July 18, 2014More Windows 8.1 Bad NewsThe lack of interest over Windows 8 isn’t a joke. It’s palpable. When I was in a local computer store recently, I asked the owner how many Windows 8 units he’d sold. “None.” Well, he sold a couple at first, but they returned and wanted Windows 7 installed instead. Now Lenovo, which sells far more computers than the local “Mom & Pop” store I frequent, has announced that it will no longer be shipping Windows 8.1 tablets. The reason: A lack of interest. Hello, Microsoft? Adblock Plus
July 16, 2014The Most Annoying SoundAs a computer nerd, I can be quite critical of the portrayal of electronics and technology in film and video. Still, I give most goofs a pass, just for the sake of drama. One thing I cannot forgive, however, is the mouse click sound effect.
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July 14, 2014Windows 7 and System RestoreThe Restore Point is a brilliant idea, introduced in some ancient version of Windows. In Windows 7, however, Microsoft sought to obfuscate your ability to set a manual Restore Point. So successful were they, that setting a Restore Point and rebooting doesn’t work. July 11, 2014Google’s End GameSuccessful organizations have a plan. Call it a mission statement, but in the end big corporations want to make a profit. In other words, they need customers, either new ones or repeats who keep buying more stuff.
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July 10, 2014PC Growth Flat, Which is Good NewsAfter two years of declining computer sales worldwide, things have finally flattened out. That may mean the industry is in for a turnaround, but it may not. I figured computer sales would slump because many people are switching to tablets. For the typical human, a tablet (or phablet or phone) can do the work they otherwise did on a PC. Computer sales had to go down as those folks made the switch. Also, you have to consider that today’s PC is much better made and more reliable than systems of the 1990s, when the industry experienced insane, year-over-year growth. Back then, I’d buy a new system every two or three years. Now I average about 5 years for a PC, sometimes longer. One item that may be playing into the increased sales in a tangential way is Microsoft’s drop of support for Windows XP. That decision motivated a lot of business owners to buy new systems — or refurbish their existing models. They would get a new motherboard, solid state drive (SSD), and Windows 7. That’s technically not a new computer, but it’s a sale!
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July 9, 2014My First Printer, Part IIImagine my glee as I returned to my apartment back in 1980-something. I had with me my first computer printer, the C-Itoh 8510. I had ink. I had paper. What I didn’t have was a printer driver.
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July 7, 2014My First Printer, Part IToday everyone complains about the ink being expensive. It is. What’s taken for granted, however, is that printer is cheap. It’s in color. The quality is excellent. And the printers do more than print, many are scanners, copiers, and fax machines. That wasn’t always the case. July 6, 2014SkyboxA joke was making the rounds several years ago: Some politician was using Google Maps and wanted to know why he couldn’t see his car parked in front of the building. The truth is, Google Maps uses satellite imagery that often months if not years out of date. That’s fine for getting around or becoming familiar with an area, but not useful if you want to see where your car is parked. Enter Skybox. Their goal is to have very fresh satellite images available, maybe three times a day. They can do it with only a small number of satellites. It’s fascinating stuff, and it will affect how you use Google Maps in just a few short years.
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July 5, 20143D Printers in LibrariesComing soon to a public library near you: A 3D printer. Pretty cool, and apparently you can print illegal stuff too. Now I have to figure out what illegal 3D printing is.
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There it is! Your favorite page on the Internet appear, ready for you to digest some important fact or trivial tidbit. And, lo: What’s this? An ad. It shuffles in from the left, or fades in over the entire page. Your day is ruined.