Let me begin with a disclaimer. To the individual who wrote stating that what I had written regarding Wild Blue was drivel…don’t read this! More “drivel” heading your way. I advised him that there was only one thing worse than writing drivel, and that was READING it .

I received many positive comments and helpful hints from many of you out there, and I thank you so much. Be assured, this is not taking up all of my time.

No, I do not have my WB service yet. I understand now that my local contact here appears to not have paid for my equipment, even though I paid him. To expedite matters I have told the distributor to charge my credit card and I will worry about getting my funds reimbursed from the local broker.

I hope to have my system installed this week. If not, I think I have used up all of my patience and professional oratory that I may have to go elsewhere, the dreaded DirecWay.

There are of course many other things happening out here in the “sticks,” as my “drivel” friend referred to my location. I have several customers now and I have been working to get their computers up and running smoothly. What I am seeing here is a lack of computer knowledge. People seem to come into computing thinking that the computer is in charge. They couldn’t be more wrong. I attempt to impress upon them that they are in charge; the computer is in some ways exactly what it looks like, a plastic box. I reassure my customers that they cannot harm their computers simply by inputting information.

The biggest error I see these new owners repeat over and over again is that they NEVER clean up their file systems. I usually go in, empty temp and temp Internet folders, chkdsc, msconfig tweaking, and defragment. At that point I already have a giddy customer. Their computers run many times faster.

I have also noticed that companies have a bad habit of putting proprietary programs and those of their partners to start up and flash logos before the user has even gotten to their desktop. This is really aggravating for these folks and they have no clue how to eliminate these irritants. This is where my lesson into msconfig begins. They are delighted to regain control of their machines.

I usually mention REGEDIT, but do not give them an opportunity to access this powerful tool until they have a complete understanding of the registry and what damage can be caused by removing things willy nilly.

Here in Murphy there is a definite lack of sound information and help for everyday folks to access. I have found a place where my expertise is being well received. I charge very little - $25 per hour - and this seems to be a cost most people are willing to pay to get rid of some nuisances, speed up their computers, and also get training in particular programs. Nice when things work out for everyone concerned.

One last thing…Chris! Thanks for the update on Gretchen, Ponzi, and Sprocket. I already had the scoop, but it is obvious that others did not. Now, everyone, satisfied?? LOL. I do think that Wicket and Pixie are very cute, but not as cute as my Bennie and Frankie.

I will be attempting to begin putting out 3 to 4 articles a week, Wild Blue or not.

[tags]connie devine,murphy nc,computer repair,clean system,regedit[/tags]