Tuesday, February 26, 2008

I am starting to get it . . .

I used to think that the "mac enthusiast" was a mac gadget purchasing zombie. No matter what Apple would produce, it was a "required" item.

After using the mac, I am starting to see things from a different perspective.

As a pc user, I have struggled with my Creative Zen micro and windows media player. Or maybe it was just struggles with the windows media player, I don't know.

Now, with just 12 hours of having the mac, I can see clearly now.

Things really do work!, things easily integrate in a way that the windows world could only wish.


I now, NEED and ipod. . .

Sunday, February 24, 2008

It was inevitable . . .

Today I eagerly checked my gmail inbox, and found something that has been along time coming.

My first spam message delivered to the inbox.

I have been and still am very pleased with the spam filters that gmail offers.

Here is the email:




reply-to michealterry2244@yahoo.it,
to undisclosed-recipients,
date Sun, Feb 24, 2008 at 5:19 PM
subject CONTACT ME PRIVATE



Goodday,

My name is Mr.Micheal Terry,I work in the Euro Lottery, I am soliciting your
assistance for a swift transfer of 4,528,000 GBP,should you be willing to
assist me in this project you will be giving me just 10% of your winnings.
Just as a brief,due to my position in the company I can make it happen
that you
would be a winner of the above stated amount,naturally every body
would like to
play a lottery if they are assured of winning, I am assuring you today to be a
winner,please do not take for granted this once in a life time opportunity as
we both stand to collectively gain from this at the success of the
transaction.
Should you be willing to assist me in this transaction please do respond to my
secure e-mail:
michealterry2244@yahoo.it

I would be providing you with my private phone number.

Regards,
Mr.Micheal Terry
michealterry2244@yahoo.it

Friday, February 22, 2008

Vista upgrade nightmare Part 2

So I bought a retail vista home premium upgrade last night. I decided that It would be my final microsoft computer product purchase. From now on, I am putting my foot down! Resist the urge! Avoid the plague! It really is a cancer.

I have always laughted at the apple tv ads about the mac guy and the pc guy. Especially the one about the "upgrade operation". LOL!

I finally get the true understanding of it!

I would agree that a XP to vista upgrade is quite major, and I have done it, and it can be a real pain.

However last night and this morning I have been fighting a unexpected challenge. You would think that going from vista home basic to vista home premium would be a walk in the park. NOT SO MUCH!

It required over 8 gigabytes of disk space to perform this upgrade. and after the upgrade things were left VERY broken. Well, At least it does boot!

I had no sound! Even though there was an audio device listed as working in the device manager, under audio setup it listed "No Audio Devices Installed" WTF?

Not to mention the antivirus snafu. It also left the mcAfee security suite in such disarray that it was constantly hogging 106% of the system resources.

I have spent over 7 hours of my life simply trying to get this "minor" upgrade working.

I am starting to get excited about receiving my newest acquisition, A Mac mini!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Newsflash: First experience with microsoft support

The final piece has fell into place! I just had my first and last experience with microsoft, one on one.

Tonight I decided to utilize a little dvd that was included with my laptop. It is called:

Windows Upgrade Anytime

I opened the case, and followed the instructions:

1. click on "Windows Upgrade Anytime" on the start menu
2. Follow the online order process
3. Use the disk that I have to upgrade my computer to unlock its true inner power!

Here is a screen shot:



I went through the order process, and was told that the product was backordered!

I then called microsoft tech support.

I was pleasantly told that "Windows Marketplace" was who I needed to talk to and that they could sort out my trouble. Their number is 866-441-1525.

According to Window Marketplace, I bought the upgrade from someone else. Not them! They told me that I needed to call the "Windows Anytime Upgrade Store" at 877-666-2296.

Guess what the WAU Store told me! They told me that I didn't purchase the order from them either. I was getting alittle ticked. The kind lady gave me the phone number to "Microsoft" since I apparently ordered the upgrade from them. Their phone number was: 888-285-6272.

Finally I was getting somewhere, after an hour on the phone! Upon giving my order number, They informed me that it will not show up in their system for 24 hours. I informed the poor fellow that I would like to cancel the order and just go down to the local Bestbuy and purchase a windows vista home premium upgrade. He informed me that he couldn't do anything until it showed up in their system, and that even then they can't cancel orders. I then asked him if I needed to contact my credit card company, and he then told me that he would check further to see what he could do. He finally came back and told me that he could cancel the order tommorrow after the order shows up.

I have now decided: I will never purchase another Microsoft product again. And this is why:

The company is a jerk. They have absolutley no idea of competent practices. I believe they have good support personel that are handicapped by poor business practices and systems. I get the feeling they are using beta versions of their operating systems on their own pcs. Microsoft is disconnected from the real world.

Only after a psychological evaluation from my wife, will I possibly go out in a few minutes to purchase the upgrade at Bestbuy. Then that will be the last Microsoft purchase.

Hello Apple! Here I come!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

I Think Vista Killed My Computer . . .


Howdy!

Tonight I arrive home to a lovely dead pc.

Further checking indicates failed power supply.

Hp has what looks to be a measley 108 watt powersupply jammed up in the tiny slimpc case.

Over a year of running XP and all was well. Three weeks of vista and the powersupply bit the dust. I have noticed much higher cpu usage and nearly constant hard drive access.

During the "good old days" (on xp) I had virtual memory disabled and the 2gb of ram was sufficient to carry the load. Vista proved otherwise.

XP + Wimpy powersupply = Good To Go
Wimpy powersupply + Vista = 3 Weeks Life


Makes you wonder if the bloat is worth the enviromental impact. With carbon impact studies all the rage has anybody done one on XP vs. Vista?

Oh yeah! Any good deals out there for a mac?



Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Tivo Billing Headaches . . .

Since adding the second tivo to my account, I have been enjoying the multitivo discount for the past 2 years. Imagine my "delight" in discovering the fact that I have been billed the full 12.95 instead of the 6.95 it should have been.

I called tech support and was transfered to the accounting department. Kim, politely listened to my complaint, and after doing some checking, responded:

I do not know why it is being billed at 12.95 it should be billed at 6.95. I donot understand why it happened. All that I can do is reauthorize the tivo on your account for 9.95 a month.

Imagine my dismay! I asked if there was someone that she could transfer me to that could "fix" it. And she responded, no. I further explained that I wasn't aware that the multitivo discount had a time limit, and also the fact that I was not notified of the change of the amount billed. I then asked to be transfered to retentions.

She promptly asked me to please hold to see what she could do.

She came back and told me that she escalated it and that I would see it corrected on the next billing cycle.


Tivo . . . Come on! Whats going on?