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Ordering a new computer? Have a new computer? Setting up a new computer... |
March - 2007 |
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Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects
such as wickerwork picnic baskets.
Imagination without skill gives us modern
art. - Tom Stoppard
Bergesch Computer Services --topJust a quick note, Steve will be unavailable March 4th through the 11th. Also, please remember to call for an appointment before stopping by the shop as our hours will be changing... Thank you. Free Credit Report? --topYou have probably heard the ads for a free credit report. Well they may not be free... While signing you up for this free credit report, Experian may also sign you up for an $80 credit "monitoring" program. The article. Windows Updates --topMid February we checked all of our machines and even though they are set to download and install available Windows Updates automatically, there were some updates not yet complete. Be sure to click on the Microsoft update indicator
More on some important Windows (and Office) updates later... Vista Upgrade? --topWhile Vista has some nice features and better security, at this time we are not recommending upgrading an existing machine for a few reasons:
A couple of articles on application compatibility issues:
If you purchase a new machine, it will almost certainly come with Vista and for now, you will have to work around compatibility issues. Check with the hardware/software manufacturers for upgrades. If you do decide to upgrade to Vista anyway, this article may be useful. Proprietary SoftwareWe have a few customers running proprietary software, some of which is very old. The DOS based software is going to be especially problematic under Vista and will likely not run at all. Additionally, some of this software does not recognize the newer USB connected printers. If you need to replace your printer, you may be forced to locate a (now expensive) parallel printer. And unfortunately some of these software manufacturers are simply sitting on their cash cow and are not upgrading the software at all. If they do upgrade, the price is almost unbearable for small businesses. Avoid lengthy system downtime and start planning ahead. Talk with the software manufacturer about upgrades or look for different software... Office 2007 --topMicrosoft is mostly touting the "new interface," but is there much change in functionality? Some, but not a lot that we are excited about. One that we do like is Word can now create PDF files, but otherwise, the changes appear to target corporations that share and edit documents among many people. E.g., in Word there is a document comparison tool and a "final version" marker. Excel spreadsheets can be even larger. In fact, so large it would be impossible to use if filled. One million rows... Who in their right mind would want a single spreadsheet that large? Microsoft's "What's New" page. Like Vista, Office now has an astonishing number of versions, eight in all and like Windows, the (retail) pricing is ridiculously high at $399 full version, $239 for the upgrade, and that is the least expensive upgrade available! If after that sticker shock you are still considering the Office 2007 upgrade, below are a couple of compatibility articles you really must read before saving any files. Microsoft articles on Office '07: What versions include what applications and retail pricing. RAM Cost --topLast year we talked about a lawsuit regarding memory royalties. Well, it is not over yet... The FTC is limiting the royalties Rambus can collect from manufacturers to 1% (and less) on various memory products, but Rambus is apparently charging 3.5%. The article. While a 3.5% increase at the retail level is not a big deal, 3.5% at the manufacturing level would likely translate to much higher prices for the consumer. As of the first of the year, it appears computer prices already jumped. Systems we spec'd at the end of last year are now about 15 to 20% higher. We can only assume that increase was due to Vista, but who knows... Proper Word Processor Spacing --topFrom the archives...
Firewalls --topFirewalls are really necessary for anyone using the Internet. They stop outsiders from getting to your computer. Note: They do not stop viruses. But just how important is a firewall? One study indicated hackers attack on average of 2,244 times a day. Source. As well as stopping outsiders from getting in, firewalls block applications from getting out, i.e., malicious programs that may already reside on the computer. But they also may stop legitimate network activities... McAfee's Privacy Center seems to be especially troublesome on some machines. It stops access to some websites, blocks certain tools and images and can completely stop network activities altogether. On those particular machines, we found no "fix" other than disabling that part of McAfee. Norton's Internet Security, while a little more friendly than McAfee's, can also cause the shutdown of all network activities if there is a problem with it. To repair the problem, it may be necessary to uninstall and reinstall the application. Once that is done, you may have to retrain it what applications can and cannot access the Internet. One very irritating aspect of Norton is, by default it blocks Windows File and Print sharing, but fortunately that can be easily removed via Settings options > General > Advanced. Microsoft's OneCare completely stops all activities on some unique networks and there is no adjustment or option to resolve the problem. But with all their problems, we still recommend running firewalls and prefer to see both hardware and software firewalls. IE7 Tips --topAs we mentioned in previous newsletters, Internet Explorer version 7 from Microsoft can cause some problems, but if you have it, here are a few tips... Holding the control key (Ctrl) while clicking a link forces that page to open in a new tab regardless of the link setting, e.g., we typically have the browser launch a new window when a link is outside of our website. Ctrl click overrides that and simply opens in a new tab. To the left of the first tab is a button with four
squares.
A few IE7 quick keys or click here to see all.
Using Flash (Thumb) Drives --top
The first time one is plugged in, the operating system will inform you it is available and may even ask you what you want to do with it. Typically you would want to view the contents... If you do not get a prompt or simply want to view the contents at another time, open the My Computer icon and look for a "removable drive." Double click to view, but take note of the assigned drive letter (E:, F:, etc.). A lot of people use these for backing up, e.g., Quicken you can back up directly to this device via File menu > Backup then select the proper drive letter as the destination... While these are great for transferring and backing up to, we do not recommend working directly with the device, e.g., do not open a word processing file on the device. Instead, get that document on the computer's hard drive, edit it from there and then, copy back to the device. Interesting, Vista may be able to use this device to speed operations. The article. How Things Have Changed --topOur second ever newsletter talked about the (then) upcoming Windows '98 operating system and the hardware requirements. '98 required a minimum of 120 Mb available hard drive space, a 166 MHz processor and 16 Mb of memory. You could even install 98 via floppy drive (20 some floppies in all). Contrast with today's Vista minimums of 512 Mb memory, 800 MHz processor, 15 Gb available drive space and a DVD. Y2K Again? --topHere comes another potential date/time issue for computers... Congress has passed a bill to change Daylight Savings Time, extending it by 4 weeks. If you do not update your computer, it will have the incorrect time during that period. The Microsoft article for home users. This will not be a big deal to most computer users, but those who have date/time sensitive applications such as scheduling, date/time calculations, transaction logging and tariff billing need to address the issue. The complete Microsoft article. If you use proprietary software, billing or scheduling software other than Microsoft, be sure to check with the manufacturer to see if they have any required updates... WindowsMachines running Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 will automatically adjust, but all other machines will need to do some updating:
Outlook (other than Outlook 2007)Outlook users who rely on the calendar must pay special attention! It is recommended that you print your calendar to include all upcoming appointments that are time sensitive as the patch/update may not correctly adjust times for existing appointments. Microsoft is also recommending that if you are using email to send an appointment, you include the time of the meeting in the email body, e.g., 11:00 A.M. Central Time. Note: We have already received reports indicating the update does not correctly adjust scheduled appointments within that 3 week period, so check them carefully! Outlook 2000, 2002 and 2003 users running under Windows XP SP2 can find the download here. The complete Outlook article.
Microsoft Mobile Device ArticlesMicrosoft Servers and Exchange ServersIt is especially important that these users follow the MS recommendations and install the appropriate patches and like above, it is recommended that you print your calendar to include all upcoming appointments that are time sensitive. The patch/update may not correctly adjust times for existing appointments. Outlook and the Outlook tool are not part of the Exchange tool download package. They have to be installed separately, and do not confuse the Outlook tool installer package that is named TZMove.exe with the actual Outlook tool executable file that is also named TZMove.exe. Before you run the Exchange tool, make sure that client and server computers are updated correctly with the operating system and application DST updates. These updates must be installed in the following order:
The Microsoft Exchange article. We have applied the patches to our computers and everything (apparently) went just fine, but if we are late for an appointment... We will leave you with this from Al Lowe Two men sank into adjacent train seats after a long day at work. One asked the other, "Did your son go back to college yet?" "Yep. Two days ago." "Hmm. Mine's a senior this year, so it's almost over. In May, he'll be an engineer. What's your son going to be when he gets out of college?" "At the rate he's going, he'll be about thirty." "No, I mean what's he taking in college?" "Every penny I have." "Doesn't he burn the midnight oil?" "He doesn't get in early enough to burn the midnight oil." "Surely sending him to college has some benefit?" "Well, it has cured his mother of bragging about him!" |
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--top
or
via Internet Explorer's Tools menu > Windows Update and check for
updates. The Internet Explorer 7 is still an option you can decide
on, but all other updates should be installed. 
Clicking that button shows a thumbnail of each tab you have open.
From there you can close or select the page of interest...
