Note: I wrote this post last night. This morning Yahoo! tech news had an article saying that the Japanese L-O-V-E Windows 7. Maybe I'm the one person in the world who finds it less than satisfactory.
The year before Mr. Fixit retired, we bought a new computer. It is now 7 years old. It came equipped with Windows XP. I had no problems going from Windows ME to XP. They were both user-friendly even for this old codgerette who is not exactly the computer wizard she pretends to be.
For the last year or so, little things began to go wrong with the old computer. Sometimes it wouldn’t boot necessitating a start-up in safe mode and restoring. Many times I had to restore several times in order to boot normally. I eventually opted to leave the computer on all the time, just turning off the monitor.
I tried to keep the computer maintained by defragmenting*, deleting the temporary internet files, deleting as much stuff (that’s a technical term), and performing the security scans on a regular basis. It came to the point that we had to wait forever for Outlook Express to open. Everything slowed down dramatically. We decided it was time for the old computer to be replaced. We decided on a laptop with Vista installed. I don’t really care for Vista, but I can get used to it.
Mr. Fixit hates the laptop. He decided to get a new tower and use the old monitor to hold down costs. The new computer came with Windows 7 operating system. Maybe after I get used to it and learn to use it properly I will find it easier to use, but at this point, I HATE it.
Our biggest problem is that Seven doesn’t have an email program. It suggests that a web mail program be used. For several reasons that is unacceptable to me. Ben, our son and personal IT guy, found a barely acceptable program compatible with Seven. There are several problems with it, but it’s better than the web mail program.
Our old printer and the old scanner were not compatible with the new computer. I tried to download the drivers to make it compatible, but HP said that the drivers needed were not available. We spent another $100+ for a new all-in-one printer.
It was suggested that we purchase an “Easy Transfer Cable” to facilitate transferring files and folder from the old computer to the one. I was not willing to pay $40 for cable that possibly would be used once. I experienced “sticker shock” when I saw the price.
Most of the problems that I see will probably correct themselves after I learn the system. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.
I hate that when I minimize a window there is only a barely noticeable indicator on the task bar. As a result, it’s possible to have several pages open without realizing it. The solution has something to do with the tabs, I think.
There is no dictionary button on the tool bar. I used that button all the time. I miss it.
There are programs such as XPS Viewer that are completely alien to me. What the heck is it used for? Only Mr. Microsoft (and the Japenese) knows.
The Windows Works (the cheap version of Windows Office) word processor doesn’t work as well as the one on XP. It is so aggravating!
I have yet to use the “Search Programs and Files” facility with any success. “Help and Support” is neither helpful or supportive.
The mail program was part of a larger program called Windows Live that loaded up my computer with junk I neither want or need.
I can’t find the “delete temporary internet files” thingy. It’s probably there; I just can’t find it.
There are lots of other little things that I will have to get used to, but I think Mr. Fixit has the right idea. Someone gave him an old monitor. He put the old computer on the network, and he sits and waits for a little while for it to do its thing. Maybe by the time it suffers its fatal crash I will have this new crap figured out. If I say it often enough, maybe I’ll start believing it.
I did discover how to delete the temporary internet files today. I found it accidentally.
*When I was typing this on the Windows Works word processor, I typed the word "defragmenting." The program decided arbitrarily that the word should be "decrementing" and wouldn't let me use "defragmenting."If I had wanted to say "decrementing," I would have used it right after looking it up in the dictionary. I changed it here and Blogger accepted "defragmenting" with no problem.
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1 comment:
An art teacher in high school said something that I have remembered and applied to projects many times. It's this: "Simplicity is the key to good design." Microsoft needs to learn this lesson. Adding a lot of gadgets to something doesn't necessarily improve the quality.
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