Windows Vista makes networking maddening

I setup a new Windows Vista machine yesterday on a network with two Windows XP systems. My client wanted Vista to be the main computer that shared files and printers with the other two computers. It only took me 45 minutes to figure out how to set it all up. In Windows XP I can setup a network in less than 15 minutes – probably less than 10. One of the first complaints I had early on with Windows XP was that it was...

Future Windows Prediction

By now it is no secret that I have a unique super power. I can see the future of technology. Too many cell phone radio waves to my brain have caused me to have premonitions about the future of technology. Two days ago, I was carried away in vision and I saw the future of Microsoft. Microsoft knows they shot themselves in the foot with Vista. They knew before it was released that they would have to create a demand for it since...

Wow! Is Microsoft worried or what?

Is it me, or is Microsoft pummeling the TV, Radio, and of course the online advertising arenas? Almost anywhere I look, Windows Vista ads poke me in the eyes. Could it be because of the nearly 150+ customer visits I have made since Vista came out, only two of them were using Vista? Could it be because users are perfectly content with Windows XP and don't see (rightly) the need to upgrade to Vista? Could it be that the...

More lost pictures…

I write often about backup because I'm passionate about the topic. Too often, I see customers who have never backed up there important data and recovering it is either impossible or financially unfeasible. I visited a young mother today with a laptop that was afflicted with a virus that destroyed all her data. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to recover the data. She could probably send the hard drive into a service...

Phone tech support or NON-tech support?

Once again the ineptness of many of the phone tech support services reared its ugly head again. This time it was Sony's phone support. I worked with a client to set up his new Sony Vaio laptop (great screen by the way) and found that he was not shipped the Microsoft Office 2007 CD or certificate of authenticity that he paid extra for at purchase. Without the certificate, we could not activate the Office product. We called...

Back in the saddle again…

Can you tell that I'm either a Van Halen fan or from a small town or both? We had a great spring break vacation with our friends, but I'm back to reality again and the rigors of day-to-day work. Thankfully, my job satisfaction rating is off the charts. I love what I do and thank my lucky stars that I found a career that I enjoy doing each and every day. I will take the credit for getting Adam started on smart phones...

Weather on the road

I am traveling with my family this week on my kid's spring break. After making the habit of not taking my laptop on a trip a couple of year's ago, we have found that having the laptop makes information gathering much easier, more accurate and faster. One of the most used things I like to use the laptop for is weather forecasting. I'm no meteorologist, but having access to up-to-the-minute radar, satellite, and...

Save a laptop from liquid damage

WikiHow posted a great article on how to save a laptop from a liquid spill.

Is Vista driving computer prices down again?

After the release of Vista we saw prices for desktops and laptops rise nearly 15% for equivalent Windows XP computers. Since Vista's release, the sales numbers for computers and Vista itself have been dismal and retailers are not happy. I opened up my local paper today at breakfast and found that Office Depot had three decent laptops on sale for under $900 all with 1 GB of RAM. One was $699. We haven't seen those kind...

My Vista install: Updated often

I am installing Windows Vista on my laptop. Since the laptop is brand new and the hard drive is not partitioned, I am installing the OEM version of the program. So far, it has been a nightmare. OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. It is a full version of windows but it is sold at a better price because Windows limits their support since it is only for computer manufacturers. I haven't even made it to the part...

Is your computer ready for Windows Vista? Do you c...

We are less than a week away from the consumer launch of Windows Vista…the next generation of Microsoft's operating system that runs on 95% of the world's computer. Do you need the upgrade? The short answer is "NO". Will you have a choice if you buy a new computer? No, unless you choose to buy an Apple computer. Is the new Windows Vista that much better than Windows XP? No. In fact there are very...

A sure fire way to learn your computer this year!

When I am doing private tutoring on a computer I typically write step-by-step notes while the learner sits in the driver's seat. I think that people learn more by doing than by hearing. However, my method is really only about 60 percent as effective as it could be. The best way to learn is by learning. In other words, having someone sit next to you and walk you through the steps will stick in your memory as well as if you...

Finding Internet Access on the Road – WiFi F...

I recently returned from visiting my Dad in New Mexico. He lives in a small town that doesn't have tons of broadband connections. I tried firing up my wireless laptop at his house, but no luck…no neighbors to poach off of for a few minutes. My Treo 650 was non-functional because my carrier didn't service the town. So where do you turn to when you are striking out with technology? The yellow pages and the...

Proper care and feeding of batteries

I bought a new digital camera the day after Thanksgiving. Following Adam's First Law: Gadgets Yield More Gadgets, I have ordered a new vertical shooting grip and several batteries. When the batteries arrived, I followed Adams 379th Law: Always Read the Instructions. I am thinking seriously about moving the 379th law up to at least 134 because I discovered some interesting information about rechargeable Lithium-Ion...

Palm handhelds still rock

Palm has shifted focus the last few years to smartphones (like the Treo I'm writing on right now), but they still manufacture and sell PDA's (portable digital assistants). I helped a customer setup a new Palm Tungsten E2 today. I set it up so that she could sync (transfer data from computer to PDA and vice versa) between both her Windows desktop and her Mac laptop…very slick. Now she has the option of...