Some Short Takes On Computer Stuff - April 29, 2007
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I’m going to try something new. Sometimes there are some short articles and notes about computer issues that do not require writing an entire article about, because there just isn’t that much information to digest. So I thought that each Sunday I would post some short takes on some of the minor stuff that has happened or is happening in the tech. field.
Dell Hell Web Site - The folks at Dell have a resolution web site up on their site which may just help those who have been through Dell Hell and haven’t resolved some issues. The site is for unresolved issues only. Site is here. If someone tries this site it would be appreciated if they ley us know their experience.
Acer Is Number 3 - Acer did pass Lenovo in 1st quarter sales and now holds the number 3 spot behind Dell. Rumor has it that Acer is still looking to acquire another company in it’s bid for the number 2 spot.
Microsoft Record Profits - Microsoft report record 1st quarter profits but would not confirm how much Vista added to the kitty. Also MS did not confirm exactly how many more copies of Vista has been sold after their previous 20 million number was kicked around.
Google Fixes Personalized Homepage - Last week Google received some complaints that people were losing the settings of their personalized homepages. After 24 hrs. + Google finally found the problem and says it is fixed.
Russian Trip - I just got a email from Kyle and his wife, they are the ones who provided me with the great information about Russian piracy. They’ve been touring around Russia taking in the sites. Kyle mentioned that gas in Russia is only $1 a gallon. I’m moving! LOL
Another Rumor - Down in the Valley of Silicon the hottest rumor this week is that Apple is going to release a cheap computer. All those TV commercials we have been seeing have been a prelude for this upcoming grand event. Sounds good to me. If it happens fine, if not, fine again. 
Computers Causing Child Backaches - Kids who are lugging their laptops, books, lunches, and so forth in their backpacks are starting to show signs of backaches.
New Zealand - Kids & Wi-Fi -Some teachers in NZ are asking for an investigation of possible health risks from children using laptops, on their laps, while connected to wi-fi, be investigated. The teachers are concerned of possible health risks.
Police Beat - Cops in Garner, NC are offering a reward of either a X-Box, PS3 or Wii to anyone who turns in the person who has been painting graffiti around town. Not a gamer? $500 in cash is the alternative prize.
5 Comments
Tim Hodkinson
April 29th, 2007
at 6:52am
Re: MS and Apple
After a week of having to type in the path to Wine everytime I launch an exe, I tried out Kde in Ubuntu. In short, Kde is so much easier to use and looks so much better (I chose all the eye-candy options) that I don’t care anymore what Windows or Apple might be doing.
I figured Freespire must have had a good reason for chosing Kde for their next release over Gnome. Not only that, it seems to me that Konqueror is a faster browser than Opera, although Konqueror has some serious problems with the posting interface for Blogger.
Also, maybe I’m becoming a Linux finatic, but my monitor seems to perform better on Linux. The text is clearer and easier to read. I’m sure it can’t be possible since the drivers can’t be as good as the ones the OEMs make for Windows, but I can’t ever remember my monitor looking this good.
Tim Hodkinson
April 29th, 2007
at 7:05am
Excuse me for getting so excited over Kde, but I’ve gotten the impression that Flash 9 viewing seems to work better in Konqueror. Specifically, Download.com’s music area. They use Flash for their streaming music player and it rarely works in Opera (Linux) and works a little better in Firefox, but when I use Konqueror, the Flash player works as good as it does when browsing on Windows. I was shocked because I’ve been using Download.com’s music area to test how well Flash in a Linux browser is working because it never completely works. It’s as if all the problems with Flash on Linux disappeared when using Konqueror.
Ron Schenone
April 29th, 2007
at 8:44am
Hello Tim,
Well it sounds like you are enjoying yourself experimenting and playing with new toys. I have also preferred KDE over Gnome for the past several years. We must be in good company because even Linus Torvalds the father of Linux prefers KDE as well.
Freespire uses it since their paid version Linspire aka Lindows has always used KDE.
But Ubuntu users outnumber Kubuntu users 2-1 or more.
If you think you are excited about KDE hold on to your horses when Freespire and all the buntu’s get CNR. If you are not a 100% Linux convert once you try CNR, there is no hope of you ever dumping Windows. LOL
I have a feeling that Dell is waiting for this merger of technology and having several free Linux distro’s using CNR that is going to be a serious competitor to Windows.
If Linux doesn’t make a dent in 2007 and start converting users away from Windows, I personally believe this could be the down fall of Linux for personal use on the desktop. It is rare that such a golden opportunity comes about.
Ron steps off his pulpit.
marc klink
April 29th, 2007
at 6:49pm
Probably every major manufacturer needs to have a website for this type of problem. They should be administered by other manufacturers. That way they might all straighten up if they knew any problem escalated to this level would be dealt with by a competitor.
Acer being number 3 amazes me. As many hundreds of computers I have worked on, and I’ve yet to work on an Acer. Maybe buying Acer is an east coast thing.
MS having record profits is nothing new. I think it is possible for them to lower [or by way of explanation justify] the prices of the various Vista flavors.
Google is good at fixing things. Maybe they could work for MS in their time of need.
$1 a gallon in Russia…sent over President Bush, he’ll have that taken care of in no time. They’ll be a $4 a gallon inside 90 days.
Apple needs a less expensive computer to gain market share…it’s about time.
Police beat…whatever works.
Ron Schenone
April 29th, 2007
at 7:33pm
Hi Marc,
As always thanks for your comments and wit.
Ron