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Riding Shotgun with Adam

Why haven’t software companies adapted to Vista yet?

It is no secret that I am not a big fan of Vista, however I understand that Microsoft isn't going to move backwards so Windows users will gradually have to adapt to the new OS.

While consumers can take their time making the transition to the new Windows, there is no excuse for software designers who have dragged their feet in becoming Vista compatible.

Although Vista has been out on the shelf for only a couple of weeks, it has been out in beta form for several months. Software designers have had sufficient time to had sufficient time to update their programs for Vista compatibility.

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 where I open the package and insert the disk to install it. The back of the OEM package gives a few warnings. The one I am currently struggling with is: If the Individual software license is for a desktop operating system or application software it also must be preinstalled on the drive of the fully assembled computer system using the OEM Preinstallation kit (OPK).

Barbaro’s leg x-rays and something related to computers

Today I ran across Barbaro's leg x-rays while reading the news.

Here's one of the images released by Barbaro's doctors. Is it any wonder that the poor horse was still in pain after surgery?barbaroxray

On a more computer related note. I have received three great items for review that I discovered at CES. I will be posting those reviews shortly.

The items are a Huey monitor calibrator, ProShow Gold slideshow software and an Emerson Karaoke microphone (It was a surprise).

 

So long Art Buchwald – Video obituary

My wife told me when I got home today that Art Buchwald had died.

My interest in politics began in elementary school. One of my first heroes on TV was Michael J. Fox's, Alex P. Keaton character on the show Family Ties. From as early as I can remember being aware of politics, I can remember caring about it.

Whether people agree with me or not, I have more respect for people who are willing to talk about politics than I am for those who refuse to take any position.

Ronald Reagan was a hero of mine but so was Art Buchwald. One of the first books I actually purchased on my own was Art Buchwald's, You Can Fool All of the People All of the Time. I was in the 7th grade and I bought the book after seeing an Interview with Buchwald about the book.

Run, don’t walk, to buy a new computer

One of my favorite Sci-Fi movies of the past few years was iRobot. The film was so loosely based on the Isaac Asimov book that they had to put "inspired by" rather than "based on" in the credit.

The film took place in the near future in a time where every home had a robot.

One main corporation was responsible for supplying most of the robots. As a new line of robots was introduced, the corporation gladly exchanged everyone's existing robots for free for a brand new model.

What no one suspected was that the new robots were rigged to take over the world.

Quickly get to the file or folder in a cluttered window

Today I helped a client organize his photos for a project he was working on. I moved all of the photos for the project into a folder in My Pictures. He had dozens of folders in his My Pictures folder all full of pictures from other projects.

He called me about an hour later to tell me that the folder I had created had suddenly disappeared.

"What have you done since I left," I asked. I wasn't accusing him of anything, but if he had done anything it would help me figure out what had happened to the folder.

"Nothing," he explained, "I took a break after you left and when I came back the folder was gone."

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 teach yourself.

So, if learning your computer is one of your New Year's resolutions, here are a few tips that will help you teach yourself.

1. Teaching yourself doesn't mean doing it all on your own. You may want a tutor, relative or neighbor to show you how to do it a couple times before you start experimenting.

So, I cleaned my office today

Tomorrow I will start taking calls again and return back to work. I decided to use my last day off of the Holiday season to clean my office and get a fresh start on the new year.

I am a pack rat, but I am not the kind of person who never throws anything away. I am picky in what I keep. Most of my clutter is job related. Since I spend my days working on computers, I tend to keep computer parts and cables "just in case."

While I kept a lot of cables, I did decide to finally get rid of a lot of stuff I will probably never need again. I collected a total of 5 trash bags full of junk in the cleaning process.

What else has that actress been in?

We have talked about IMDB as a part of our favorite information sites in the past, but I think it deserves its own article and review.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database and it is one of the best sites on the web for answering the nagging questions we have so often such as, "What else has that guy been in?" or "What was that movie with Christopher Walken and Andy Garcia?"

IMDB can be used to resolve arguments like which movies had Samuel L. Jackson which ones had Laurence Fishburne.

A Confession: I don’t understand computers

I know how to fix computers, but I will freely admit that I don't understand them.

Today I saw two clients with very strange problems. One person had a problem that prevented their CD burner from writing and their computer from recognizing the sound card. However, the sound card and CD writer had just been replaced because of the same problem.

What was really strange was that the system sounds worked and the CD would record files just fine as long as you didn't use Nero.

After they had the CD drive and sound card replaced, everything had worked fine for about two weeks.