I’m sure most of you remember Levi… he was my pet Blue Crayfish that I got for my birthday back in 2005. In fact, the very first post in my blog on this domain (after the AutoPatcher blog) involved Levi. He lived a pretty good life, he was almost three years old, which from what I can tell online, is the average lifespan for a crayfish like him. It’s really sad that he’s gone… I dunno if we’re going to get another, or if we’re going to wait a while. The first pic below was taken the day we got him… you’ll not he’s about the size of the gravel. In the second pic it was his full-grown size… note how big he is compared to the same gravel. He grew a lot while we had him, and if anyone out there is thinking of a Blue Lobster as a pet, I’d suggest you get one young so you can watch him grow up!
You can see a bunch more of his pics here in my photo gallery… he will be missed, such an interesting creature. 
For those wondering, he died from what appeared to be old age. Over the past 3 months he has slowed down… not moving around as much and 2 days ago he kind of went and layed in a corner of the tank. He was still alive yesterday, he moved his claws at me when I tapped him, but today he was still… I figure as far as deaths go, it was a pretty peaceful one.
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Under :
Household Bloggings
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Tags: autopatcher, average lifespan, birthday, blog, blue crayfish, blue lobster, death, levi, lobster, peace, Photos, tank
In October of 2003 I was working in a small Law Firm as their IT support. One of the things I had to do was update many, many computers and using Windows Update was taking forever! I came up with a batch “auto-patcher” to help speed things up, and since I was a member of Neowin, I thought I’d share. Add in the VB coding talents of Antonis Kaladis, and the AutoPatcher was born. I worked day and night with releases for 2 years before I needed a break. Antonis got a bunch more helpers to help with releases and AutoPatcher thrived. Cut to yesterday…
Microsoft Ceases AutoPatcher Project
I had a call from Microsoft Legal this morning and they have told me that we are no longer allowed to endorse AutoPatcher on Neowin.
Microsoft will only allow updates to be downloaded from its own servers.
Read more here: Goodbye AP!
I can’t figure out why Microsoft would wait 4 years to shut down the project… if they didn’t like it, they could have said so 3.5 years ago (and yes, they were aware of it). Oh well… who am I to question the all-knowing powers that be over in Redmond?
Anyway, I just wanted to share my thoughts on the subject. Feel free to comment, either here, on Neowin, or on AutoPatcher.com.
R.I.P. AutoPatcher
Well, after enjoying major success with AutoPatcher XP… I’ve reached back into the past and have finally released AutoPatcher 2000! Yes, it’s everything you like about AutoPatcher XP, but now for Windows 2000 (Pro, Server, and Adv. Server)!!
The AutoPatcher 2000 section has been updated with links, screenshots, and more, so check it out (use the tab up top, or click: here).
For those wondering, I’m going to get started on one last AutoPatcher XP release for Windows XP SP1. After that, I’ll release the new AutoPatcher XP, for use with XP SP2 machines. And finally, after that, AutoPatcher 2003 (for Windows Server 2003) will be in the works. I have already started on it, so expect it in the next few months. I’m also currently working on updating some of the graphics on the site, so expect that in the next week or so.
That’s all for now, everyone. Once I finish everything up, I’ll try to sync the releases, so it won’t be as jumbled… but it’s okay like this for now. Thanks once again for your support in making AutoPatcher what it is today!!
(Ed. Note - This is from my old AutoPatcher news blog)
Well, it seems I lost track of time for the past month. I’ve been kept quite busy so I forgot to update the site. I’m sure you all forgive me.
So, first things first. Go get the October issue of Maximum PC! AutoPatcher is featured there and I want everyone to see. If they don’t sell Maximum PC near you, just click the image below to see the article:
Now, on to AutoPatcher 2000 news. RC2 is being released to testers today so expect a release this month.
Well, what about AutoPatcher XP? Don’t fret, I’ll have an AutoPatcher XP release this month as well (it will be for SP2 systems, I’m still debating whether to keep going with the SP1 releases).
And for a little bit of personal news, I was promoted to the “Grafix” team on Neowin, and helped to get all the images ready for the IPB 2.0 rollout. Also, I got myself a kitten! She’s all white, just barely 3 months old, and loves being next to the computer! Everyone say hello to Mishka (my girlfriend picked out her name):
Okay kids, that’s all for now… I need to finish up the AutoPatcher 2000 release as well as a few other things!
(Ed. Note - This is from my old AutoPatcher news blog)
Well, look who’s here! It’s your friendly neighborhood AutoPatcher man! Just wanted to update you all and let you know I have successfully completed my move across the country and am now looking for a new job between working on the new version of the patcher and settling in at my new place. Thanks all for sticking with us while I made my move… good things are coming soon!
(Ed. Note - This is from my old AutoPatcher news blog)
