Month: February 2012

My initial thoughts: It’s different. There is a button called ‘desktop, but it isn’t a Windows desktop. It is a screen view called desktop. Some of the ‘apps’ are interesting. I actually like the look of them.: The weather app opens up full screen and gives lots of information. That’s the good part. The weather app opens up full screen and gives lots of information but you can’t see anything else. No links, no taskbar, just wall to wall weather. The maps ‘app’ opens up full screen and gives lots of information. That’s the good part. The maps ‘app’ opens … Continue reading Windows 8 Consumer Preview

I am not coping too well with just one monitor. It’s like trying to walk with both feet in one shoe. Icons which once lived down the left side of monitor 2 are now in a folder just below the gadgets which have always been on the right side monitor 1. There are a couple of folders within it too and navigation is a real pain. In MS Answers, OPs have more than just problems with their computers. They also have issues with constructing easily readable paragraphs. Up until now, I have cut and pasted posts into WordPad, increased the … Continue reading 37 into 18.5 = disaster

I knew a guy who always got lost whenever he ventured out in his car beyond his comfort zone. While his street hadn’t changed much, the road system beyond had and the 15 year old atlas map on the rear parcel shelf didn’t reflect the changes. Similarly, I saw in MS Answers a guy who couldn’t get AutoRoute 2001 to install in Windows 7. There is no doubt in my mind that Windows 7 was doing him a favour. Not only have the roads changed, been added to over the last 11 years, even the shape of the coastline has … Continue reading Compatibility and security issues..

.. well not printable words suitable for a public place anyway.. If you are a bit upset at the prospect of having no proper desktop, take some solace in the newly designed METRO styled Windows logo. Tada!! Nice eh.. some people are drooling over this.  Note that it may not be the finished version. As you can see, there is room for tweaking the overall design, and it is still not too late.. I have got news for you. This logo and all of the previous logos (and sounds) have had considerable thought and talent put into their creation. Hey, … Continue reading Words do no justice..

. And yes, you do have to be running an AMD m’board. Novelty value = 5. because it is more fun than a defragmenter.. So, what can you see? if you click on ‘Details’ in each, you get even more info. The CPU section opens into a graph with a sliding bar section for each core. You can watch the cores jump around, and the CPU frequency switches from medium high to high which shows that AMD Cool ‘n Quiet really does work.. The Graphics card section is not nearly as exciting, and if the utility was connected to you, … Continue reading The AMD System Monitor

This time, it is an LG W1934s (one of a pair), before this, an ACER 1916, and a very expensive 19” first generation LCD panels before the Acer. I have to admit that I am getting a little tired of LCD panels failing. Three in five years or so has gone beyond funny. In this case, the standby/power switch light was flashing blue which apparently suggests that capacitors had blown inside. I also found out that the cheapest capacitors are used and they are working flat out just to keep the monitors going. Is this not built in obsolescence? Why … Continue reading Another LCD panel bites the dust..

The story so far: The wireless connection has never been too reliable, but it is getting worse. Regardless of settings changes, it has always dropped out even when in ‘full flight’ It is NOT affected by wired connections. Even if every computer here is on wireless connection, it still drops out It is the ONLY wireless device which drops its connection. Fitted with a D-Link G132 USB adapter, it has NOT dropped the connection once unless manually disconnected or put into sleep or hibernation This rules out the wireless router as being the cause. I had already decommissioned a DI … Continue reading The Wireless Toshiba..

Wireless.. we used to dream about having wireless things. With wireless, the promise was that we could float like a butterfly, unfettered by annoying cables. The reality is that wireless can sting like a bee. Wireless keyboards and mice are a blessing. To get crumbs and bits out of a wireless keyboard is easy. Just turn it over, no having to free up cable  Not enough room on the desk to do stuff other than typing? Just lift it away and put it somewhere else. The only problem is that they work on the 2.4GHrequency. Why is this a problem? … Continue reading Wireless.. A dream come true or a nightmare in the making?

Well. both actually..  My desktop machine has officially gone wireless via a D-Link G132 which is apparently not even compatible with Windows 7 64-bit.  I can assure D-Link that it is, no thanks to the complete lack of drivers on the D-Link website. Officially it is a 108mbps device, but in Vista and Windows 7 it comes in at 54mbps on a good day. I have changed every setting on the Toshiba, tried every driver over time and it still drops out. Maybe it is the router that is at fault  One way or another, I will nail it down … Continue reading Gone wireless.. or do I mean wireless gone?

I didn’t have much good to say about it in my last piece, and have even less to say that is good. Last night, I put my computer into hibernation, but waking it was a real job this morning. The gadget was experiencing severe difficulties, and when a Windows 7/Vista gadget does this, it tends to affect the whole system. I had to reboot to get control back to me. While the Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector is a good tool, I can’t say the same about the gadget. I have had Inspector on the laptop for a while, but there was … Continue reading Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor update..