Month: September 2013

This is what you get with every new PC purchase at my local TigerDirect store. Let’s take a look.. First screen: I am just a few clicks away from having a perfectly performing PC. I can’t wait so I will click on ‘Get Started’ now. Oh-oh. A red window. It has found some dreaded errors that are taking minutes away from my life on a daily basis. Junk files, Internet issues, worse still vulnerability and fragmentation issues, and useless services? Is it any wonder that my life feels like it is hanging from a thread. There are: 85mb of temp … Continue reading Total Defense – PC Tune-up 4.0

Apart from issues that have been around even when running Windows 7, I can’t say that Windows 8.1 has given me much grief at all. The resident browser is Internet Explorer 11, and apart from adding eight websites to the compatibility list, it hasn’t given me much grief either. One piece of hardware which used to work in Windows 8 but no longer works in 8.1 is my D-Link DWL G132 USB adapter. It installs automatically and looks like it is going to work until it reaches the point where it tries to authenticate with the ISP server. It will … Continue reading Windows 8.1 (desktop) + 16 days..

A new card reader: The difference that a year makes, well actually six years. Today, I bit the bullet and bought a card reader for my desktop PC. I have been trying to make do with XP vintage card readers, and it wasn’t working out to well at all. My new card reader is an iCan 8 port model bought from Canada Computers for the princely sum of $12.99 + tax. It can read : CFI/CFII?SMART CARD, SIM CARD SD/SDHC/MMC/MMC4.0/RS-MMC4.0/MMC PLUS/MMC MMC Mobile/MMC Micro/mini SD MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/M2/XD/TF Best of all, it can read SIM cards which means … Continue reading Goings on..

Not for me though. I bought it on behalf of a neighbour who struggles to get out. The old PC, a homebuilt based around an Asus M2NE-SLI, was gradually fading away, first the NIC and then sound. Both were replaced by PCI cards. The disk controllers were the last to go and the final straw. Time for a new PC. I picked out the Lenovo H520s, a budget model but solidly built and a reasonable performer. The small form factor and quiet operation allows it to sit up on the desk. It is supplied with a fairly decent keyboard and … Continue reading A new PC..

(There is a link to the article that spawned this posting at the very end.) I will start off with a quote.. “Linus Torvalds found out the hard way that solid-state drives (SSDs) aren’t invincible — and when they do fail, they can die without warning and at inconvenient times.” A paragraph lower, Linus explains that he didn’t lose very much at all because he saves his work regularly. Home users in general don’t do this. They keep feeding in photos etc from their cameras until the hard drive becomes grid-locked. Backups? “I didn’t know  that I had to back … Continue reading SSDs give no warning..

OK. I survived the last round of updates and all still appears to be working and the hibernation issue that I had appears to have gone. So, first impressions: The Tile menu is better than it was. The tiles I first see in Metro mode are for applications already installed. I have to scroll across to the third block before I start to see the useless default apps. That is a good thing even though I have no intention of using the tiles. There is a new splash screen, a geometric pattern based on the tile colours which is ok … Continue reading Windows 8.1 + 24 hours..

It took a little over an hour to complete and now I feel distinctly alone. While upgrading, I made choices that the average user is going to make and already I am regretting some of them. Express settings.. Was it this choice that forced me into having to sign on with my Microsoft account? Probably, but I didn’t want to use that account. I also accepted using SkyDrive as the default save location, and I haven’t found out how to reverse the choice yet. The Homegroup was blitzed. Password history for a variety of websites has been wiped But, Start … Continue reading Windows 8 upgraded to 8.1..

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is the reason. Let me explain.. I was walking through my local Target store yesterday and came across one of these on a shelf priced at $9.99. In Tim Hortons, they cost around $1.50. So why the price hike? I will tell you. Many Canadians can’t make a step in front unless they have one of these in their hands, can’t walk into a store (any kind) unless they have one of these in their hands. There are tables adjacent to the mall TH outlet, so why can’t they sit and drink at a table? It had been … Continue reading Why smartwatches are not a good idea..

Microsoft aims to buy Nokia, subject to being allowed. It will all help towards the ‘devices and services’ direction that Ballmer has set in motion. The only problem I can see is getting Nokia to make a really good phone. Nokia did make a very good phone indeed, but it was a while ago, around 2000. It was called the Nokia 3310, a solid little device which could be customized by the fixing of a veritable plethora of 3rd party covers. Reception was brilliant and sound quality was second to none. I had one c/w Stars and Stripes covers and … Continue reading Nokia is in the news..