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Riding Shotgun with Adam

Everything is color coded

It seems like a lot of people are moving lately. I have seen three clients this week who have moved into new homes. My job was simple in each case. They wanted me to setup their computer.

In the excitement of moving they took their computer apart and put the pieces into boxes. Then they couldn't figure out how to put them back together again.

When it comes to putting a new computer together or re-assembling an old computer, there are two secrets that I will share.

1. Everything is color coded.

  • There are usually two green plugs that go into green ports or jacks. These two green plugs are your sound output for your speakers and your mouse cable.
  • There is one purple plug, it is for your keyboard. Keep in mind that in each case both the plug and the socket are matching colors.
  • There is one trapazoid shaped blue plug. This is your monitor.

2. With only one exception, if the plug fits in the socket everything will work fine.

A Better Movie Theater Business Model

I have always enjoyed SciFi and superhero movies. My three favorite movies until I was in high school were Superman, Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Since then I have learned to appreciate the art of finer cinema, but I still l will go back and watch each of these three movies at least once each year.

Superman Returns starts today but I probably won't go see it. I would love to take my family to it, but it would cost our family $36 if we sneak candy in.

Once we are in the theater we have to figure that at least two of the kids will need to use the restroom during the movie and so we will likely only see 110 minutes or less of a 120 minute movie.

So, what’s wrong with AOL?

Everybody is picking on AOL this week. MSNBC had a huge story on the poor quality of AOL's customer service and (as Rick pointed out) AOL made it to number one on PC World's "25 Worst Tech Products of All Time."

So, what's wrong with AOL? I will use an analogy to explain. Imagine a small pioneer road in the early 1800s. In the early days of roads the shortest distance between two points was any path that started and ended in convenient locales. How fast the road was to travel, the smoothness of the road, and the incline made little difference.

Another hobby horse: Don’t let your kids fix your computer

Yesterday I wrote about how much I dislike poorly custom built computers. Today I saw a similar situation – computers custom built by kids.

By kids I don't mean children or young goats, I mean offspring.

While at home this family's two sons had built and maintainted the two family computers. Now those two sons have moved away from home and married.

I was called to fix things up and the call went something like this, "Hi, we need your help. My two sons usually fix the computers but now they both live out of town and they don't have the time when they come to visit to fix the computers."

Why I don’t like custom built computers

I have seen a lot of custom built computers lately. By custom built, I don’t mean Dells or HPs that are ordered custom configured. I am referring to computers that are built by friends, family members or computer shops using parts that are purchased separately then assembled like an Erector set.

Most computer geeks will likely prefer custom built comptuers because the parts are non-proprietary and they can be more easily worked on. These are valid arguements, but I will argue that most custom builts need worked on more often than off the shelf systems.

When you buy a custom built computer there are a few factors to consider.

Why I like small cars

I spend my day driving from house to house or office to office as the case may be. I can’t imagine doing my job with a large SUV or even a full size car.

I drive an older Honda Civic and I love it for several reasons.

1. It’s a Honda so it is designed for dependability rather than power – I don’t need a lot of power to drive the streets of Grand Junction.

2. It makes tight U turns. I imagine I pass the house or business that I am supposed to be going to about 10 times per week. I love being able to turn completely around on the average street.

3. I can reach almost any point in my car while driving. I can reach a disk in the back seat, a drink in the cup holder and the stereo all without looking away from the road.

Recent spyware surge

Last week Rick and I made a fast trip to Denver and back in a single day (about 7 hours on the road).

During that time we talked about the various computer problems we have seen lately. He noted that spyware seemed to be on the decrease. It is only Wednesday and I have reason to believe that Rick set a jinx upon computer users everywhere.

On Monday night my sister called with a computer problem. I drove to her house and her computer was loaded with spyware and viruses. Earlier that day, I received a call from another client with a computer that wouldn’t even boot up because it has so many viruses (over 1600 infections).