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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 of prices on laptops since before Christmas. It makes me wonder if Microsoft is giving some kind of incentive to manufacturers to lower their prices in order to help drive sales.

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).

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.

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 batteries.

1. Li-Ion batteries run down faster when they are cold. If you are shooting in the cold, you should keep spare batteries in your pocket, close to your warm body.

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 accesing her calendar, address book, notes and much more from any of the three devices.

Palm handhelds; they organized and changed my life. It will take a true miracle device for me to fall out of love with Palm.

55 Minute Uninstall

Wow, it would have almost been faster to backup the data, reformat the hard drive, and reinstall everything from scratch. The long install was of the grossly over programmed Norton Internet Security Suite. Here's the breakdown of my appointment:

8:26am Arrive at customer's house. He tells me that his computer is running extremely slow.
8:32am I sit down and hit the power button on the computer.
8:36am
Still staring at the Windows XP startup logo, I ask the customer to bring in the laptop since he wants me to look at it also.
8:40am
The laptop is booted up and I'm already looking it over.
8:41am
Desktop is finally up…9 minutes!! Yikes!
8:46am
Add/Remove programs is finally up and the list populated. I find Norton Internet Security and click the Remove button.
9:41am
 55 minutes later, I can finally work on the computer. The actual uninstall procedure took about 50 minutes and then another five for it to reboot after removal of Norton.
10:07am
 		I installed and updated both AVG Anti-virus and anti-spyware, tested the Internet connect, tested MS Word (which wasn't working at all an hour earlier) and started the AVG scans all in this past half hour.

The moral of the story is that Norton products slow down even the fastest computers significantly more than any other security product. The installs are long, the updates are long, the uninstalls are long, and the protection is mediocre. Please, save yourself money, time and grief and don't buy or install Norton products on yours or other people's computers.

Gadgets yield more gadgets

I have helped several people buy new computers lately. I don't sell computers or any other hardware so I am more of a personal shopper than a salesman when it comes to guiding people through their purchase.

I think it's funny how gadgets always seem to yield more gadgets. Here is a short flowchart of how this process works.

1. A client calls and says that they need a new computer. They ask my advice on what they should get for just basic stuff like email and word processing. "I don't need anything fancy."

2. I suggest a basic system that will handle all of their needs and a little more.

Are printers being made worse?

The past few months I have seen an alarming number of customers with printer problems. I know that printers aren't being made as well as they were five or more years ago. In fact, while attending CES and talking with some of the reps from well known printer companies, they stated that plastic gears and other parts have replace sturdier metal alloy parts. We can all feel it…printers are much lighter in weight that they used to be.

One thing that isn't lighter, unfortunately, is printer software. Printer software used to fit on a floppy disk or maybe two and the printer would run for years without problems. Now, many printer installations can take up to fifteen minutes because the of massive printer software installs sometimes approaching 1000 megabytes! Any time a printer manufacturer gives me the option to do a minimal or laptop installation, I take it. Ninety-five percent of the software installed is extra junk that slows down a computer and the printer process. I personally think that all printer manufacturers should give a driver only installation option for those of use who don't want or need the extra fluff.

I am a man, I have needs

This article is a repeat from the newsletter last week, but I thought I would post it all by itself for two reasons. First, I have had a lot of comments on it this week. Second, all these tech names will create more yahoo search terms and we will make a few cents from it. Here it goes…

I bought a new computer last week. The new system is dual core, 1 GB of RAM, 200 GB hard drive and DVD burner and card reader.

I remember the first two or three computers I purchased. I remember how exciting it was to