Marlo's Bog (blog)

"Bog" or" Blog?" - A New Chapter?

Bog #1 - Norton - McAfee - or Free?

Bog #2 - The "Click of Death"

Who's the Lady on the Cover of the Family History Guidebook?

Microphone Defect / GE Headphone / Microphone I recommended

Gold Archival CD / DVD Media Makes a Come Back

The New Internet Explorer 7 Browser - RUN!

A Real Switch

Preparing a Book? Read This First

What's a Dead Pixel? Beware if you're buying a new LCD monitor.

The New Computer – Oh the Agony and Ecstasy!

The New Vista Operating System From Microsoft

I have mumbled now, for about 30 days, each time Norton Antivus throws up its little nag screen whenever I start my computer. It faithfully tells me each time that I only have 29 - 27 - 26 - 25 days before I need to renew my antivus software. Is this countdown something I'm actually looking forward to? DUH! A reminder once a week would be sufficient!

No, I have to see it at least once a day. What the reminder really says to me is, "Time to pay too much money to Norton for a download and update to deal with a problem that ticks me off."

So each day I click the "remind me later" button and think that even tomorrow is too soon to remind again.

So I mumbled under my breath for a complete 28 days because I didn't have the time to go out and try and find a better deal than Norton was giving to me, their valued customer.

Last year I discovered it was cheaper to go over to Costco and buy the upgrade and send in the mail in rebate. I also dislike rebates which is another little black spot for Norton. I only fight with rebates to save a few bucks but I don't like the hassle of the rebate - why not just give it to us when we buy it? Could it be that most of us don't send for the rebate or we sent for the rebate but do get it exactly right so that they can wait until the last week to tell us that we didn't wink and count to ten when we sealed the envelop?

Well yesterday I was reminded (mumble - mumble) that I only had two days to renew. Yes, that brought up all the negative feelings about a virus and why I had to buy a program that doesn't really do anything of value except protect me from a bunch of jerks that want attention from the world by messing up my computer.

So I typed "Norton Upgrade" into Google and started reading through feedback from people using Norton. I ended up reading though a long thread out on CNET from people had several reasons they didn't like Norton. The common complaint was that Norton was "bloatware" and it had also caused their computer to run much slower and it was over priced.

That really got my attention since I've also started to notice my system slowing down even though I do some basic things each month to clean it up and remove dead links in the registry to keep it running as fast as possible.

I then decided to dump Norton. I don't really have any complaints with it. I've used it for three years without any problem except the speed issue. However, I think it's overpriced for us existing users.

There were two other freeware virus programs that sounded good but I could not use them in good conscience even though my computer is also used for personal and professional applications.

I then decided to take advantage of the free version of McAfee that Comcast offers to it customers. Four years ago I used McAfee and had so many problems I dumped it and went to Norton.

So far, McAfee has worked perfectly. However, I can't tell yet if my system is any faster.

I just completed a complete system scan and here is where Norton takes a great big hit. McAfee found several old viruses that Norton has missed for over a year.

Fortunately, the viruses were embedded in some zip files that was attached to old e-mails. So it appears that McAfee is doing better, at least in finding these viruses.

So my advice to you would be to do some looking around before you pay money to update your existing virus program. You might want to look into some of the free versions. Some of the reviews I read indicated that there wasn't much difference between the free and pay version.

One virus programs that was repeatedly referenced was Avast - free version.

Many years ago I had a Zip drive. It was a handy little unit and a vast improvement over the little floppy disks and held much more but also cost much more.

Within a short time my little drive started to make a little clicking noise and refused to read the other zip disks.

After checking on the internet, I learned that this little clicking noise was affectionately termed "the click of dearth." That sounded kind of spooky so I read more about it.

I soon learned that the "clicking noise" was a definite indicator that the drive had died - hence the name, "the click of death."

So why am I taking my time to write about the "click of death?"

I want to help you save some time and maybe some money the next time you have a computer problem.

So here's the bottom line before I tell you the story. Check all the easy and cheap things on, in that are are attached to your computer when you have a problem - FIRST!

A good friend brought me over a DVD with some photo collections for me to check. She was having some problems.

So I plopped the DVD into the drive and immediately I heard a "Clicking" sound - similar to the one I had heard years ago but much louder. That didn't make feel very good. However, the DVD drive was a very popular name brand and expensive so I assumed - BIG MISTAKE - that it was the DVD that was bad since the drive was working just fine.

To make a very long story a short one. It turned out to be that the DVD drive had gone bad. I won't tell you all the things I did and how long it it took to discover that simple problem - but I spent way too much time checking and doing other more complicated things.

So here's another one for Marlo's Mine Field. Check the basics before you assume the problem to be something more difficult or expensive than it really is!

She is a family relative. She was from Norway and married to one of my great uncles W.C. (Chris) Olsen.

Her name is Ingeborg Olsen. She lived during the early part of the 1900's and helped to "homestead" a wheat farm and lived near a little pioneering farming community of Iona, Idaho.

Note: This is a great mic and headphone system. However, as is my lot in life, mine had a problem you should check for since it appears to be a minor design issue. Plug the mic into the little stand and then into your computer and wiggle the cord near where it goes into the little black stand. If you get static you have a problem (defective wire).

Mine had a short. No big deal for me since I know how to use a soldering iron. I didn't want to take it back to Target because everyone followed my advice and rushed out and bought all of the stock.

It now works. Took about 15 minutes to fix. If you have a similar problem, I can tell you how to fix it especially if you live up in Wyoming!

Tonight I had a pleasant surprise when I went into the local Circuit City. There on the shelf was a black box containing three Memorex archival gold CD-Rs.

I haven't seen gold archival CD or DVDs advertised anywhere except on the internet. Kodak and Mitsui made them a few years ago and then they all disappeared.

If you do a search on the internet you will find that the prices vary widely. They are expensive, from $2.00 - $3.00 each, but worth it if you consider the value of your photos and other family history files. I found some that were .88 each if you purchased 100.

Amazon.com has the best selection, however, shipping can increase the cost significantly. Check the shipping cost if you think you have found a good buy.

A while back I thought I had found a good buy on some inkjet CD-R disks. However, when I calculated the shipping cost, it was less expensive for me to drive over to Staples and buy them even though the cost was higher per CD, the shipping cost made the internet "good deal" more expensive than the total price at Staples.

Sometimes the major stores like Staples, Office Deport and CompUSA will order the item and have it delivered to the store saving you the shipping cost.

I'd suggest you go in with a friend and buy 100 or 200 gold archival DVDs so that you can save a little money. Amazon typically has free shipping if you order over a certain amount so that is another good reason to double up when you make an order.

I'd stick with brand names. Obviously Kodak and Mitsui are the standard that everyone compares to.

Gold CDs and DVDs cost about the same so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the gold DVD is by far the best buy since it will hold about the same information as 6 CDs so buy DVDs and really save.

Look for the words "Gold Archival Grade" to be sure that you are not buying gold colored CD / DVDs. If you are getting a really good deal (too good to be true) from some web site you've never heard of, you might be getting fake gold DVDs - that is, they just look like gold DVDs. So stick with the known retailers that have been in business for a while and have a track record.

I'm not concerned about the 100 - 300 year rating these CD /DVDs have as much as getting something that will last for 5 or 6 years. By that time we will all be converting and copying our DVDs to Blu-Ray or the new HD standard - which ever one wins the contest.

I will put a few of the links to gold archival DVD in the some of the sites I found on the internet in the Class Notes section under under Chapter 8 - Preserving and Archiving.

My first response is "DON'T DO IT!"

Even though I'm a creature of habit, I like new things as long as they don't change my routine too much. So it's easy to interest me in something new if I think it will make my life and work easier

This was rationale I used when I downloaded the new Internet Explorer 7 from Microsoft. I thought I might get a little sneak preview of how the new Vista Windows operating system might look and work. So I was even a little bit excited when I downloaded it and let it install as part of the automatic updates we all get from Microsoft.

That's where all the fun and wishful thinking stopped - right after the install.

I brought the new browser up and felt completely lost.

The only things that looked familiar were the two back and forward buttons at the top left of the display. It was like my first experience looking up into the night sky in the Australia. Where had the North Star and the Big Dipper gone? Everything look all mixed up. I could easily make out the Southern Cross so I did have some reference point like the forward and back buttons on the new browser. I also felt completely in the dark without a flashlight (torch for you Aussie's) with this new browser.

It took me over five minutes just to find the "Help" option so I could be sure what version I had just installed. That's bad when you can't find "Help."

All the drop down menus are missing at the top. There are several new icons I don't understand and have never seen before. I still haven't found the "Refresh" option.

We've all heard the phrase, "Add insult to injury." That's how I felt when I tried to warn my computer genius son not to download and install this new browser. He actually cut me off with that "eyes rolled into the back of his head look" and a "hands up in the air" gesture punctuated with this comment, "I know dad, because I've already downloaded it and that was a BIG MISTATKE!"

So I guess our mutual misery facilitated some father / son male bonding. I can now quote the other phrase, "Misery loves company."  We both just shook our heads and said, "I wonder who they got to design this interface and what were they thinking?" We both agreed that we really don't like the new interface.

I can't justify taking all that time to relearn how to use a browser when version 6 was pretty good and easy to use and I had NO complaints.

To make matters worse, this evening I was talking to another guy about the new browser interface to warn him and got almost the identical look and negative head shaking reaction that my son gave me.

OK - so I don't have a big research study control group here (three people) and I haven't created a null hypothesis to test. But I can report that I think I will get the same response from everyone that falls into this trap.

I haven't felt this bad since I bought Windows Millennium years ago. What a dog that was. I ended up going back to 98. However, I don't think I can go back to the previous version of Internet Explorer.

So how did I correct the problem and what would I suggest you do if you are now a member of our fastest growing "Misery Loves Company" Club?

Install the FireFox Browse and use that until another better browser is released. It's free and seems to run faster. It has a very clean and easy to learn interface. It's not as compatible with all web pages as Explorer but I will take that over spending half my life trying to understand the new 7 interface.

Please - don't tell me I need to buy another computer book or take a class to learn about the new browser.

Finally I must add one disclaimer.

I've been through a lot of mine fields and this sure seems like it has all the characteristics of something to avoid. However, since I have it installed on my new laptop, I will probably eventually learn to use it and I might actually discover that it has redeeming features.

The only problem is that I may also become a real fan and supporter of FireFox since I don't seem to have any problems understanding it's interface after I installed it.

You've been warned. Proceed carefully. Ask your friends who are in the mine field with us what they think. Find some screen shots of the interface to see if it looks warm and inviting to you before you install it.

Be careful to not let your automatic updates install this option. So study the updates when it asks permission to install before just saying yes to everything or not reading the summary information.

Please correct me if I've overreacted and send me some good things about the Internet Explorer 7 browser if you have the time find them.

Click on the following link if you'd like to download and try FireFox.

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US

The First Switch

How hard can it be to buy and install a new monitor and how long should it take?

I'd suggest 30 minutes unless you are technologically challenged or get into an accident bringing it home.

So how long did it take me? Would you believe from 5:30AM to about 9:00 AM?

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that my 19" Envision monitor was starting to look fuzzy and it was hard to read. That's not a good thing since the monitor is less than two years old.

I have a dual monitor setup and I would NEVER go back to using just one monitor again. So this was a serious problem.

Monitor Tests

I adjusted the contrast and brightness, downloaded new drivers and even tried plugging the monitor into the other output on the dual display video card. No change. Still fuzzy. I next plugged the monitor into the my laptop. It still had fuzzy text. I'd suggest the same tests and procedures if your monitor is starting to show its age so you can determine if it's the monitor, display card or drivers.

I e-mailed the monitor company. They were helpful but the only solution they could offer was to send the monitor to California for testing. Next I had to determine if it was worth paying the postage and repairs to get it fixed and I'd still have an old monitor.

So I decided to start looking around for a new monitor. The idea of a new monitor was enticing but it's about like buying a new car - just costs less and takes about as long. So many models, sizes, prices and options to consider.

I used to know the name of every car when I was younger. Now there are so many cars and monitor brands I'm hopelessly lost. I just wanted a good monitor replacement without having to take out a loan and not get another one that would only last a couple of years.

Three days ago I had a flash of genious.The biggest sale day of the entire year was quickly approaching - the day after Thanksgiving SALE. If I was going to get a good deal on a new monitor, this would be the best time of the year.

I did my homework and read some information and reviews about LCD monitors. I didn't plan to buy the most expensive monitor, I just wanted to be sure that I wouldn't get carried away as I entered the buying frenzy and "free for all" atmosphere of a sale. It's amazing how the "sale" and "better buy it now" feelings can gloss over my sense of reality.

Next, I browsed all the Thanksgiving Day advertisements on line while my stomach tried to recover and shrink back down to normal size. Can turkey make you sleepy?

I kind of got excited when I read about an LCD monitor offered at Staples and Office Depot. It was a Samsung 20 inch wide screen for $179 after rebates. I had to read it a couple of times to make sure it wasn't a misprint.

I know Samsung is a good brand and I knew from past experience that Staples is the very best place to buy something that has a rebate because most of the rebate items can be taken care off on line. Nothing to mail in and the rebate check comes back in a few weeks. That is a "switch" from the other bad experiences I've had with rebates from other stores.

The next barrier I had to get over the thought of getting out my nice warm bed at 5:30 in the morning. I knew that arriving at 6:00 would limit my odds of actually getting the monitor but getting up earlier was too much ask of this old guy.

I arrived at the Staples parking lot at about 6:05 and most everyone was already in the store. Not a really good sign that I'd get what I wanted.

The No Free For All "Switch"

The next "switch" was that Staples had decided to limit the bloodshed, running, pushing and pandemonium of the frantic sale shoppers.

We had to stand in one of two lines that circled the inside of the store. The line proceeded to a room in the back with a table in front of the door. All the sale items were in that room and you had to take your turn standing in the eternal line. At least it was orderly and the people in the line actually talked to each other instead of viewing one another as competitors and mortal enemies.

However, there was an unexpected punishment that the line inflected on all us of equally. It was very difficult to watch people walking past you with big smiles on their faces carrying big white boxes with blue lettering that said SAMSUNG.

With each one that passed, I knew my odds of getting the wonderful monitor deal were declining each second. Worst of all I couldn't see how many monitors were walking out of the second line.

I actually made it to the front of the line and there were still SIX white boxes with Samsung written on them and I got my LCD monitor!

I now had to determine which of the six lines I would stand in to get to the check out. That turned out to be another 30 - 45 minutes of standing and waiting. I met some different people as we stood in our over heated condition because of winter coats we all wore to keep warm while standing in the line outside.

I finally got to the checker and ask why it was taking so long - and I was smiling as I asked the question and she smiled back. Her reply was interesting. "Someone had a virus on their credit card and it shut all our scanners down except mine." So all the other checkers had to enter the bar codes manually.

So now we can have a virus on our credit cards? What's the world coming to next? 20 years ago if someone had talked to you about an electronic virus, you would have thought it was a science fiction book or movie they were talking about.

The Final "Switch"

So how long and hard can it be to install a new monitor?

Answer: 5 minutes unless you are technologically challenged! So why did it take me 20 minutes or more?

I removed the heavy old monitor and replaced it with the new one. Attached the new monitor cable and used the old power cord so I wouldn't have to get down and crawl around on my sore old knees. I also always manage to bump my head on the desk no matter how hard I try not to get up too quickly while I'm still under the desk.

I fire up the computer and await the viewing bliss of my new LCD widescreen. NOTHING. No light, no boot up information - nothing.

I turned off the computer, checked the monitor cable on the computer and monitor and made sure the power cord was plugged all the way in. I turned the computer on. NOTHING.

About now I'm saying, "Why does this always happen to me!" I don't want to go back to the store. They won't have a replacement. I just want this to work.

OK more testing is warranted.

It's now time to crawl down under the desk and replace the old monitor power cord with the new one to be sure it's not the power cord. And yes, I bumped my head as usual climbing out from from under the desk. DUH!

Turn everything on, push ALL the little buttons on the front of the monitor and feel all the way around the monitor for another hidden power button. NOTHING!

My persecution complex is now kicking into to overdrive and I repeat out loud, "Why does this always happen to me?"

Now I'm even more convinced that I have a lemon. One more time I feel all the way around the monitor for another hidden on/off button. I can't find anything.

When all else fails - read the manual

Manuals are such a literary treat to read. The monitor manual should be considered a short essay - all three pages in 10 different languages. I've always wondered how they can justify printing the ten other languages that makes the manual ten times as big and still reduce the printing cost. It sure doesn't make it easier for us to read and find the information when we are already FRUSTRATED!.

I read it four times. I couldn't see any indication of another power switch. More thinking and mumbling under my breath - WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME!

OK, maybe it's something with the outlet on my battery backup. So I put the monitor on it's face and start to remove the monitor cable and power cord. That's when I discover the little hidden on/off switch right next to the where you plug in the power cord.

So you are probably thinking, "Why didn't you flip the switch when you plugged in the power cord?" I didn't want to chance scratching the front of the monitor by lay it on its face so I just pushed the power cord into the receptacle and never looked up into the little compartment containing power cord connection with the little switch right next to it.

So about two hours later I finally have a wonderful new wide screen LCD with beautiful colors and exceptional clarity and brightness. YEA!

Bait and "Switch"

It used to be called "Bait and Switch" in the marketing world. That's when they advertise some really unbelievable deal to get you in to the store and then sell you something more expensive.

Be really careful with the fine print this holiday season. I reviewed some advertisements for $100 computers with a monitor and printer. Too good to be true? Right you are.

The tip off was that the computer required a $99 shipping fee. I wondered why you were going pay a shipping fee if you were going to to buy it at the store.

So I asked at the store offering this promotion for more information and I found out what I expected. You had to order the computer and mail in the $450 rebate. If you are lucky you'd get it AFTER Christmas. With my history of rebates, that would be really interesting and getting an after Christmas gift wouldn't be fun for kids.

Another one of these $100 computer deals required you to buy and sign up for a cell phone. Interesting. I didn't ask for any more information about that one.

So sure to use your conventional wisdom and remember the old saying - caveat emptor -"Buyer be Ware"

I want to state at the beginning of this little blog that there is a very easy solution and recommendations at the end.

Don't go any further writing a history or journal until to read this blog. The following background will give you a better perspective of what may be in your future if you don't follow these recommendations.

Here's a link to the short answer if you don't want to read all the following background information. Click here.

I've been helping people publish family histories for longer than I care to remember. Yes, I've learned some very valuable things along the way which I shared in the recent release of the 7th Chapter of the Digital Family History Guidebook, Creating a Bound History.

Two weeks ago I innocently wandered into the most terrible little mine field I have ever been in. I think I need to make a new "Quicksand" icon because this little trap has the capacity to get you stuck and will then pull you to the bottom where you may drown or simply give up hope. It really is this bad and I'm not being melodramatic as you will soon learn.

I have been editing and and trying to prepare a book for binding. So far it's only 120 pages so it's not a big book. However, after all these years I recently figured out something that I wish I had known many years ago. Life would have been much easier.

So here's the innocent mine field (without the quicksand) - do NOT do the following !

1. Write and keep the whole history or journal in one chapter or file.

2. Insert photos into the chapter as you go along to help you remember and get a feel for the book.

3. Do a lot of indenting of paragraphs, poems and other special information.

4. If you can't figure out how to center a heading or other text, just press the spacebar until it "looks" centered.

5. Take your masterpiece to a professional to have it formatted for final printing and ask for an estimate.

So you're probably thinking, "That's what I have been doing" so what's wrong with that? Doesn't everybody do it this way?

Oh boy - What a loaded question.

How do I respond to someone who has already made all these innocent mistakes and more? If I'm in a good mood and the person has about a million dollars to spend on the desktop publishing, it's a great day. However, that doesn't happen unless it's the fifth Monday in a month that starts with the letter Z.

OK - so what's the big deal and why am I writing all this?

First Problem. I use a professional desktop publishing program so that the final book will be of the highest quality and will look very professional. When I import your text and photos into the software and reformat the text, everything is going to shift.

When I say SHIFT, I really mean the photos and text in your book will be in different locations and could literally change pages. This will be worse if you haven't followed the margin settings I recommend in the Guidebook.

Second Problem. The "shifting" will also cause photos to move to some very strange places and the text you wanted to be near the photo will be somewhere else. The image quality of the photos may be dramatically diminished and deteriorated if you embedded your photo into the draft document file. It's always best to keep ALL your photos in a separate folder or collection.

Third Problem. Using the spacebar to center text will also cause formatting problems. The specific line of text will probably not be centered on the page or it may be in a completely different location. Different problems result when you press the "Enter" key to divide sentences so the second half of the sentence would go to the next line. Reformatting may result in several different sentence spacing problems.

Fourth Problem. All of your text formatting will have to be removed manually and it could take hours to figure out where all the strange tabs and indents are located and then removed.

Fifth Problem - Here's where the real nightmare begins. Every book I have ever formatted and printed took at least FOUR draft printings before it was finalized and ready.

Pictures will need to be moved. Names may be easily misspelled and we all know what Aunt Lizonia is going say if her name is misspelled. I can't help you with this since I'm not a family member and don't know the correct name spellings. Spell checkers are a laugh (literally) when it comes to suggesting spelling for names. The suggested spelling for Lizonia may Lasagna or lizzard.

So I've just gently placed you into a big BOG with quicksand as an added bonus.

So what's the quicksand in preparing the book for printing?

Reading each draft will result in more editing, changes and corrections. As the family proof reads the book they will all want to add and delete whole paragraphs of text. Aunt Bertha arrives with 5 new photos that she demands must be in the book or she will not help pay for the printing.

It will be even harder to edit If the corrections are not highlighted in yellow and red since the whole book will have to be read to find each correction. This adds up when after working through FOUR drafts.

Starting to get the picture? Each time you add text or a photo, the WHOLE book bumps the text down from the insertion point all the way to the end of the book. The text that was at the top of page 33 is now at the bottom or somewhere in the middle of page 45.

Worst of all, hours will be spent trying to locate and correct all the typos noted in the printed draft when it is compared with the working computer draft. It will be like a very bad dream - but you are awake and it's your personal nightmare in wide screen, high definition, technicolor, with the Dolby sound effects of screening and nail biting! Hopefully you are not saying,"If it's going to be this bad - I'm not even going to try!"

Here's the Solution. It will take a little planning and it's not that hard to do. However, do it now or before you go any further with your journal or book. If you don't do it now, it will be harder to do later.

1. Make Several Chapters or Files. Break your writing into sections. Do not make any chapter or sections that contain more than 15 or 20 pages. Why? Later when the text is edited and photos are inserted only 15-20 pages will have to be reformatted instead of 150 pages each time a change is made.

Use file names that start with a zero (0). 0001Chapter - 0002 Chapter - 0003 Chapter. This will cause your chapters to be listed in alphabetical order making it easier to find and work with a chapter. It's easy to insert a chapter by adding a letter to the file name such as 0004a Chapter.The file names will also indicate the correct order for printing the chapters when the book is created.

3. NO Text Formatting. Do not format any of the text in your chapters. Just use a blank line or hit the Return key to make a line break between paragraphs. Text will be formatted after you take your book to the professional desktop publisher.

4. Proof Reading is the Next Step. All interested family members should have read your final draft and made the necessary corrections BEFORE it was taken to the desktop publisher. You will do yourself a big favor if you circulate ONE draft so you will not translate corrections to the final draft and then they all have to read it again after the last set of corrections have been made. So you may need to do two drafts. Make all the corrections, print it out and then have everyone reread and sign the last draft. This will not make any difference later but it may make it easier if anyone comes back with complaints so that you can remind them that they signed the final draft and show it to them if necessary. Keep the draft for reference and to take to the desktop publisher. It is also helpful to have the draft wire bound or put into a three ring binder.

5. Put Photos in LAST. Note where the photos should be added in the printed draft. Use a red pen or yellow highlighter to make it easy to find and insert photos into the body of the text.

6. Editing the Draft. Work From the Back (last page) to the Front. This tip is worth it's weight in gold! I wish I had figured this out years ago. Why? Just think for a moment. If you start making corrections at the beginning of the book or chapter, everything moves down. As a result, you will not be able to easily find the corrections when you compare the computer draft to the printed draft because all the spacing has moved.The corrections will be located somewhere else in the line or on a different page.

If you start with the last page and work forward (in each chapter), it will not matter that the text will bump down because the corrections will have already been made. Your printed draft containing all the corrections will be easy to follow. However you may still need to check photo locations.

If you are buying a new LCD monitor this Christmas, you need to read this before you purchase.

Earlier this evening a good friend called to announce she had purchased a new LCD monitor. She then asked what the little flecks of light were on the new display.

The short answer - probably stuck pixels. LCD monitors contain millions of little transistors that are used to create tiny, different colored dots of light on the display. If something goes wrong in the manufacturing process, one or several pixels may become either dead (projects no light - black dot(s) on a white display) or stuck (stays the same color all the time).

Click here for the summarized version.

First - A Little Friendly Advice.

Before I tell you how to determine if you have dead or stuck pixels, I want to give you a gentle little warning and one of my crazy analogies.

We've all had problems with our dental work over the years. Often the problem goes undetected for a long time. One day you happen to run your tongue over a a tooth with a new rough spot. From that day forward, your tongue becomes your worst enemy. It seems to dart to that exact spot several times each day just like your mother nagging you to clean your room.

So the analogy is to take a quick look at your new LCD monitor and if you don't notice any bright little points of colored lights on the black display that comes up when you first boot up, or black dots on a white display, don't go searching for trouble. It's probably already too late for you to do anything about it. You know the old truism - "If it's not broken, don't try to fix it!" A couple of stuck pixels won't break your LCD, just annoy you each time you see them.

This little recommendation is not valid if you see a cluster of little colored lights or some stuck or dead pixels right in the middle of the LCD. That will then be like the nagging relationship your tongue has with your damaged tooth. You will check it out every time you boot up just like your tongue rechecks the tooth several times a day to see if it's getting worse so you can worry more.

Like everything else in the computer world, common folk explanations are hard to find. Engineers speak a whole different language when they put information out on the Internet. Learning about pixels is no different. Ask a 3 second question you'll be guaranteed a 15 minute answer you don't understand.

I did a little research tonight on the web about dead pixels. Characteristically, there is no standard the LCD manufacturers follow for replacement. The most liberal companies will replace the LCD if it has 4 dead pixels or three in a cluster. Other companies require more stuck pixels. Don't ask me how many microns (not the company) the bad pixels have to be apart. I'm sure some funky and obtuse measurement system will be used to see if you have a "real" pixel problem.

I found some stuff about how to fix stuck pixels. It may only be what I call computer folklore. Someone got lucky so they wrote about the superstitious  experience, that only happened once, like it's some secret snake oil potion. Besides, what if you try to fix a stuck pixel and end up with even more dead or stuck pixels? You can find it if you want to search the web but I will not contribute to your delinquency.

The stuck green pixel on my new wide screen laptop. Convenient location don't you think?

A Simple Solution.

I've always liked to find what I call a low tech solution to a high tech problem. So here's the low tech solution I'd recommend.

1. What's the Store's Return Policy? Before you pull out your plastic and sign your life away at the register, ask what the return policy is. If it's no questions asked or "For any Reason" - buy it but write down the name of the checker so you can quote what you were told if you bring it back. Some stores have a written policy on the back or front of the receipt which they usually circle. Remember, I returned my headphones to Best Buy without any problems and no questions. Make sure there is no restocking charge.

2. Check It Out Immediately. Go home, hook up the monitor and look for dead or stuck pixels. If you find some, take the monitor right back and get another and maybe ask if you can check it out in the store before you go home this time.

3. Don't Wait Until Christmas! If this is a Christmas present, you definitely need to hook it up and check it out just in case the return policy is two weeks and Christmas morning comes on the 15th day after your purchase. You're stuck and no sympathy from me.

I learned that the hard way years ago with an electric train I got for my son. (It still bugs me to this day and that was about 20 years ago). There is no way to make your child happy when the train doesn't work on Christmas morning while everyone else is having a blast with their new toys. Your spouse will be no different but may hide it better than my disappointed little boy did.

As I said in my blog about the plugging in my new LCD new monitor, "Why does this always happen to me?" Yep, I have a dead pixel on the new wide screen HP laptop. I check it out every time it boots up and like my old dog, it's always there as constant as the "Rock of Gibraltar."

So what is HP's dead pixel policy - 3 dead pixels or 4 in a group. Naturally, my screen passes. Lucky the bright, florescent green stuck pixel in just above the Start button in the lower left of the display.

It's actually kind of handy having it located there since I don't have to search too hard to find it so I can check it out each time I boot up and every time I close my computer down. "Clean your room!"

Note: Clean the LCD before you look for bad pixels. A fleck of dirt can look just like a dead pixel. Yes, I had a fleck of dirt on my new 20" wide screen. Whew - no dead pixels just dust. I can't easily find any bad pixels so I'm not looking for any more.

I’m going to start this latest bog by stating that I think Erma Bombeck must be my guardian angel.

I was a big fan of her humorous day by day accounts of her travails through everyday living. I think Erma knew the only way to get through the heavy challenges was to poke fun at her mistakes and let us laugh at her expense. Laughter is also a good way to relieve the kind of aggravated stress that only a computer can transfuse directly into our veins through our eyes, ears and fingertips. I had plenty of that over the holidays with my computer.

I received a new computer for Christmas from my son. It was his one year old, high end gaming machine so it has many nice things I would have never considered purchasing in a new computer. It’s very fast and has a lot of storage space making it perfect for the video editing and the demos I will soon be creating for many of you. So I’m excited to get the new machine tuned up and to start using it. That’s where my daydream ends, the nightmare begins and all the work starts.

I was not excited about moving e-mail, installing all the programs I use, reinstalling Windows XP, updating it with all the services packs, adding virus protection and a million other little things I’ll have to do to get it working right.

It’s now a week later and I still don’t have all the programs reinstalled. This also caused a ripple effect with three other computers I also use. It’s kind of like the old joke. The husband yells at the wife because he had a bad day. The mom now has had an even worse day (thanks to dad) so she yells at the oldest child. Each child in turn yells at the younger one. Finally the youngest child doesn’t have anyone to yell at so he yells at the dog. I think yelling at the dog does more than yelling at the computer!

Click here for my instructions

E-mail and address book

New Computer

 

Here are a few items I think you all need to think about with the coming of the New Year. I'm not suggesting a New Year’s resolution of taking the time to reinstall Windows, tune up your system and backup your files. Pretend I didn’t say that but let the idea take root.

I don’t want to scare any of you with the possibility of a hard drive crash, or virus attack or other data loss. However that is exactly what will happen to many of you in the coming year. So you’ve been warned in a gentle way – DO IT!

After several hours and much frustration (what’s new?) I gave up using the Windows information migration tool. It didn’t work in the past and didn’t work last week but I still tried.

Yes, those are cables behind the computer that I still need to deal with. It's surprising how observant many of you are so I will respond BEFORE you tell me about it and that I should do something about the cables - Just joking!

Vista Compatibility

January 26, 2007

The New Vista Operating System – a few of my initial observations.

In a week Microsoft is supposed to release its long awaited new operating system – Vista.

I’m sure you are all mildly interested and have some well earned reservations about upgrading or getting the new operating system.

Hopefully I can help in this area since I consider myself to be “one of the folks” just like you so you can follow my exploits and I’ll probably create some more of “Marlo’s Mine Fields” as and I walk, crawl or whine as I traverse this interesting new ground. Hopefully I won’t fall off any new cliffs or discover any tempting quicksand saunas!

A few daze (days) ago I downloaded the Vista compatibility test and held my breath to see if all three of my computers / software and hardware would run with Vista.

Here’s the link if you want to try it:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx

Here’s another link that looks good but I haven’t tried this one.

http://www.pcpitstop.com/vistaready/versions.asp

Miracles of miracles – YES – All three computers passed easily!

The only truly funny question was with the compatibility of my recently purchased Microsoft mouse and keyboard – that’s another newsletter (the magnifier on the mouse is WONDERFUL – more later).

I took the advice of a good friend and installed the evaluation (Beta) copy of Vista on my Laptop as a dual boot system so that if I had major problems I could still use my XP system like nothing ever happened. It’s also a more accurate way for me to evaluate the true differences in performance using the same new HP laptop. This also makes the test more valid and reliable.

I would characterize my personality as a Type “A” with a thick coating of positive attitude over a core of extreme skepticism. Maybe I’m more like Neapolitan ice cream or better yet - Rocky Road. I have to say this before I comment about Vista so you will understand that my positive results are not easily arrived at.

So what is my first response to Vista? WOW and more WOW!

The first thing I tried was our new 4.0 version of Heritage Collector (to be released first of next week – yes I know I said that last week)

This is one fast operating system!

I can’t believe how much faster our software runs in Vista! Double click on a thumbnail in our Pro interface and in less than a second it’s up and full screen.

Searching is lightning fast.

We only have one minor little glitch to resolve about displaying video clips so far in my tests so I’m very optimistic that Vista will work great with our new release.

Other really nice things:

Display settings. If you have a projector, big screen TV or other accessory, Vista finds the right settings and you just click the right option. In XP I had to set up a special setting for my projector / TV and it wasn’t easy to find and figure it out in the Nvidia display options. That frustration is gone in Vista.

Home Network Setup was a breeze since it found all the computers and did it automatically.

Internet setup. There was none. It found our Comcast broadband and I did nothing to make any changes – Wow – that’s another first with a new computer.

Very nice help system. It offers some animation right on the display with arrows that point to the buttons to click as I was tutored in finding the new location of the “Add / Remove” option in the Control Panel. I was frustrated because I couldn’t find it originally but the Help system made it easier and made me fell better about not having to read a whole bunch of documentation to get the needed instructions quickly.

This is a dumb one but I don’t claim to be an Einstein. I really like the analog clock that you can have on the desktop (Old clock face with actual hands). You can even have two clocks on your desktop if you want to know what time it is in Sydney, Australia. I don’t like to try and calculate the time when I want to use Skype to speak with my good friend “Down Under.” (The Aussie slang is hard enough).

My old HP 5M still works and was easy to set up over the home network.

Windows Movie Maker now will burn DVDs. Nice! It also has many new effects, fades and dissolves. I have to play with it more when I have time and figure out how we can use it with out software to create some high quality DVD movies etc.

Not so nice things:

So far there are only a few and you know I don’t work for Microsoft by me pointing them out.

The list will probably grow as I do more and install more software and hardware.

Of course I’ll share so you can learn from my PAIN! (Just kidding).

Maybe we should suggest a new movie – Earnest gets a computer and I’ll play the part of Earnest. There will be no script; just filming me each day should all give you enough laughs. We could advertise it as a humorous tragedy.

Google Earth runs really slooooow each time it starts. You think it has bombed before it finally loads up and runs. I don’t think it’s a Vista problem – more of a software problem for Google to resolve. .

Vista takes a lot of HD space to install.

My Epson 2400 install disks didn’t work but I found an Epson site in Europe that had just released install downloads for Vista two days ago and it installed fine and works with a few new features in the scanner software – bonus! (I’ll share later if I get requests).

Some things have changed like the “Add / Remove” programs in the Control Panel but the automated help system made it easier to relocate.

A few other miscellaneous changes to the way things work.

It’s not free! I think we all knew that was coming and I’m not sure what flavor (version) I should get or will be able to afford. My birthday comes 6 month earlier than Christmas so maybe I’ll start making noises for an early birthday present from the wife and grown up kids.

I will keep you up to date as I discover more.

You will also get a peak at the Vista operating system if you attend any of my classes or workshops.

Vista Compatibility – Update

January 29, 2007

After more detailed testing, I’m sorry to report that our most current 4.0 version of Heritage Collector (Upgrade to ProMedia Manager Suite) is NOT compatible with the new Vista Operating System. Many features in our software work perfectly with Vista but not ALL. Unfortunately it will take some time for programming and beta testing before we will be able to make a Vista release.

I really like many of the new items that Microsoft has built into the new operating system and will be eager to take advantage of them in the near future.

Here’s what I’d recommend.

New Computer Purchase. Stick with the XP operating system but ask for a coupon allowing you to upgrade to Vista later .This will also save you some money.
XP Computer Backup. If you are determined to get Vista or do not have the choice of getting an upgrade coupon, keep an XP computer system as a backup. You will then be able to test installing your software and hardware on the new Vista computer. You will still be able to use the older hardware and software that does not currently work with Vista on your XP computer.
Home Network. Use a home network to share files between your XP and Vista computers.
Dual Boot System. This is more complicated and takes more space off your hard drives since you will have two separate operating systems on the same computer.
Use Caution. Carefully read the hardware and software requirements when purchasing. You should also check the company’s support web site to see if they will be offering Vista updates / upgrades in the future. I was surprised to discover that even some of the big companies were not ready for the Vista release with compatible software.
One final note of caution. Some companies will use large price reductions to get rid of their old inventory of hardware or software that will not work with Vista so don’t be tempted to fall into this Mine Field unless you want to use it on your XP computer – then it might be a good deal.