Posted on

Windows XP: Why Microsoft Still Can’t Kill It Off

Windows XP: Why Microsoft Still Can't Kill It OffWindows XP has a legion of faithful followers who have already determined that they will resign themselves to staying with the old standby and not upgrade their computer systems to the latest Windows version. It seems that this is because, while some users have no choice but to stick with Windows XP due to the age of their hardware, others have the proper hardware that will support Windows Vista, Windows 7, and/or Windows 8, but have chosen to downgrade their systems to the older OS.

For example, a week or so ago I had an eye-opening experience that I found very interesting and wanted to share with you. This occurred as I made three stops at local businesses. In each situation, I had entered with no intention of determining which operating systems they were using, but rather to obtain a service or product. The first happened while I was sitting at the optometrist’s office and waiting for my eyes to dilate. In boredom, I was glancing around the office when I noticed that the system the office was using was operated via Windows XP. From there I was required to stop at our local pharmacy where, out of curiosity, I glanced at its system only to discover that it was also running Windows XP, as was the office where I went to get my driver’s license renewed.

At the end of that extraordinarily long day, I realized that these businesses may find themselves in a pickle if Microsoft goes through with its plans to discontinue support for all Windows XP users in April, 2014. While I would be surprised if this actually happens — resulting in an end to all updates, fixes, patches, and service packs — others are claiming that if it does, all Windows XP users will be doomed to taking the walk of shame as they put their computers in the trash. Here are some of my reasons why I don’t think this will happen.

Many business users, and I would imagine some home users, would not be affected by this move since they are either supported on a closed network or have no intentions of ever accessing the Internet. As shocking as it may sound, some people actually have a life outside of social networking and use their computers for actual work and not just surfing. In addition, some business owners who have spent large sums of money for software that may not run correctly on Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8 will find that Windows XP still works just fine.

When one considers that most patches, fixes, repairs, or service packs usually address some type of problem that involves hacking, why are these necessary for closed systems with no Internet access? I personally think that most zero-day attacks or other security threats are basically confined to where hackers find easy access to systems that are normally online. If that is the case, what do non-Internet computer users or Windows XP users have to fear?

I do know that there are some among you who would advise those Windows XP users to go ahead and purchase a Mac or change their OS to Linux. However, this misses the point that some users are using software created in such a way that it is dependent on Windows to operate correctly. Due to this, it may not be an option for a small company that cannot afford to completely redo its computer setup. In fact, it may be hampered not only by the cost of the hardware, but by the specialized software that it depends on. It is unfortunately another fact that this type of software can cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Knowing this, I can’t help but speculate that if Microsoft were to discontinue Windows XP support, it could find itself the target of consumer boycott. In such a scenario, not only would consumers not replace their operating systems with Microsoft Windows products, but they might actually choose OS X, Linux, or other alternatives to replace their business networks.

So what do you think? Should Windows XP go the way of the Dodo bird? Share your thoughts and opinions with us.

Comments welcome.

CC licensed Flickr photo above shared by oddsock

Posted on

Microsoft TV Commercial Suggests Dumping Old PCs – Should I Listen?

The television industry must be ecstatic that some of the major technology players are hitting the air waves with their commercials. We first saw Google touting the benefits of its Chrome browser over Internet Explorer. A Staples television commercial shows a family coming home to find their home has been burglarized. Sitting on the floor is an old PC that the crooks didn’t even bothering stealing, since it was just too old to bother with.

Microsoft’s new television commercial takes us into new, uncharted territory. The television commercial is an attempt to convince those who are using older computers, in the four-year-old or older range, to dump their Windows XP for Windows 7. These are those older computers that could not be upgraded to Windows Vista or Windows 7.

One would think that Microsoft has a battle in which its enemy is actually itself. Windows XP was so popular that many users do not want to dump their older systems, which they see as being able to do everything they need to do. I still have an older computer in the house running Windows XP. Our middle daughter has a desktop PC, also using Windows XP.

Another reason Microsoft is advertising its PC products may not be operating system related. The marketplace is changing. The change does not include Windows or the PC. Apple made a dent in the PC marketplace with its extremely popular Apple iPad tablet computers. In addition, many more people are using smartphones as computer replacements. Few of these smartphones use Windows Phone 7.

I will soon be in a position where I believe many of you may be finding yourselves. In October, I will be in the market to replace my three-year-old laptop computer. I have already found a perfect replacement from Toshiba. The price for the new laptop will be about $700. But I am also intrigued by the Apple iPad 2, which, combined with a Bluetooth keyboard, would work well for me.

I have been using Google Docs with the Google Chrome Cr-48 computer that I have for testing. I have found that I can use Google Docs and have no need to store anything on the computer itself. Also, I have the Cr-48 setup to print on both my printers, so that is not an issue.

So I will be exploring either buying another laptop, an Apple iPad 2, or maybe just continue using the free Google Chrome Cr-48 that Google was so kind to send me.

What would you do?

Comments welcome.

Posted on

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install

Microsoft Windows XP remains a popular operating system for those of us who still have older machines that will not support Windows Vista or Windows 7. For those of us who continue to rely on this older operating system, we may experience the need to reinstall Windows XP for a variety of reasons. Whether the problem is a result of a virus, a bad update, bad driver or a failed software update, you could end up having to try to repair your Windows XP program in order to get your system back up and running properly.

In order to do a Windows XP repair installation, the first step you should do is to make a backup of all of your important files. Though the repair should leave your files and programs intact, a backup is a precaution just in case something goes wrong with the repair. Make sure you backup your data and files to a separate CD or DVD and not on the hard disk you are attempting to repair.

Also be aware of the following:
A repair install is intended to replace system files with files from your XP CD and your applications and settings will remain intact. However, updates and service packs will need to be reapplied after the repair is completed.
In addition replacing system files will NOT fix a virus, adware or malware problem. It is best to remove these before attempting a repair install. I would also recommend that you have a copy of any previous service pack you had previously installed available on CD as well.

Here are the steps to follow to start the repair process:
1. Boot your computer using the XP CD. Note: You may have to change the boot order in your BIOS settings so that the CD boots before your hard disk does.
2. You will see a ‘Welcome To Setup’ screen with the following option – To Setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
3. DO NOT SELECT THE OPTION TO REPAIR WINDOWS XP USING THE RECOVERY CONSOLE!
4. You must accept the License Agreement to proceed. A search will be done to locate your existing Windows installation.
5. Once the existing Windows is located press the letter R to start the repair process. The repair process is done automatically for you. Do not attempt to stop the repair process and let the repair fully complete.
6. The repair process will continue and all system files will be replaced. Your settings and programs will remain as they were before you completed the new installation.

As mentioned above, you will need to reinstall any updates or service packs that were previously installed to return Windows to its original state before the repair process.

Before connecting to the Internet make sure that your Windows firewall or other third party firewall is working correctly and that your anti-virus software is also working properly.

Posted on

The Bubblies Are Flowing At Microsoft As Windows 7 Bypasses Windows XP

Microsoft has been trying to get users of Windows XP to dump their old computers or to buy a new system with Windows 7 installed. Most of the older Windows XP machines could not be upgraded to Windows 7 because of the steep hardware requirements. So Microsoft has patiently been waiting for the day that Windows XP would finally be over taken by Windows 7. That day has finally arrived but the numbers are very, very close. Windows XP users garner 31.56% and Windows 7 now stands at 31.71% for users in the United States.

It is hard to believe that Windows XP was released almost 10 years ago in August 2001. It is also hard to believe how long Windows XP has remained a viable operating system. I had previously mentioned that both my dentist’s office and local TV stations still were using Windows XP. So it still may take Microsoft another 10 years before they see the last of Windows XP.

So what does this tell us about Windows XP? I believe it demonstrates Microsoft’s ability to build a reliable operating system that just flat-out works. I know that over the years we hear about how wonderful Mac OS is, but the fact is that even Windows XP has double the amount of users compared to all those who are running all versions of the Mac OS. That in itself says quite a bit about a 10-year-old operating system.

But there is one statistic that might not make the folks at Microsoft happy. Worldwide use for Windows XP still remains at about 48%. So while the people in the US may be buying new computers with Windows 7 installed, the rest of the world is hanging onto their old computers using Windows XP.

How long do you think before Windows 7 over takes Windows XP for worldwide use?

Comments as always are welcome.

Source – Royal Pingdom

Source – Statcounter

Posted on

Microsoft Windows 8 – Could This Be The Best Windows Yet?

Ever since Windows wore knickers, I have always been anxious to test and be the first to use the latest edition of Windows. Now that we are hearing rumors about what the next version of Windows may include, my antenna is once again being raised in anticipation of what new features Windows 8 may offer us. Let me first state that I have not had the opportunity to try the Alpha version of Windows 8, nor do I have any inside information about the new operating system. What I do have are my own personal opinions of what we could expect and what we may not see in Windows 8.

We need to explore the history of previous versions of Windows and how these past versions have been accepted by the public. The first version of Windows that I believe was the best in the original numbered versions was Windows 3.11. When Windows 3.11 was released it was very stable and though there were a few minor issues, the overall performance and stability was vastly improved over previous versions.

Microsoft Windows 8 - Could This Be The Best Windows Yet?
cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by RocketRaccoon

Next came Windows 95. Though Windows 95 offered us the ability to multi-task, the program was extremely buggy from the start. It wasn’t until Microsoft came out with Windows 98 second edition that we were back on track to a stable version with minimal issues. Next Microsoft introduced us to Windows ME — that was a disaster on wheels and had a life span of about six months. All of us took pity on the poor souls who bought new computers housing ME and it was often recommended to uninstall ME and install Windows 98 to obtain stability and performance. I guess I should mention that during this period of time, the business version of Windows called NT had been replaced with Windows 2000; that worked fairly well.

Microsoft released its much touted version of Windows XP, which combined the best of all Windows version from consumer and business editions, into a professional edition. This was a one size fit all, and in general, was one of the best versions of Windows ever. Millions of users world-wide continue to use XP, much to the dislike of Microsoft, which would like to see XP die a timely death.

Microsoft next introduced us to Windows Vista. Though I had few issues with Vista itself, consumers overall were dissatisfied with performance and stability issues. The laptop I use for business originally came with Vista installed. I anxiously waited for Windows 7 and immediately removed Vista and installed Windows 7. The result was dramatic and I saw my laptop immediately jump to life. It was like I had purchased a brand new computer. Yes, it was that dramatic.

This morning I was watching our local news that televised a screen shot from one of their computers, and I immediately noticed they were using Windows XP. Yesterday while at my dentist’s office I noticed they were still using XP. Our youngest daughter who works for one of the major automotive supply companies in the U.S., told me their systems were all using XP. This I believe is where Microsoft will concentrate its efforts in Windows 8.

Though we consumers like to pride ourselves into thinking that Windows is for us, the bottom line is that the money is where the business element of our society is. There should be plenty of new toys for us to play with and we consumers won’t be disappointed. I am looking forward to the new version and look forward to playing with the first beta.

Just my two cents.

Comments welcome.

Posted on

Microsoft Continues Ban Of IE9 On Windows XP

Even though the latest browser results show that Microsoft Internet Explorer continues its slide in usage, the company refuses to allow Windows XP users to install IE9 on their computers. It seems that Microsoft is hoping that Windows XP users will upgrade to Windows 7 once they realize that they cannot use the latest and greatest Microsoft browser.

This may have made good business sense back five years ago, when Internet Explorer held a commanding lead in the browser market and before Microsoft started to see its market share slide. As more and more users sought alternatives to Internet Explorer, mainly switching to Firefox, people no longer needed to be tied to one browser alone. Today Windows XP users have a multitude of choices from companies like Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, and others.

Here are the latest numbers for browser usage for each of the most popular browsers on the market:

Internet Explorer is at about 55.9%

Firefox holds a 21.8% market share.

Google Chrome comes in at 11.6%

With this in mind, Windows XP users have plenty of alternatives to use on their system no matter what Microsoft decides to do. In other words, Microsoft cannot believe that it is going to kill off Windows XP by not allowing IE9 onto the older operating systems. Or does the company believe this? Its excuse for not allowing IE9 onto Windows XP is that it would need to dumb down the browser to work on Windows XP and this would not be good in pushing the Internet forward.

Why is it that the other companies can get their browsers working on Windows XP without any issues? Why is it that these alternatives to Internet Explorer continue to grab more market share month after month?

What do you think, Windows XP users? Will you dump XP to get your hands on IE9? Or will you continue to use XP until your computer blows up?

Comments welcome.

Source – PC World

Posted on

Speed Up Disk Cleanup In Windows XP Using The NTFS File System

I realize that many of us use tools like CCleaner to remove the junk and gunk from our computer systems. However we all have friends, relatives, neighbors, acquaintances and fellow employees that may not have the expertise to use advanced add-on tools, If you have ever tried to explain to someone how to use any type of computer tool, then you have seen the deer in the head light look. But we do have built-in Windows tool like Disk Cleanup that are effective and fairly easy to use.

One flaw when using Disk Cleanup in Windows XP using the NTFS file system, is that Disk Cleanup takes for ever to run. It also has a tendency to stop right in the middle of a scan and could freeze up your computer. The problem is that Disk Cleanup on a NTFS system wants to compress files.

To correct this situation we have two options.

Option #1 requires the knowledge on how to edit the registry. If you are not familiar with using a registry editor, stop right here and go to option #2. Open Regedit and delete this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerVolumeCachesCompress old files

Option #2 is simpler and recommended for users who are not experts in using the Windows operating system. Go to this link for Computer Education and scroll down to the REG files for editing the Windows Registry. Click on the file Speed up Disk Cleanup (Windows XP) which will download a file onto your computer. Click on the file you just downloaded and it will automatically remove the registry entry mention in option #1.

Comments welcome.

Source – Computer Education IDG Tech Network

Posted on

Another Benchmark Test for IE vs. Firefox vs. Chrome: and the Winner Is?

The folks over at CNET have posted the results in what appears to be an extensive series of benchmark testing for the three most popular browsers on the market. These new browsers and respective updates represent the best that Google, Mozilla, and Microsoft have to offer consumers and all are very capable in what they do. Yes, each is different in their graphical user interface, but overall each has something to offer anyone who enjoys surfing the Internet.

What is noticeable is the absence of browsers such as Opera and Safari. Opera is a very capable browser and the latest version I tried is very quick at loading pages. My only complaint was the lack of add-ons or extensions that other browsers offer. I have used Safari on my wife’s Apple iPad and found it also capable and also quick loading pages. So if you are an Opera or Safari fan, make sure you bombard us with comments from all of your friends, because it will really make a difference in our decision-making process in choosing a browser.

The first thing I noticed in the CNET article were the pretty graphs. Someone took a lot of time and painstaking effort to compile some of the most colorful and easy to follow charts I have seen lately. Here is an example:

(Credit: Chart by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET) Nice job, Seth. All six charts look great.

I studied the benchmark testing very closely, checking the memory usage statistics and measured the boot time as specified in the final graph. I noticed that some of the red graphs were high and that some were low. The same for the yellow and blue graphs. After spending some 90 to 100 seconds viewing the data I came up with some conclusions:

For the person who is sitting somewhere in America with an old Windows XP machine and on a 56k dial-up connection, none of this information pertains to them.

There are companies in America where their IT departments have ruled that every employee will use Internet Explorer 7 and if you are caught updating to a higher version, you WILL be terminated.

That there are people like myself who have a favorite add-on or extension that only works properly in one browser, therefore that is my browser of choice this week.

There is also the experience that reader Buffet had when his computer screwed up when he tried updating from IE 7 to IE 8. If it wasn’t for having a back up image, he would have had real problems.

Bottom line is I use the browser that best meets my needs and benchmarks have little or no influence in my decision.

What about you? Do benchmarks play an important role in which browser you use?

Comments welcome.

Source – CNET

Posted on

Reader Needs Our Help – IE 8 Install Fails – Windows XP Is Screwed Up

A few days ago reader Buffet asked me my opinion about upgrading his computer to IE 8. He is using Windows XP and was concerned about problems IE 8 had caused when it was first released. I mentioned that I had not used IE in over five years so I did not have the expertise about IE, but I would find an answer for him. I did some checking with other MVPs who are experts in IE and Windows XP and learned those issues had been addressed and all should be well. So I recommended that Buffet do the upgrade.

Last evening he got a hold of me in the comments section and stated:

Ron, for some reason now, my ‘right click’, ’save picture as’ won’t work now. This is after using System Restore to take me back to before I attempted the IE8. EVERYTHING ELSE seems to work. What could possibly have happened? Any suggestions?

While I was checking for an answer Buffet posted this as well:

…make that ALMOST everything – The “delete” key on my keyboard won’t work.

But it was this disturbing comment from Buffet that really concerned me:

Ron, my Acronis True Image says ACCESS DENIED when I try to open it. I’m starting to get worried!

I advised him to download and run Malwarebytes on his system in safe mode, because this was beginning to sound like a critter invasion. He stated he did run Malwarebytes and that it did find a few things, but I haven’t found out what they were. He was tired and was heading to bed as was I when our conversation ended. This AM I found a few IE 7 repair options and linked those to him via email.

This morning I set him a couple of links on how to repair and reinstall IE 7 to get it fixed.

He will be getting a hold of me this evening after work, so I need some suggestions on what he needs to do to get his system back to normal. He did do a system restore before trying the failed IE 8 install. The restore did nothing. I told him to try a previous restore point, before the failed install, but I haven’t heard the results as of yet.

Tonight. when Buffet emails me, I would like to have some suggestions available for him. Any help here would be highly appreciated.

PLEASE! Do not tell me that he should change browsers. I have already covered this subject in a previous post here at Lockergnome.Link is here.

Comments welcome.

Posted on

Apple Takes Number One Spot For The Mobile PC Market

Display Search is stating the Apple has taken over the number one sales spot for the mobile PC marketplace. Previously HP had held the honor, but with Apple’s introduction of the extremely popular iPad, Apple surged to the lead. During the last quarter of 2010, Apple sales exploded by 17.2% which propelled their touch screen notebook to the top of the pack. So what makes Apple products so attractive to consumers?

It is a lack of innovation from other companies, that is making Apple a star. A star not only in the touch screen notebook market but also in the cell phone market. The only company that seems to offer any competition is Google with their Android and Android Honeycomb operating systems. HP seems to be happy to have bought WebOS and will be relying on the fact that the OS can multi-task, something that the Apple iPad can not do. But Apple is in the process of revamping both their iPad and iPhone, so I would venture a guess that we will see major changes to both.

So who has a lot of catching up to do?

Microsoft. I thought it was fairly lame to put an old OS like Windows XP on netbooks because the miniature laptops didn’t have enough power to run Windows 7. Yet Google is able to get their Chrome OS working just fine on a notebook and it is fast, starts instantly and is easy to use. In the cell phone arena Microsoft is getting very little respect and even Nokia investors are not happy with the joint venture between the companies.

Microsoft needs something new and exciting.

Apple now is in the driver’s seat and will remain there until someone comes up with a better touch screen notebook or cell phone.

What is great about this is that we consumers will be the eventual winner with better products and hopefully lower pricing.

What do you think?

Comments welcome.

Source – DisplaySearch

Posted on

Should Google Combine Chrome OS And Android?

I was greeted on Saturday morning by some 200 email messages from Google referencing the Cr-48 pilot program. As I learned later, there had been a coding error on a forum that Google was setting up and the results were a mass mailing to not only Cr-48 users, but also to some who were still waiting to receive a unit. Needless to say that there was a bit of mass confusion until Google finally cleared things up on Saturday afternoon, explaining the screw up.

For those of you who may be unaware, Google currently has 3 operating systems they are using. Google has Android for smartphones, which I have used and it was very easy to navigate without any instructions. Google also has the Chrome aka Chromium operating system currently being tested on their Cr-48 netbook computers. Recently Google has announced Android Honeycomb which was specifically designed for tablets and will be featured on Motorola’s Xoom tablet scheduled for release in early 2011.

One lengthy post on the Google Cr-48 pilot program forum was one persons belief that Google Chrome and Android should be merged into one single operating system. Their thinking was that applications would than be available for the one OS being used on smartphones, tablets and the future netbook computer using the Google Chrome OS.

During my travels around the Internet I have read comments from others stating a similar opinion. I disagree. Each of the devices require their own specific software to function properly. I believe trying to make a single operating system and trying to port it to all devices is what Microsoft tried and met with limited success. Microsoft was forced to use Windows XP on the first notebooks since neither Vista nor Windows 7 would run fast enough. Neither Vista nor Windows 7 could provide for sufficient extended battery operations. Currently my Cr-48 will run for 8 hours on one single charge. It is claimed that the Xoom could run for 10 hrs. on battery power alone.

What do you think?

Comments welcome.

Source – Google Cr-48 pilot program forum

PS I did learn that Google states we get to keep the Cr-48. :-)

Posted on

Linux Mint 10 And My Experiment With Oracle VM VirtualBox

In my last review of Linux Mint 10, I described my first 45 days using this Linux distribution, as well as one readers concern about trying either VMWare or VirtualBox. In that article Richard Krohn stated that:

“The only question I’m asking myself now is if it is worth the effort.  I probably need another Windows screw-up to motivate me.  It’s a lot of work.”

I agreed with Richard because I also knew it was going to be time-consuming. My assumption proved correct and I wanted to share my experience with you.  This past weekend, Saturday the 4th and Sunday the 5th, I set aside some time to work on this project.

I opted to choose  VirtualBox from Oracle, version 3.2.8 r64453, which is available for Linux Mint 10 through the Software Manager utility including in the distribution. I downloaded and installed VirtualBox without incident and had the virtual drive up and running in about 30 minutes.

I decided to use Windows XP and not Vista or Windows 7 for one simple reason. Windows XP uses the least amount of RAM and I was able to allocated 512MB exclusively to be used by Windows XP. In addition Windows XP is like an old friend from the past, with simple interface, and easy to use. plus the 3 Window based softwares I wished to use all work perfectly with Windows XP.

I was fortunate to have a slipstreamed version of Windows XP with SP2 that I used for the install, which is volume licensed, so I wouldn’t have to worry about registration issues. The Install took about 45 minutes. I also had to install the SP3 update for Windows XP, which required another 30 minutes, plus all additional updates from Microsoft. Next came the issue of updating drivers to match my newer hardware and also adding an anti-virus program. I also opted to upgrade Internet Explorer to version 8. This seemed to satisfy Windows XP and I was no longer nagged to update, upgrade, or install any additional software.

I would venture a conservative estimate that the entire process took me about 4 hours for both the installation of VirtualBox and Windows XP. Whew!

On Sunday during the Super Bowl game, I tackled the installing of the three pieces of software I needed.

The most problematic software installation was Dragon Naturally Speaking 10.  Dragon running natively in Windows 7 is slow. In a virtual environment it is even slower. It took me awhile to stop and wait for the words to be typed on the screen. I seriously doubt this is going to be a pleasurable experience, but I’ll give it a try just the same.

I am still playing with my other two software programs designed for Windows. They seem to be working OK, but I’ll report back any issues that I may stumble upon.

My overall experience with Linux Mint 10 continues to be positive.

Using Linux Mint 10 gives me a sense of security when surfing the Internet.

Comments welcome.

My first 45 day review of Linux Mint 10

Posted on

Canon PIXMA MG5220 Wireless All In One Printer – Reviewed

My 8-year-old HP All In One printer has been having issues for the past few months, so I have been in the market for a replacement. I mainly make copies and some minor color printing, with my main printing needs handled by my HP Laserjet. I also wanted a printer that worked wirelessly, but the most important feature had to be the availability of cheap ink. I didn’t want to be gouged for $50 or $60 for replacement cartridges. During my entire computing career, I have been a slave to HP printers. I have helped build the HP empire to what it is today, just in the cost of printer cartridges that I have paid for over the years. LOL.

Since before the holidays, I have looking been roaming the Internet looking for a new All In One printer. I finally decided on the Canon PIXMA MG5200. I bought it at Amazon for $89.99. I also ordered a pack of 5 remanufactured print cartridges for $20.50 which included shipping.

The printer arrived Thursday afternoon, and I had to put away my other toys, while I setup my new toy. After getting the printer out of the box, and installed the print cartridges, my first task was to set up the printer to my wireless network. I would recommend you follow the instructions that come with the unit and make sure you follow the procedure as specified. After finishing the wireless part, I tried to print from my personal laptop, without installing the software provided. It worked.

I am not a huge fan of software that comes with printers. I have not installed the software that came with the printer yet, so I can not comment on it.

I have 4 computers connected to the printer, all using Windows 7, except for one older laptop using Windows XP SP3. All work just fine printing.

Manual copying and scanning also works fine.

But this is where the little box shines. I had a photo on a memory card that I printed on photo paper. The results were stunning. The images were sharp and clear and rivaled in quality to what Walgreens and Wal-Mart offers.

There is only one thing I don’t care for. The printer is a shiny black plastic that looks sharp. But fingerprints and dust cling like a magnet.

Comments welcome.

Canon PIXMA MG5220 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One (4502B017)

6 PKS GENERIC INK CANON PGI-225 CLI-226 Pixma iP4820 MG5220

Posted on

Windows At 25 Years – What A Difference A Quarter Of A Century Makes

For those of you who didn’t have the opportunity using Windows 1, consider yourself fortunate. I was trying to think of a word that would best describe the first version of Windows and I think ‘hokey’ best describes it. Though it was a vast improvement over the use of command lines, Windows 1 looked more like a bad cartoon than a viable operating system.

Here is what Windows 1 looked like:

As we went through each version of Windows it was not until Windows 95 that the skies opened and all was well. Windows 95 offered a new look, but more important, it was pretty. LOL. It took me a while to navigate Windows 95, since my favorite OS at the time, Windows 3.11 For Workgroups, did everything I needed.

Here is a look at Windows 95:

Since upgrading to Windows 7, I must admit I am a huge fan of the operating system. I have had only one minor issue, which was cured by updating a driver. Outside of that one issue, my system has been purring along without issue for 18 months.

What has your experience been with Windows?

Comments welcome.

Source

Posted on

Will My Computer Hardware Support Windows 7 XP Mode?

There should be an image here!XP mode is a special virtual machine running Windows XP. It’s handy for running older applications that won’t run on Windows 7, but will run on Windows XP. In order to run XP Mode, your computer must meet specific hardware requirements. More specifically, your computer’s bios and CPU must support hardware virtualization.

Instructions for turning on hardware virtualization in your computer’s BIOS are specific to model. Check the vendor’s website for details on how to access your computer’s BIOS and how to enable hardware virtualization.

To find out if your CPU supports hardware virtualization, download and run the Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool (HAV). The HAV tool checks if you computer processor supports hardware virtualization and is it is enabled.

[Photo above by Dimitri N / CC BY-ND 2.0]