Here We Go Again...

"You live and learn. At any rate, you live."

~Douglas Adams

Okay, well, it was inevitable. Today I am officially posting from the new computer. It is an HP Envy. It's too soon to tell you that you should be... envious that is... but I will get back to you on it! LOL. It's going to take me a few days to get everything back where it belongs, you know, websites and such, but I do have a few things in place. Blogger and Twitter, and, of course, I have my celebrity crush, Dylan McDermott, all nice and tucked into my favorites tab! I have my priorities after all! :) The one downside to getting this new computer is having to deal with Windows 8.1!

 I will not mince words, I was happy... HELL... thrilled after the disaster that was Windows Vista. What a walk through hell that was! 7 was everything Vista promised to be. Well, you know, you were there! Anyway, I liked Windows 7 very much, and I feel like they could have just continued with that program, but no, they created Windows 8, and then later, 8.1, so get over it and get with the program, right? Learn it and stop bitching, right? It's not like I hadn't used it before, I have it installed on my laptop, and it was fine there. So really, get over it!

Okay. I will. 

Sigh.

I don't like change, unless it's summer changing into autumn. I am completely on-board with that!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

My Journey With Windows 8 Revisited

"Man is a slow, sloppy, and brilliant thinker; computers are fast, accurate, and stupid."

~John Pfeiffer

Lock Screen
 

It's been a two months to the day that I gave my first review of the new Windows 8 operating system. To say that Windows 8 and I got off to a rough start would be an understatement. But now, like I said, it's been a couple months and I have had a chance to work through learning the new program and there are some conclusions I have come to. For one thing, it's never a bad thing to learn something new... even if it challenges you in ways you couldn't imagine. Alan bought me the new Toshiba laptop to make my life a little easier, but from the outset I wondered if maybe I should have gone a different way entirely. After not giving up... and working through the rough patches... and doing a little troubleshooting online... I am glad I stuck with it. Am I a big fan of Windows 8 now? Um... no. But I don't absolutely hate it either.

It's complicated.

Here is the thing. Once I learned how to maneuver through the new Start Screen and folders formats I am cool with the rest of the program... well for the most part. It took me the better part of a couple weeks of trial and error, plus hunting around because of how bad those two parts of Windows 8 that confused me. I HATE the fact that there is no longer a simple Start button, which made life, and Windows much easier to use, and the for the LOVE OF GOD what were they thinking with that silly, area on the right that takes you to that stupid ghostly "WhatchaWannaDo" sidebar that appears with only the slightest of brushing against the right side pane of the display screen? Microsoft... just put the Start button back and banish the idiotic ghostly sidebar menu! Just let users boot straight to the desktop!

Ghostly Sidebar...


Start Screen


Desktop
 

Log Out Screen (Original)
 

Visually speaking, it's a gorgeous program. As a photographer, I enjoy being able to customize my screens to suit me. What I don't appreciate is the fact that when you first start working with Windows 8 you are beat over the head to use a Microsoft account. Take it from me... it's not necessary. My Toshiba laptop came loaded with a lot of apps that I simply didn't need. After I took the time to remove the apps, most of which you had to pay to operate, I customized my Start Screen with the programs and apps I actually use. That rubbed me the wrong way from the start, but in fact computers tend to come full of useless crap, so that's really not a new thing. It's up to each individual to figure out.

I have read there is a possibility that there will be a Windows 8.1 coming in the future, possibly later this summer, that addresses some of the issues I have bitched... ummm... complained about in this post and my previous review. You read about it here. Whether or not there will be a charge for the update is any one's guess. Hopefully Microsoft will realize their folly and be decent about the situation and just fix the stupidity. Either way, I have learned my way through the darkness that is Windows 8 and I am satisfied for the moment. I have learned about sites where you can download a program that puts a Windows Start button into the program for you, but it's just not the same. A nice try though. Somehow it would always bother me that it wasn't a real Start button. LOL. Yes, I obsess over stupid stuff like that.

Ugggg! And Mumpfh!

Simply said... Microsoft Windows 8 isn't as bad as all that once you get used to it, but it does take a little feeling around in the dark though. Of course there are books you can by through Amazon.com to help you figure it out, but personally, they aren't for me. I prefer to figure it out for myself, and once learned, never forgotten. But that's just me. Hey if nothing else, at least it's not Vista. Right?

As for my new Toshiba Laptop C855D-S5106... I couldn't be happier with it! As laptops go it's pretty darn nifty. It's fast. Quiet. Has a great display. It's perfect for all the basics. Browsing. Photo Editing. It has a decent sound quality and the battery life is great! It's lightweight and easy to carry.  The DVD drive seems a bit flimsy, so I am extra careful with it, but that's the only negative that I have come across. I paid $279.00 on sale at Best Buy. For the price I am impressed! It's perfect for someone who needs a computer on the go, or to simply play a movie on (with headphones) when the neighbor's damn dog won't stop barking! LOL. I give it 4 out of 5 stars!

Mood: Tired

~Me :)

Coming To You Live... And Now In XP!

From For Ellipsis

"To err is human, but to really foul things up it takes a computer."

-Farmer's Almanac, 1978

In an entry earlier this week, I shared with you a little about my current computer woes. If you didn't get the chance to read that entry, I will give it to you in a nutshell... a main display driver has gone out on the computer I bought just about 18 months ago... ERRRRGGGG! As bad as it is to have your relatively new computer give out, it could be worse. On the positive side of things, I do have my old computer as a back up while I do some shopping around for a new one. That's a good thing. After all, my back-up... putt-putt... computer is running lovely, uncomplicated, Windows XP Premium Home Edition. God I miss that operating system! VISTA SUCKS! I hated it from day one, but I was willing to learn my way around, and did so with the purchase of the book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Windows Vista." I highly recommend that book, as it will save you lots and lots of gray hair! Honestly, there should be some kind of support group!

So I am back to the basics and I don't mind waiting until I can find the exact right computer for us. A ton of storage room for my digital photographs, and plenty of speed and gooey display goodness for the gamer that is Alan. Well, both of us like to play games on the computer. He likes the strategy games like Two Worlds and Total War, while I like to climb into the world of the SIMS. I have been wanting to get the new SIMS3, now it just means it will be on my Christmas wish list. Christmas is just around the corner... yikes... how did that happen?

I expect the next few months will go by quickly. I will be busy enough getting my files on this computer in shape, and transferring them to an external hard drive. In an odd way, I am finding most of this task not so much daunting as, well, relaxing. I have enjoyed visiting my archives and looking over photos that I either overlooked or disregarded for whatever reason. Then there are the ones that loved dearly, like the two I used for this entry. The one above brings with it a nice memory of standing on a little bridge in the middle of Reno, Nevada, and taking a photo of a beautiful stream that runs through the middle of town. It was a cold day in October, and yet the sun was really hot. A typical autumn day, and yet that moment was anything but typical. If you really love photography, you know the feeling you get when you know you have found a great subject and everything just comes together. :) That is a good feeling.

From For Ellipsis

The second photo took more then a little patience... and courage to get. I have had a lifelong fear of spiders. All spiders. So one day, while walking in Tilden Park, I came across this icky... yikes... spider. You would think I would have ran the other way, but instead I took his picture because as gruesome as it was, it was also so very photogenic. To this day I am not sure what kind of spider it might be, whether or not it is dangerous, I don't have the nerve to look it up, but I do admire it's strange beauty. I love photography, and I love using that artistry to overcome my fears. It's a good thing to face up to what frightens you. Strong is better. I like strong.

:)

Opinions, opinions...
I am anxiously awaiting the release of Mircrosoft's Windows 7 operating system. How about you? Will you upgrade to it? Did you like Vista? Did you downgrade to Windows XP like some folks did? Tell me about your computer experiences, have you ever had a computer die after a relatively short time? Tell me everything.

-Carly

Once You Go Flat You Never Go Back

"Computers must be male. As soon as you commit to one you realize that if you had waited a little while longer, you could have obtained a better model. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on, and big power surges knock them out for the rest of the day."

-Unknown

If you have been wondering what my new desk-ride looks like, here it is. Meet my brand new H.P. computer, and 19 inch flat panel LCD monitor. :) The computer and I are still getting to know one another, but because we are monogamous, we aren't rushing things. We have all the time in the world to experience all those wonderful relationship firsts. You know the ones. ;) I haven't found a name for it yet, right now I simply embrace tenderly and call it "Darling" when I turn it on. I hope our relationship will be one of mutual respect, and adventure. A girl likes a little adventure after all, at least this girl does. WINK. I have admit, as wonderful as our new relationship is, I am still seeing my old computer once in a while, we are still friends, and there are all those lingering memories on it's hard drive. And I mean really, once I fall in love, it's forever. WINK.

-OndineMonet
My New Desk Ride
Mr. Hard Drive
Berkeley, California
March 25th 2008
Morning