happy birthday, bookwurm!

"Rhino 7" <laney2 RemoveThis @comfishcast.net> wrote:

> <shares birthday eclairs>
>
> DH got me a brand new 'puter (the better to play WoW on), and an
> iTouch.

What flavor computer and OS? And why that choice?

Joe Morris
 >> Stay informed about: happy birthday, bookwurm! 

On Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:19:09 GMT, "Joe Morris"
<j.c.morris RemoveThis @verizon.net> wrote:

>"Rhino 7" <laney2 RemoveThis @comfishcast.net> wrote:
>
>> <shares birthday eclairs>
>>
>> DH got me a brand new 'puter (the better to play WoW on), and an
>> iTouch.
>
>What flavor computer and OS? And why that choice?
>
>Joe Morris

HP Pavilion (same as DH has) with 4gig ram and a 1.6 tb harddrive ...
and <shudder> Vista.

It was a present. <wink>

The Bookwurm
--
Goddess of Libraries ™,
Pedant in Chief
Keeper of the BotRoM
Sister Hand Grenade of Sweet Reason
Believer, Church of the Cosmic Muffin
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 >> Stay informed about: happy birthday, bookwurm! 

Rhino 7 wrote:

>
> HP Pavilion (same as DH has) with 4gig ram and a 1.6 tb harddrive ...
> and <shudder> Vista.

I will remember you in my prayers.
<violent shudders>
Hubby hates Vista with a passion -- but is too stubborn to spend the
cash and time to put his laptop back to XP.

'wyrm
 >> Stay informed about: happy birthday, bookwurm! 

On Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:03:33 -0600, Bookwyrm <Bookwyrm RemoveThis @comcast.net>
wrote:

>Rhino 7 wrote:
>
>>
>> HP Pavilion (same as DH has) with 4gig ram and a 1.6 tb harddrive ...
>> and <shudder> Vista.
>
>I will remember you in my prayers.
><violent shudders>
>Hubby hates Vista with a passion -- but is too stubborn to spend the
>cash and time to put his laptop back to XP.
>
>'wyrm

And I'm sticking to XP as long as its supported!
 >> Stay informed about: happy birthday, bookwurm! 

"Rhino 7" <laney2 RemoveThis @comfishcast.net> wrote:
> On Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:19:09 GMT, "Joe Morris" wrote
>>"Rhino 7" <laney2 RemoveThis @comfishcast.net> wrote:

>>> DH got me a brand new 'puter (the better to play WoW on),
>>> and an iTouch.

>>What flavor computer and OS? And why that choice?

> HP Pavilion (same as DH has) with 4gig ram and a 1.6 tb harddrive ...
> and <shudder> Vista.

What flavor of Vista? Home Basic, Home Premium, or higher?

I'll admit to having an Ulterior Motive in the question: I want to keep up
with the opinions about Vista of users who have experience with it and who
don't go off into a diatribe about how {good, bad} Microsoft is. The reason
for this is that at my POE I'm the engineering architect responsible for the
desktop systems for our engineering and support staff worldwide (7000-8000
systems depending on how you count them); eventually we'll be forced to move
to Vista if for no other reason than computer vendors no longer providing
real support for XP on new models. I have my opinions on the subject but I
need to hear what other people have to say to help me design and document
the changeover.

My personal opinion on Vista can be seen from the systems I run at home:
three desktops running XP, one desktop running Server 2003, a laptop running
XP or Linux, and a varying number of virtual machines running everything
from MS-DOS through Server 2008. In the past whenever a new version of
Windows was released I would have an early copy running on one of the real
machines as soon as it was available, but I do not have Vista installed on
any of them.

Vista has some nice improvements over XP, but it also has some incredible
blunders such as the way that the "User Account Control" ("UAC") was
implemented. It's also huge: you can't install it on a machine if there is
less than 16 GB of unused disk space. The 4 GB memory in your new system
should be a good match with Vista.

Service Pack 1 does provide some visible improvements. The production
version of SP1 was released to manufacturing earlier this month and I've
installed it on some of the machines at the office. While it doesn't fix
the more egregious design flaws, it is worth the effort of installing it and
I would recommend that you install it as soon as it's available.

Thanks for the info.

Joe Morris
 >> Stay informed about: happy birthday, bookwurm! 

"Joe Morris" <j.c.morris RemoveThis @verizon.net> wrote

> I'll admit to having an Ulterior Motive in the question: I want to keep up
> with the opinions about Vista of users who have experience with it and who
> don't go off into a diatribe about how {good, bad} Microsoft is.

I haven't tried it myself, but the general impression I'm getting
from reactions of people who *have* tried it is: it's *almost*
as nice as Windows ME.
 >> Stay informed about: happy birthday, bookwurm! 

"Dave Joll" <dont DeleteThis @bother.trying> wrote:
> "Joe Morris" <j.c.morris DeleteThis @verizon.net> wrote
>
>> I'll admit to having an Ulterior Motive in the question: I want to keep
>> up with the opinions about Vista of users who have experience with it and
>> who don't go off into a diatribe about how {good, bad} Microsoft is.
>
> I haven't tried it myself, but the general impression I'm getting
> from reactions of people who *have* tried it is: it's *almost*
> as nice as Windows ME.

That's an excellent example of "damning with faint praise".

An industry observer last week commented that Microsoft wants Vista to be
seen as offering the large incremental improvement that came with Windows 98
FE, while many people see it as having all of the attractiveness of Windows
ME.

It does seem that a number of corporate users (who have a bit more clout
with vendors to continue to get Windows XP) are saying "Hasta la Vista,
Vista."

Vista does have at least one good thing going for it: there isn't a separate
product for tablet laptops. Some people at my POE have been pushing for us
to support them, and if we start supporting Vista there will be a relatively
small additional expense to build images for tablet machines in the same
product lines that we currently support. My concern with this is that while
a tablet does offer advantages in some situations, in most cases it's an
expensive solution in search of a problem...a characterization that applies
to Vista itself.

Joe Morris
 >> Stay informed about: happy birthday, bookwurm! 

Joe Morris wrote:
> "Rhino 7" <laney2 RemoveThis @comfishcast.net> wrote:
>> On Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:19:09 GMT, "Joe Morris" wrote
>>> "Rhino 7" <laney2 RemoveThis @comfishcast.net> wrote:
>
>>>> DH got me a brand new 'puter (the better to play WoW on),
>>>> and an iTouch.
>
>>> What flavor computer and OS? And why that choice?
>
>> HP Pavilion (same as DH has) with 4gig ram and a 1.6 tb harddrive ...
>> and <shudder> Vista.
>
> What flavor of Vista? Home Basic, Home Premium, or higher?
>
> I'll admit to having an Ulterior Motive in the question: I want to keep up
> with the opinions about Vista of users who have experience with it and who
> don't go off into a diatribe about how {good, bad} Microsoft is. The reason
> for this is that at my POE I'm the engineering architect responsible for the
> desktop systems for our engineering and support staff worldwide (7000-8000
> systems depending on how you count them); eventually we'll be forced to move
> to Vista if for no other reason than computer vendors no longer providing
> real support for XP on new models. I have my opinions on the subject but I
> need to hear what other people have to say to help me design and document
> the changeover.
>
> My personal opinion on Vista can be seen from the systems I run at home:
> three desktops running XP, one desktop running Server 2003, a laptop running
> XP or Linux, and a varying number of virtual machines running everything
> from MS-DOS through Server 2008. In the past whenever a new version of
> Windows was released I would have an early copy running on one of the real
> machines as soon as it was available, but I do not have Vista installed on
> any of them.
>
> Vista has some nice improvements over XP, but it also has some incredible
> blunders such as the way that the "User Account Control" ("UAC") was
> implemented. It's also huge: you can't install it on a machine if there is
> less than 16 GB of unused disk space. The 4 GB memory in your new system
> should be a good match with Vista.
>
> Service Pack 1 does provide some visible improvements. The production
> version of SP1 was released to manufacturing earlier this month and I've
> installed it on some of the machines at the office. While it doesn't fix
> the more egregious design flaws, it is worth the effort of installing it and
> I would recommend that you install it as soon as it's available.
>
> Thanks for the info.
>
> Joe Morris
>
>

Joe:

I am running a laptop with Vista Ultimate. So far, I have had only a
complaint or two about finding stuff; have not had the time or energy
to play around with the features that I deliberately bought Vista to
learn to use, but for most of what I do, it is invisible to me.

SAMK
 >> Stay informed about: happy birthday, bookwurm! 

On Sun, 17 Feb 2008 12:20:22 +1300, "Dave Joll" <dont.DeleteThis@bother.trying>
wrote:

>"Joe Morris" <j.c.morris.DeleteThis@verizon.net> wrote
>
>> I'll admit to having an Ulterior Motive in the question: I want to keep up
>> with the opinions about Vista of users who have experience with it and who
>> don't go off into a diatribe about how {good, bad} Microsoft is.
>
>I haven't tried it myself, but the general impression I'm getting
>from reactions of people who *have* tried it is: it's *almost*
>as nice as Windows ME.

Well ... herewith The Story ... so far ...

<waits for jammy-feeted denizens to settle in with snacks>

DH buys a computer for my 50th birthday. Sets it up, transfers files
using the handy-dandy connector and software. I exclaim happily over
the installation, install a couple programs and start on my usual
all-day WoW session. Graphics are mightily improved from old machine
and all goes swimmingly ... for a couple hours.

Then

Blue Screen of Death

So I package up computer and take it back to store (since DH was down
with a "mild" case of Bronchitis by then). I tell them to call me
when its better.

A week goes by.

DH gets healthier and his sense of mounting indignation rises. He
returns to the store (since calling them only results in 45 minutes on
hold). After he vents his frustration and imparts tear-inducing story
about it being a birthday present, they agree that a week is a very
long time to wait and build him a new one.

He brings it home and stays up late to transfer files again, using the
handy-dandy connector. I wake up in the morning to bright/shiny new
computer. I install a few useful programs ... including WoW, and
settle in for a nice gaming session.

Then

Even Bigger Blue Screen of Death ... followed by immediate black
screen as the thing toasts itself ... no, really ... you could smell
the plastic.

I go back upstairs and inform DH of latest computer demise.

I put out flaming DH.

DH packs up the hunk of burnt plastic and stomps off to the store.

He informs them that there is no way he is ever going to buy a
computer again from them. They say that there's no proof the machine
is dead so he'll have to pay a "restocking fee" to return it. DH,
having used up his emotional capacity already, and not being able to
resort to fisticuffs ... agrees and stomps off to start the process of
getting the charges reversed off the credit card.

About half way through the process with the cashier, the tech guy
slithers up to the cashier and, in a very subdued voice, informs DH
that the machine has in fact just crashed again and there will be no
need for him to pay the restocking fee. <insert joyous cheers here>

So DH comes home ... gets on line ... and orders me a new birthday
computer from Dell. Same specs ... same price ... arriving some time
before the end of the month.

In my brief exposure to Vista <g> I noticed that i'm going to have to
relearn some things, but it just looks different ... not better. I
think Dave has a point. <wink>

I'll let you know when new computer arrives and it runs for more than
an hour or so.

The Bookwurm (sometimes you just have to laugh)
--
Goddess of Libraries ™,
Pedant in Chief
Keeper of the BotRoM
Sister Hand Grenade of Sweet Reason
Believer, Church of the Cosmic Muffin
<spam trapped - remove the fish from address>
 >> Stay informed about: happy birthday, bookwurm! 

Rhino 7 wrote:

<snip>
> Well ... herewith The Story ... so far ...
>
> <waits for jammy-feeted denizens to settle in with snacks>

<blue feeted PJs or purple? blue feeted PJs or purple? Where's my
popcorn? Where's my cocoa?>

> DH buys a computer for my 50th birthday. Sets it up, transfers files
> using the handy-dandy connector and software. I exclaim happily over
> the installation, install a couple programs and start on my usual
> all-day WoW session. Graphics are mightily improved from old machine
> and all goes swimmingly ... for a couple hours.
>
> Then
<snip disasters>

Oh. Wow. That's. Wow.

As a way to improve your World of Warcraft gaming experience, getting you a
new computer seems to be a plan with flaws.

Makes a good story, of course. :>

--
Megan
Journeyperson Dancing Barbarian
Keeper o' the FAQ: http://home.earthlink.net/~m_thomas3/abml/
 >> Stay informed about: happy birthday, bookwurm! 

Rhino 7 wrote:
> On Sun, 17 Feb 2008 12:20:22 +1300, "Dave Joll" <dont DeleteThis @bother.trying>
> wrote:
>
>> "Joe Morris" <j.c.morris DeleteThis @verizon.net> wrote
>>
>>> I'll admit to having an Ulterior Motive in the question: I want to keep up
>>> with the opinions about Vista of users who have experience with it and who
>>> don't go off into a diatribe about how {good, bad} Microsoft is.
>> I haven't tried it myself, but the general impression I'm getting
>>from reactions of people who *have* tried it is: it's *almost*
>> as nice as Windows ME.
>
> Well ... herewith The Story ... so far ...
>
> <waits for jammy-feeted denizens to settle in with snacks>
>
> DH buys a computer for my 50th birthday. Sets it up, transfers files
> using the handy-dandy connector and software. I exclaim happily over
> the installation, install a couple programs and start on my usual
> all-day WoW session. Graphics are mightily improved from old machine
> and all goes swimmingly ... for a couple hours.
>
> Then
>
> Blue Screen of Death
>
> So I package up computer and take it back to store (since DH was down
> with a "mild" case of Bronchitis by then). I tell them to call me
> when its better.

Probably the graphics driver. Nvidia is having realllll problems
getting stable drivers for Vista, and yet that's all I seem to see in
prebuilt systems. (It's as if ATI cards don't exist) Although, the
newest driver might have solved it. Or an older one. I'd have taken to
the WoW forums to see what driver everyone else was using.

<snip>

>
> He brings it home and stays up late to transfer files again, using the
> handy-dandy connector. I wake up in the morning to bright/shiny new
> computer. I install a few useful programs ... including WoW, and
> settle in for a nice gaming session.
>
> Then
>
> Even Bigger Blue Screen of Death ... followed by immediate black
> screen as the thing toasts itself ... no, really ... you could smell
> the plastic.

Hmmm.... I'm betting they didn't put in a large enough power supply for
the video card. Or there was a short somewhere, but that's a bigger than
usual crash. Might have been the problem the first time, come to think
of it. Not enough power causes random crashes.

>
> I go back upstairs and inform DH of latest computer demise.
>
> I put out flaming DH.
>
> DH packs up the hunk of burnt plastic and stomps off to the store.
>
> He informs them that there is no way he is ever going to buy a
> computer again from them. They say that there's no proof the machine
> is dead so he'll have to pay a "restocking fee" to return it. DH,
> having used up his emotional capacity already, and not being able to
> resort to fisticuffs ... agrees and stomps off to start the process of
> getting the charges reversed off the credit card.
>
> About half way through the process with the cashier, the tech guy
> slithers up to the cashier and, in a very subdued voice, informs DH
> that the machine has in fact just crashed again and there will be no
> need for him to pay the restocking fee. <insert joyous cheers here>
>
> So DH comes home ... gets on line ... and orders me a new birthday
> computer from Dell. Same specs ... same price ... arriving some time
> before the end of the month.


I'm glad I built my system myself. :-/ Even if the motherboard has to go
back to Newegg because it wasn't reading the RAM in one of the slots. Grr.

Oh yeah, and it meant I kept XP.

Kat
 >> Stay informed about: happy birthday, bookwurm! 

On Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:02:10 -0800, "m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage]"
<"m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage]"@earthlink.net> wrote:

>Rhino 7 wrote:
>
><snip>
>> Well ... herewith The Story ... so far ...
>>
>> <waits for jammy-feeted denizens to settle in with snacks>
>
><blue feeted PJs or purple? blue feeted PJs or purple? Where's my
>popcorn? Where's my cocoa?>
>
>> DH buys a computer for my 50th birthday. Sets it up, transfers files
>> using the handy-dandy connector and software. I exclaim happily over
>> the installation, install a couple programs and start on my usual
>> all-day WoW session. Graphics are mightily improved from old machine
>> and all goes swimmingly ... for a couple hours.
>>
>> Then
><snip disasters>
>
>Oh. Wow. That's. Wow.
>
>As a way to improve your World of Warcraft gaming experience, getting you a
>new computer seems to be a plan with flaws.
>
>Makes a good story, of course. :>

Well it was supposed to be a present (good thing) to replace the 6-7
year old Vaio i'm using at present (good thing) because i'm a nerd and
nerds like shiny new electronics (good thing). <wink>

The Bookwurm
--
Goddess of Libraries ™,
Pedant in Chief
Keeper of the BotRoM
Sister Hand Grenade of Sweet Reason
Believer, Church of the Cosmic Muffin
<spam trapped - remove the fish from address>
 >> Stay informed about: happy birthday, bookwurm! 

> Hmmm.... I'm betting they didn't put in a large enough power supply for
> the video card. Or there was a short somewhere, but that's a bigger than
> usual crash. Might have been the problem the first time, come to think
> of it. Not enough power causes random crashes.

Tim Allen was right! More Power!

--
I'm glad my Mom named me Aaron,
That's what everybody calls me.

Hemidemisemideity of Anonymous Eponymity
Patron Saint of Hair Color Changing
Currently: Dark Intense Red - Hydrience 3RR.
Holder of a provisional pedant licens/ce
(limited to the area of physical sciens/ce)
Member of ABMLNCSC - Base singer, very base
"Mommy, make daddy stop singing".

I dye my hair so much my driver's license
has a color wheel. Nancy Mura
 >> Stay informed about: happy birthday, bookwurm!