Blog, I

It seems weekly I get constant requests from all kinds of people to provide them free technical support, whether in my face or even calling me at home.

The funniest ones are the ones who I find out don’t have a Windows key on their keyboard.  There’s still tons of PCs out there without one, as well as older keyboards handed down to unsuspecting kinfolk.

“I’m sorry, but without a Windows key you won’t be able to go any further, Ma’am”

“Ma’am, can you look under your desk and see if it fell off and is somewhere under your chair?”

“You’ll need to call Microsoft, sir.  It’s one thing when Windows breaks, it’s another when the key to open them isn’t even there.  There’s nothing that can be done without Microsoft’s consent.”

…or just tell the person to do a (Cntrl)+(ESC) salute, and the Start dialog will immediately pop up.

NOTE:  Windows shortcuts (such as Windows+”D” for the desktop) CANNOT use this as a workaround.  It’s useful for getting to the Start menu when a mouse is absent. Anything more and you’ll need to buy your own thinking cap.

Sometimes Microsoft Vista can cause people to seek escape that can lead to a person needing help in either a drug treatment center or some form of alcohol rehab. If you’re that far gone on Vista, click one of the necessary links above.

If not, then if you’ve got kids Vista’s got a built in secret you may want to turn on before your kids manage to get an admin account on the computer!

Click the ‘Start’ orb> Click ‘Settings’ > Click ‘Control Panel’ > Double click ‘Parental Controls’.

You’ll find ‘What can I do with Parental Controls’ if you need any further help from here. Happy Hunting!

The differences between PDAs and smart phones isn’t confusing if you’re a geek with a few years of experience with differing models. If you’re new to them though they can deliver less than you’re expecting.

While Palm markets many PDAs, some as phones and others not, they run a proprietary operating system…not Windows. Many of the applications available for PDAs are operating system specific. If you’re a geek you shouldn’t have a problem finding an application that’ll fit your specific needs, but if you’re not you might get your feelings hurt.

What works and runs on a T-Mobile Dash will NOT run on a Palm Z-22!

The best thing in making the choice of which handheld to purchase is to determine first what you need:

1. Do you need to sync with your Outlook contacts?
2. Will the handheld allow you to sort, change, and edit identically as if you were at your PC?
3. Are you sure you know how to back up your Outlook files BEFORE you possibly delete them by error using your PDA?
4. Are you really looking for a handheld or phone that’s able to play MP3s and could be going for ‘overkill’ in purchasing a handheld? Would buying a phone that uses SD Cards for storing MP3s be a better choice for you?
5. Will you promise to ‘dock’ your handheld each time BEFORE ever making a change to files on your PC? Not doing so can create conflicts that might erase critical data if the PC/handheld determines automatically which file takes precedence and which is overwritten.

If after facing those questions you’re still interested in handhelds, then go for it.

If not…maybe you’re better off just getting a simple phone that plays MP3s.

If you’re like me you’ll download and install anything.  Recently though I’ve started seeing some slow downs on the laptop that were making me think I’d infected myself, even when using the Start Orb.

Turns out it’s just Vista being Vista!  Similiar to searching and indexing folders, Vista also highlights recently added programs in your Programs folder under the Orb…which means there’s active scanning, algebra formulas being worked, and other things those little blue guys do under the hood you didn’t know about.

To increase response…since you already know what you just installed…Right click ‘Start’, choose ‘Properties’, Click ‘Customize’, uncheck ‘Highlight Newly Installed Programs’, then click ‘OK’.

Just remember that if you want to uncheck things you’re not sure are needed, it’s a good idea to write down on paper what the original checks were, just in case you screw up your operating system.  It could save you $60.00 an hour from ‘technical support’ thieves.

If you’re not able to see the checkboxes, chances are you need a pair of eyeglasses.

While there’s tons of blog entries made constantly on how to prepare your computer for a Windows Vista Update, there’s always the easiest thing to do that the geeks don’t touch base on.

Format the hard drive!

It worked when it came out of the box, you reformat and image the drive back to factory specs and you’ll be missing all those things that hosed up your Operating System to begin with. Granted it takes a bit more time than acne treatments do, but you’ll have a new ‘face’ on your computer.

Your own mug…that’s deeper than this site can offer advice about. Cheers!

With auto costs going up, I’ve started using Quicken 2008 Starter Edition again to see exactly what our vehicle’s going to run for the next two years.

Fuel’s running around $67.00 a week, car insurance around $125 a month, and the vehicle itself $75 a week. At the moment I’m looking at either maintaining ten hours a week overtime or accepting an evening job delivering pizzas…do it now before the crunch for the holidays hits.

The cool and easiest thing to remember about using Quicken is to keep the main categories simple.  You can always create ’subcategories’ by adding a colon (:) and typing an appropriate label.  When you go to view by category in reports, you’ll be able to view total costs such as ‘Auto’, or see what ‘Auto:Fuel’ costs as opposed to ‘Auto:Insurance’.

So far I haven’t seen if it’s possible to create a report using different subcategories, such as ‘Auto:Insurance’, ‘Health:Insurance’, and ‘Home:Insurance’.  I’ll edit this later and add the info if I do, otherwise it’s a matter of creating a more detailed report…something I don’t relish as well.

Microsoft Outlook has always had issues when it comes to holiday’s. It seems each version of Outlook that was rolled out had it’s own seperate file for holidays, rather than the software updating automatically; or when pushed; to an anticipated file online to handle such problems.

Rather than rely on Bill’s toy, I simply program in my own holiday reminders. The only problem with this is Easter, which is…

the first Sunday after the first fourteenth day of the moon (the Paschal Full Moon) that is on or after the ecclesiastical vernal equinox. [Source: Wikipedia]

The rest of the year’s a gimme though, so planning my Christmas invitations won’t have any problems. Like anything involving Windows, don’t rely on the tool so much…you’ve got the best one sitting on top of your shoulders.