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Windows Vista – Day 1

I installed the Windows Vista Beta edition I downloaded yesterday and so far have no evidence to overturn my initial observations. The install took about 55 minutes and was entirely hands off…an improvement from previous Windows installations. The boot up process is slower than Windows XP and shutdown is really slow. And this is all without adding any software to the computer yet.

Microsoft tells us that Vista will be the safest Windows ever. I hope that is true because computer users will be moving to Apple in droves. The interface seems anything but intuitive, and that's coming from me who some say knows a little about computers. Instead of making the interface easier, much of the functions are hidden under layers of hard to navigate clicks. And so far, once I do get into a program, they all seem like the old programs with just a new layer of gloss and difficulty.

An 8 hour download…

This afternoon I started downloading the beta version of Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista. I pay for a 1.5mb DSL connection. At that speed, the download is estimated to take about 7 or so hours. Cable users with a 6mb connection would be able to download it in about 2 hours. Dial up users aren't even allowed to try…it would take almost six days on a dial-up connection. I could have ordered the DVD installation disk, but why wait three weeks when I can get it today. 

We have bashed the upcoming upgrade to Windows repeatedly here at the site and on the show. I plan on putting the OS (operating system) to the test by installing it on an older computer that I have. For those of you in Grand Junction who attend our monthly User Group, I hope to have the new computer system up and running by the October meeting to demonstrate for the group.

I’m raising my rates – here’s why

While Rick and I run seperate businesses, we each do the same thing. I spend my day travelling to various homes and businesses all over town to work on computer problems and train people how to get more from their systems.

To do this I have been charging $50/hr. for homes and $75/hr. for businesses. Does that sound like a lot? Probably not if you live in a bigger city, but let's compare that to everything else out there.

As gas prices have gone up and everything else has gone up in price right along with it, I have kept the same rates for over two years. I hate raising my rates. But, after doing some math and some research, I don't feel too bad about making the big move to raise my rates.

The embarrassing dangers of Picasa

I have learned to be careful when loading Picasa onto a client's computer.

Picasa is one of my favorite digital photography programs. Once you install it, it scans the entire computer for all digital photos. It catalogs them and displays them as thumbnails in order of date created.

The fact that it looks for and catalogs all of the photos on a computer has led to a little bit of embarrassment to a few of my clients.

Yesterday while working with a wonderful client, I installed Picasa to help her manage her digital photos easier. After installing it Picasa displayed a large porn collection. I knew that the photos were not there because of anything she had done so I had her look away while I deleted the photos.

Minimum Requirements

When buying new computer hardware or software it is imperative that you read the side of the box at the minimum requirements. Some products will even offer recommended requirements above the minimum requirements. The truth is that a vast majority of products (software and hardware) are designed to run on the latest hardware and operating system (Windows XP).

Minimum requirements that say the newest photo printers or games will run on a Pentium II machine running Windows 98 are put there to simply sell products. Yes, they may run after hours and hours of getting the installation right, but they will slow your computer down to a crawl and cause other programs to have errors as well. If you are using older hardware/software, stay with older versions of printers, scanners and other hardware and software to keep your frustration levels down and your computer running well.

Discover MORE on Google

Most web users are familiar with Google as a search engine – that is a website that helps you search the web for other pages related to a given search topic.
What most people don't know is that Google has many more hidden powers. Many of these powers are as spectacular as the traditional search engine itself.To discover everything that Google has to offer you must look below the search box.

Google Options

Web – Click here for a standard web search for website related to the search topic

Images – Click here to search the web for pictures related to a search topic

Groups – Click here to search discussion groups about a given topic

News – Click here to search almost all major news sites about a given topic

Froogle – Click here to search many major stores (online and off) for price and product information on a given item

Maps – Search the US and the world for addresses, directions, businesses, etc

Desktop – Search your own computer for files using Google search techniques (requires a download and install)

MORE – This is where the real magic takes place!

Go there now and discover the wonders of Google.

Geek Squad is a comin’

Today I had lunch at a local burger place. I try to eat a hamburger a week just so I don't forget how bad they are for me.

While I was eating six Geek Squad guys came and set down at the table next to me. For those who don't know, the Geek Squad is Best Buy's computer repair team. Essentially they are a bunch of kids with book learning but little real-world experience outside of the routine jobs that they do on a daily basis.

As I heard them talk I began to wonder if it is truly possible to Wal-mart-ize computer help. This comes from a very biased point of view admittedly. My business is in direct competition to the Geek Squad.

Books on CD are a wonderful thing

Just like Rick, I also spend a lot of time in my car driving from one appointment to another. Lately I have discovered the joy of reading, both traditional books and audio books.

All through school I was never much of a reader. In fact, it wasn't until college that I actually kept up with reading the required text and that was only in classes that I enjoyed like American Government and Creative Non-fiction (yes that was a real class I took).

Late last year I installed a nice bookshelf in our bathroom and since then I have read about 5 books and too many entire magazines to count.

When it’s gone, it’s gone

Adam eluded to a trend that he has noticed about failing computers and hard drives lately. Indeed, I have seen the same epidemic. My question to you is, do you really know what the hard drive is and what its function is?

Some computer users point to the box that sits on their desk or floor and call it a hard drive. Others know that it stores data. I think few understand how important and valuable the hard drive really is and why we spend so much time writing and talking about backup. The hard drive, in desktop computers, is roughly the size of a VCR tape. It is a mechanical piece of equipment that has motors, gears and bearings…none of which is made to last forever. Thus the reason for backup.

Windows 98 vs. Windows Vista

I've seen a fair amount of Windows 98 machines lately and read many, many articles and reviews about the upcoming (six months?) release of Windows Vista. If a computer user doesn't load a Windows 98 machine with bloated security software (Norton) or too many background programs and utilities, it runs pretty darn well…even fast! Windows Vista, on the other hand, continues to baffle industry experts on exactly what the purpose of the 'upgrade' is. After simplifying the operating system choices and essentially having one version of Windows, there will be at least five versions to choose from next year!