would do everything in her power to help where she reasonably can, but clearly, that's not the case.

I'd like to end on a positive note as it's not fair to let the actions or lack of, of one-person ruin what has otherwise been a great experience. I loved 'working' (well, technically it's a consultancy) at Cornerstone and I think they have some really great people there. It's amazing to see the real passion and zest that flows through the place, and you get the same feeling of unrestrained resolve and love of their work from everyone you speak to. My particular thanks to the staff of the SVQ department for putting up with me for the last 80 days - (yes, I know I'm not the easiest to deal with) and I can only hope they get as much out of the report as I did working towards it. This is definitely something I'm going to have fond memories of for a long time, not to mention the skills I've learnt and the confidence I can feel in myself. I now know that I am indeed capable of working on a prolonged project when I put my mind to it, and visual disability aside, that I can fend for myself without the constant cushion of academic support. That has got to be the greatest gift I take away from my time at Cornerstone.

Hello,

Here's the update to the fingers situation, which I promised. Well, I saw the doctor yesterday and think I was able to convince him that enough is enough. I don't know how much longer I can take this, day in, day out. He's put me on to Gabapentin (3 x 25mg per day) and a slow-release version of the Nifedipine (1 x 60mg per day). I started the Gabapentin last night but had to go back to the chemist today, as they didn't have all of it and any of the Nifedipine in stock. I'm due to go back for a check-up on 28 October, and I'm told I should have noticed some difference by then. I certainly hope so. I hope that this is the start of a recovery of sorts, but I'm still very worried about the toll all of this is taking on me. It's costing me 2.5 days a week off now, which surely can't go on for much longer.

Hello. It's been a long time since my last update but I just wanted to drop a note through to say I'm still alive and kicking. I've been busy with my placement at Cornerstone since the beginning of August, but I'l make a separate post on that shortly. Other than that, life's been fairly one-tracked, other than the occasional highlight now and again.

The main point of interest for today is that tomorrow, hopefully, my Reynaud’s issue may be a step closer to being better controlled. It has definitely worsened over the last few months, and is much more of an issue than a year ago. I have only to look at the daily journal I'm keeping as part of my Cornerstone project to see the number of days or part-days I'm having to call off due to the pain in the fingers being too much to work with. It's not the sort of thing I can just ignore and work through no matter how hard I try.

I finally spoke to Dr. Miller today and am to see him tomorrow evening. Maybe a little forward of me, but I've done some reading up on this tonight and have some suggestions to put to him - frankly I'm ready to do just about anything short of amputation to sort these fingers out (and yes, there is a Wikipedia article that suggests amputation as a cure!). I'm hoping he'll give me something useful, as I'm really not up to just sitting by the radiator and wearing Nordic-grade ski gloves for the rest of my days.

Anyway, short and uninteresting I know but for me this is really something to look forward to. The last three days have been agony so to be able to type this without too much discomfort is a real godsend. I'll feed back to you soon on how things go tomorrow, and about the other things happening in my life. For now, good tidings to you, take care and all the best.

In a break from scheduled programming, I wanted to post about the Scottish National Acoustic Rifle Shooting Championships, which took place this last weekend. As both part-organiser and competitor, I've been involved in this since back in May, however for one reason and another, not helped by my surprise trip away, everything didn't really come together until last Thursday - well actually the Saturday afternoon as the electronic scoring systems decided to lose all their settings on Saturday morning, rendering them inoperable.

As in previous years we started with the stand-assisted (I refuse to call it supported any more as I think it sends the wrong signal to the world at large), with my detail starting at 13:30 following an overall delay of nearly three hours (thanks to Jim our coach for working his unique brand of magic and managing to fit everyone in throughout the afternoon). I thought I'd done fairly well with a 595, but this was later revised to 594, 2 points below my PB but one better than at Wolverhampton, and equalling Michael Whapples' score which landed me in third place (he beat me on countback on the 8th string). No prizes for guessing who came in first, although Carol surprised us with a 599 compared to her usual 600 - oh well, we all have our off days. We were all finished an hour earlier than planned so were off to Jim's place out at Banchory for a barbecue at 5pm. The weather was great, and I really enjoyed the drive out with Jim (much better than being packed like sardines in a taxi) although I didn't realise it was quite such a way off the beaten track (j/k). We sat out chatting for a while, and then went in for the meal - 4 types of salad, marinated chicken, sausages, burgers and ice cream with strawberries and a chocolate brownie for dessert. I somehow managed to down a bottle and a half of white wine in the process and still come out fairly steady and coherent, or so I'm told. Afterwards we got to talking about taking the sport forward, and (assuming everyone remembers the evening!) consideration will have to be given to whether splitting with the NSRA is really in the best interest of the sport and its shooters. The advantage is that joining with British Disability Sport would give us access to much needed funding, but the downside is that the process would probably take time, during which any competitive events would have to be put on hold. Anyway, it was a wonderful evening overall, and I was finally home at a quarter to midnight after riding back in the taxi for a tenner (not bad when I was as good as driven right around the city and back as we dropped everyone else off en-route).

Sunday was a different day altogether, although you wouldn't have thought it from the way I was feeling and the weather, which was typically depressing as only Aberdeen can be. I was feeling absolutely rotten, the fingers and toes were in full revolt and I was frankly ready to spend the whole day in bed dosed up on codeine (if I even had any). If it gives you any idea of how cold I was, I had a portable radiator plugged in at the club at full power and was heating my bare hands on it without feeling a thing. My turn to shoot the freestanding came at 11:30 but by then I really wasn't in the mood and just wanted to go home and forget it all. I was able to shoot the first three sighters and had good bulls (all within the inner 10 ring) but that was it. I felt myself burning up and the rifle was shaking in my hands so much it's a wonder I didn't shoot at someone else's target, or worse. Roger, one of our helpers who hasn't been in for a while due to having a new baby was loading for me, and I have to say he was really great about it all. I was ready to give up and not shoot at all, but he suggested I sit down at the back of the range for a few minutes to see if I would feel better and then try again. I felt like some sort of weak child but he was both comforting and encouraging. I ate half a bar of chocolate and had a drink of my usual sparkling water, and also got rid of the fleece I usually wear. That seemed to make a world of difference - something to remember in the future. Then I thought that if I didn't at least try, I'd probably never forgive myself once I was feeling better and could think back on the day clearly. And that was me. I was back on the range, and granted, it took me until just 3 minutes before the 1 hour 45 minutes allowed time was up, but I finished my 60 shot match - you hear me, I finished it! I was getting some really good strings of bulls as well, but didn't know what the score was, and frankly wasn’t even trying to keep track. I was just so please to finish whatever the result, even though I must have stopped at least a dozen times throughout.

I then had a break for about an hour before I was up again to take p9art in the stand-assisted 10 shot final. I was still in 3rd place, and this was the first time I'd done something like this, and was shaking like crazy. It's just so formal and controlled, not like anything I've done in practice. Anyway, I did my best, although I wasn't at all sure about some of the shots, and even had a 9.8 on one of them. But, fortune favour the bold and I was OK, in fact, more than OK. We had the results as soon as the final had finished, although for a few seconds I was panicking, as we were sure we may have to go into a sudden death style shootout, and I just know I couldn't have kept it together for that. But it was OK, and I came second, beating Michael by just over two points (decimal scoring is used during the 10 shot final so it's absolutely possible to get over 100 - Carol had over 105). It was time to clean up and then the presentation of the medals. We already knew the stand-assisted scores, but it was the freestanding ones that were to bring the shocks. The existing record was 580 set by Michael at Wolverhampton, with me coming second with 570. This time Michael exceeded his own score by one point to set a new British record, but wait for it, I had beat even that by scoring 586 - absolutely unbelievable. If it weren't for the fact that I trust Jim with my life (and was still feeling totally down) I would have demanded a recount. But the scores stand, so yours truly now stands as the new British Free-Standing Acoustic Rifle Shooting Championship with a new British record. I was presented with the Morag shield, a shield made up in memory of Morag, one of our shooters at Denwood who passed away a couple of years ago from Parkinson's disease. It's the first time it's ever been awarded, and will no doubt be engrained with my name in the coming weeks. I'll also get my 2nd place medal for the stand-assisted and 3rd place for the McRae (even though I hadn't entered it) when they're sent up from Wolverhampton soon.

So, a great weekend in terms of results, and I'm still completely stunned at the outcome. The only thing that could have been better is if I was feeling better, but I'd rather not focus on that. My next trick is to keep and exceed the record at the next Wolverhampton, if we end up making the trip, which is still to be discussed. As for the stand-assisted, I think I'll still keep working on that, but freestanding is definitely the way to go if we want the sport to expand beyond our borders. Practice makes perfect, so I'll be looking to get that in when I can, even though it'll probably bankrupt me in the process (taxi fares are going through the roof these days).

That’s all for now. My thanks to all that have sent messages of support and congratulations, some of whom I haven't spoken to in ages. It's that sort of support that makes it all worth it in the end, despite the stress and pain. I'll be back soon with a more general update on life, which is, quite interesting, is probably the best way to describe it. Until then, take care, best wishes and God Bless.

Hello world! I write to you from this very slow and clunky 64kbps 3G Wireless connection from my grandparent's house in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. It's a nuisance if you want to do anything quickly, so I'm limiting myself to the bare essentials. Still, there's a lot of hanging around as it takes literally minutes for each web page to load, but I guess it's better than nothing.

I'm out here with mum until the end of July. The original plan was for mum to come over herself after my uncle and gran asked her to, with me staying back in the UK to start my summer placement on 06 July. However, mum didn't feel comfortable travelling on her own so here I am. We're here to lend some support to my grandmother and the rest of our close family, and so most of the time has been spent indoors. It's really quite quiet, but it does make a nice change from the rush and 9-5'ness of life back home.

My laptop bit the dust a couple of days before we left, so I re-installed Vista and thought that was the whole thing sorted. Unfortunately, that then broke a couple of days after our arrival, so one of the guys at my uncle's office re-installed Vista, but only the Home Basic version. I'm almost scared to switch the thing on now, but I'll have to give it a go over the weekend and see if I can't upgrade it by changing the product key or something.

Otherwise, there's not much to report. My phone is working thankfully, and I finally managed to lift the sim card restrictions using an unlock code supplied by T-Mobile last year. Lucky thing too as it was my last attempt before the phone would have had to be sent for a hardware unlock at cost. I'm using a sim from Story Telecom which at least allows me to roam here without being charged for receiving calls.

More later, although it'll probably be after we return home at the end of the month. For now, I'm off for another drink - it's so humid here (but not all that hot) that one might as well spend all day in the shower for all the good using a handkerchief or towel does :)

My grandfather passed away in his sleep at my grandparent's home in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania some time during the night. He was around 85 years old and I'm told that he was not in too much pain when he died. My aunt (who also lives with them together with my uncle) called mum to let us know around 05:00 this morning. I've spoken to both of them to give my condolences but understandably, they're both very busy making arrangements for the funeral later this afternoon and with letting the rest of the family know. Two other grandchildren are in the US/Canada so it'll be at least a few more hours before news reaches them. I guess it hasn't really sunk in yet but that'll probably happen once all the immediate rush settles down. My heart and love go out to my grandmother who i think is taking it hardest of all, them having both lived and grown together for a very long time.

I'm not really sure how to feel right now. I'm sad of course that he's died, but I can't say I knew him all that well. Even though we usually visit every two years or so, I haven't really spoken to him much since our last trip back in 2007. Grandfather was ill with suspected Alzheimer’s disease, but ironically, he was reportedly getting better following a change of medication about a fortnight ago. I guess fate, or Karma, or whatever you want to call it just works in strange ways like that; either that or they just have a damned weird sense of humour. Anyway, I guess I'm feeling a little remote from it all right now, and not sure whether to be sad, fall to pieces or just be philosophical about it all and accept that these things happen and hope wherever he's moved on to on his next great adventure he's happy and free from pain.

Mum's also upset about it but I guess she's trying to brave it and continue with life as best she can (EDIT: The company she works for have been quite sympathetic about it all and have given her time off until Monday on compassionate grounds. They were quite angry that she even chose to go in in the first place. At least it's good to know they can be understanding when the need calls for it). She's not going to go over to Tanzania, even though I've said its fine by me if she does and she should go over now if she really wants to rather than possibly regret it later. I can't for obvious reasons, which I think and hope everyone will understand.

Well, I have a list of jobs from mum and for myself to work through today, and will probably spend the rest of the time fielding calls from friends and family and generally trying to move on with life with something resembling normality.

Grandfather, rest in peace, wherever you are, Ameen. We love you, always have and forever will.

Yes indeed. I was in this morning to see Nicola Duncan, the admissions coordinator at the University to find out what stage I'm at regarding my degree classification and what mark I can expect given performance over the summer. To my surprise, I'm still on track for a distinction but I'll need a CAS 18 or above for the Student Engagement Programme report to qualify. I asked about the grades for Business Development and Research Methods & Professional Conduct in Business but was told that it wouldn't have mattered if they were any higher - it's the summer work that counts. Nicola also re-affirmed my impression from last week that nothing will be done regarding the outcome of those courses' examinations. Word must spread like wildfire in this department - she seemed to already know about my feelings on the subject and perhaps also my talk with Lyn and Russell last Thursday. Well, I guess I'll have to accept that but as I said this morning, with all due respect we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this matter as I don't think it's one which I can change my stance on. It's truly unfortunate that we can't reach a consensus here, but life's like that I suppose. For now, I can rest happy that I'm on track for success if I can keep it together over the summer. I'm just going to forget the past for now and look to the future.