If you have been reading the blog from the beginning you know I have a whiner streak I struggle to control. This Thanksgiving week, I hope to change over to a new leaf and talk about things that make me happy!
Lets start off with a strange one, HP Support. I had a good customer this week send me an email about the good response they had with HP. Their laptop had died after about 4 months of ownership. HP picked up the laptop, replaced the motherboard, hard drive and battery and had it back to them in 4 total days. This is with their STANDARD warranty. Wow, it made me proud to sell the product. Our other laptop that we sell, Lenovo, has also gotten great reviews from customers. We still recommend you get at least a 3 year warranty on Laptop, due to their fragility.
And speaking of HP, My LaserJet 2200 printer just won't die. I would love to get a new color duplexing laser printer, but my frugality says run this sucker into the ground. As long as you keep feeding it toner, it keeps on printing. I also have a DeskJet 6122 duplexing ink jet printer that has been very long lived. Its printed out a lot of class completion certificates over the years.
I can't say enough good about my Apple Mini Mac. Its 3 years old and runs just as fast as when I purchased it. I do much of my Internet surfing with it and no viruses, spyware or malware have slowed it down. It automatically defrags the hard drive and updates happen regular, but not every 5 minutes like those other guys.
I couldn't work without a USB flash drive. My latest is a Kingston 4GB model that keeps my documents and utility programs. I just plug it in and start fixing PC's. Much faster then my CDs and less damage to the environment. I used to burn a new Utility CD every month and throw them away. Now Its quarterly and only for those customers still using Windows 98 (you know who you are!). I also couldn't get on without external hard drives. I have 3. a 160GB that I use to help transfer customer files, a 250GB drive to backup my files from my Ultra PC and a 1 Terrabye (1,000 gigabyte) network drive to backup my backup and my Apple (mainly Itunes) and my class PCs.
I'm thankful for lots of technology that makes my life easier and my job more productive. I'm also thankful for my loyal customers. Enjoy the season!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
#108 - Updates & Upgrades what to do?
As computer owners, we are constantly bombarded with update warnings. Windows, Office, AOL, Hardware Drivers, Programs, it just never ends. I'm going to try and give some advice on when you should upgrade or update you PC in this blog.
Windows - You really don't have a choice in this one. Update now or Update later. You have to update your version of Windows. Now that doesn't mean you have to UPGRADE (change versions) just keep your current version of Windows up to date. Microsoft posts updates to Windows every Tuesday morning. Now depending on how you have set up your version of Windows Update the update will get to your PC eventually. If you go to Control Panel, Automatic Update you can chose how you have the update happen. I like the option "Notify me but don't automatically download or install them". This lets you pick the time and place of the update. If you don't pick this option Windows decides when it will download the update (lord knows how big it is) and when it will update your PC and usually ask you to reboot your PC (during an important presentation?).
Most of you know my opinion of Windows Vista. You should absolutely not upgrade your PC to Vista. If you have to get Vista (And you'll have no choice after January) then get a new PC designed for Vista.
We only update Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access) when we are having a problem. Office is generally pretty stable and the need to update or even upgrade is minimal. Customers are still happy with Office 2000. I use Office 2003 and am not thrilled with upgrading to Office 2007. It's a radical change in the interface with minimal new features. Stay the course!
For those still using AOL (we are!) the new version of AOL VR (9.1 I think) isn't a bad upgrade, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. It pesters you to update, but gives you the option to click on the X or cancel so do what feels right.
The most infuriating update nag for me is the Adobe reader. They seem to have an update every 3 days. I have NEVER seen the use for any Adobe reader update. Its just nag, nag, nag till you succumb. I honestly haven't seen anything bad about the updates other then taking you away from what you are doing.
We'll talk about hardware upgrades next blog!
Windows - You really don't have a choice in this one. Update now or Update later. You have to update your version of Windows. Now that doesn't mean you have to UPGRADE (change versions) just keep your current version of Windows up to date. Microsoft posts updates to Windows every Tuesday morning. Now depending on how you have set up your version of Windows Update the update will get to your PC eventually. If you go to Control Panel, Automatic Update you can chose how you have the update happen. I like the option "Notify me but don't automatically download or install them". This lets you pick the time and place of the update. If you don't pick this option Windows decides when it will download the update (lord knows how big it is) and when it will update your PC and usually ask you to reboot your PC (during an important presentation?).
Most of you know my opinion of Windows Vista. You should absolutely not upgrade your PC to Vista. If you have to get Vista (And you'll have no choice after January) then get a new PC designed for Vista.
We only update Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access) when we are having a problem. Office is generally pretty stable and the need to update or even upgrade is minimal. Customers are still happy with Office 2000. I use Office 2003 and am not thrilled with upgrading to Office 2007. It's a radical change in the interface with minimal new features. Stay the course!
For those still using AOL (we are!) the new version of AOL VR (9.1 I think) isn't a bad upgrade, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. It pesters you to update, but gives you the option to click on the X or cancel so do what feels right.
The most infuriating update nag for me is the Adobe reader. They seem to have an update every 3 days. I have NEVER seen the use for any Adobe reader update. Its just nag, nag, nag till you succumb. I honestly haven't seen anything bad about the updates other then taking you away from what you are doing.
We'll talk about hardware upgrades next blog!
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