265. Best-Laid Plans

As I said Sunday, I knitted practically the whole day Saturday, and I had hoped to Sunday, as well.  Instead, I only managed to do a few rows.  I was fighting to get along with my new computer.  I can see that the Vista love is not going to come easily.  Friggin' thing keeps saying I have limited internet connectivity, and keeps cutting out, even though I'm about five feet from the router. A quick Google search revealed that this is a common issue with Vista. Microsoft, bah!  I had hoped that by this time, all the Vista bugs would have been worked out.  Such an optimist, I am. It's probably a relatively easy fix, but it will require some calls and I'm just not up for the calls and the waiting on hold and the frustrations.  Why isn't it FIXED right out of the box, I ask you?  I am so totally in love with those Mac commercials with the bloated stupid bumbling Microsoft guy talking to the totally cool, relaxed youthful Mac guy.  They are SPOT ON.  Well, I have no experience with a Mac, but I can confirm that PCs are bloated stupid bumbling guys.

Believe you me, if my court reporting software would work on a Mac (but it doesn't), I'd be switching.  I've read of some computer-savvy court reporters cobbling together a system, but I am not up for cobbling together systems.  That is way more trouble than it's worth. Court reporting software is a huge power and space hog, and very proprietary and all-around snobby and egocentric.  Hey, I just realized so am I...maybe that's why we get along so well. 

I grew tired and cranky (Well, I was cranky as soon as I got up, as evidenced by the poison-pen diatribe that my poor friend Willem fears may have cost me some friends -- please put him at ease, my friends, will you?  He worries about these things, apparently.) of the computer crap, but I was also paying the price for having overindulged in wheaten cinnamon bun goodness the day before.  It was not even the good kind of homemade cinnamon buns, such as I might have got at the Waitsfield farmer's market, which would have made all the pain worth it.  When will I ever learn? The same friend alleged yesterday that I have no self-control. That is just SO WRONG.  I have tons of self-control.  I just don't choose to use it much of the time.

So I was achy and weak and tired and pretty much useless the whole day.  I did manage to make a visit to my wonderful farm stand which I discovered last week is now carrying lots of local meats and chicken at very good prices, and got enough chicken and beef to last us a good long time. Of course I added insult to the wheat-intolerance injury by buying a pumpkin pie there.  See? Same syndrome at work here:  I have lots of smarts.  I just don't choose to use them all the time.   

I also got a little bit of garden cleanup done.  I tried to set up a new double-length grow bed I bought, which I intend to plant up in garlic when the seed garlic arrives in a week or so, but I didn't have the patience or the heart for it once I realized it was quite a bit more complicated (requires an electric drill!) than the standard grow beds that practically put themselves together.  So I became disheartened until I found the Seckel pears, which quickly brought me out of my funk.  Such a little thing, but so powerful. 

In the end, my spirits were lifted, but the new computer sits on the desk in time out.  I need to be "all there" before I tackle loading more software on it and try to get that internet connectivity issue resolved.  I don't need the internet for my work, per se, but since I have grown to feel incomplete as a human being without the internet always at my fingertips, I won't even go there.  Well, that, and the fact that a brand-spanking-new computer should DAMN WELL HAVE THE ability to connect to the internet.   

So, while I'd hoped to have a completed second mitten to show you by now, I pretty much have bubkes. 

I do have a 2nd mitten cuff under way, and the start of a Denim Silk scarf.  At least it's something.

Comments

[Kristen]

Macs can run PC software. Just sayin'.

[Sibylle]

Or you can a Mac let run a fake Windows System to run the PC Software :)

[Sibylle]

p.s. I so do love my Macbook and since 1998 haven't used a PC anymore.

[Betsy]

Ah, yes...we just moved and have gone from two computers each with broadband to sharing one phone line for dial up because the broadband company is having a problem with how they have pointed their towers and I may have to scream sometime realreal soon...and the Internet IS integral to the work we both do...
Had one of the first Macs in 1984...loved it...gave up fighting the battle of industry software that is only available on PCs about 15 years ago...sigh...

[greta]

The new macs run all of the PC software.
I'll NEVER go back.
MUST have the innerrnets. ;)

[Carole]

I ain't your stinkin' friend no more. ;-)

[Cheryl]

Surely it's not too late to annul the PC marriage, leave the dark side and join us in the Mac world.....is it?

[Heather G.]

I fought against upgrading our PC because I didn't want Vista, but we finally bit the bullet... and I really don't have a single complaint against it! The sceurity warnings are kind of amusing (especially when it warns against its own programs) but when I have had a problem, Vista has pointed me in the direction of a quick and easy fix each time. I realized that the only reason I had to dislike Vista were those amusing commercials!

Just don't get me started on McAfee.

[AnnaMarie]

I can sympathize with you from my MacBook. As soon as the software I like became available on the Mac I switched. It's wonderful! I only wish that my husband's gaming stuff worked better on Mac but he has to have a PC and there's cussin' sometimes.

[ellen]

I'm not feeling the Vista love either, but I live in hope of a breakthrough. I have two users on my unit, and on my profile everything works all the time. On my sweetheart's profile nothing works ever. I go in and fix it up and the next time it's back to nothing working right. I suspect it's operator error, but I think it should be just a bit more idiot proof.

[marianne]

Argh, I feel for you, that whole pc thing, my head would've exploded right off. I love those commercials. I know too well how badly one can feel after indulging in things one really shouldn't. I drink gallons of water, seems to help.

[Cathy-Cate]

I just came back from a meeting, where the convention center was running Vista, and everyone else from all over the world apparently wasn't, but of course they all had PowerPoint. Unfortunately, the subject of the meeting was such that most presenters had embedded video in their PowerPoint, and: due to a Vista Incompatibility Issue: it never worked. If there was an AV guy in the room (multiple rooms at some points, so usually not the case) one could back out of Office and get at the video some other way, but otherwise, it was repetitively anticlimactic -- "And here we see.... ummm....I don't know why it's not playing....". I just don't see why Microsoft's operating system should not be retrocompatible with their own huge presentation system, as obviously these were working under XP....

I just got a laptop, my first that's for me (I feel so special!), and I admit I returned to my Apple roots after years of listening to my husband, buying PCs and putting up with constant 'upgrades', bugs, viruses, freezes, etc. Yes, my MacBook worked right out of the box, literally; I was online within 2 minutes, I think. But we still have a desktop PC at home, and my husband's recording studio desktop and laptop are PCs, so we're a hybrid family. I don't know if I can connect to work on my laptop, though (not critical for me), and I can certainly appreciate that many, many programs are only written for PC at this point still.

[Sara]

I say, wipe the hard drive and install XP on it. You'll need to round up XP drivers for everything - do so before you start by googling your computer model and something like "installing XP from Vista drivers". I did it on a new home desktop and it's entirely worth it. There's no guarantee that your court reporting software will work with Vista anyway.

[Ruth]

We're looking into a second computer, and I'm dreading Vista. Would it be wrong to just re-use the XP discs that I used when setting up my current computer?

[Margene]

That sucks big time. Last thing you need is more computer nightmares. You may have wanted a fully completely mitten but you did accomplish quite a bit! That and a scarf, too. Marianne is right...drink tons of water after overindulging in sugar. It really helps.

[Ann]

ditto on the xp. it will run faster than vista. I can not believe that you had a freakin cinnamon bun and it wasn't from waitsfield!!!! Was it some pre packaged shit you found at the store. LOL. You are doing more knitting than me. You will have to figure out how to move a bit of your garden inside for the winter. We would all love hearing about it!

[Carol]

I have no advice on the computer side but I'm sure it will get better! The knitting is gorgeous and the garden is still great. I'm tempted to put some garlic in now!

[elizabeth a airhart]

yes we still like you
i was told we are takeing you off line just now
your wireless mouse is weak etc etc etc
yes you may rant i do you are safe with us

[donna lee]

When I got my laptop (3 long years ago) Vista was still new. We wiped the machine and loaded Windows XP and never looked back. Vista is too cranky for me.

Cute grandpuppy. My grandmother had a yorkie that was the best watchdog ever. Every time anyone came into the house, she put up such a fuss. She was loyal and friendly and adorable. Your daughter will adore him. I was always afraid of stepping on her.

[jean]

SCORE!!! on the local meats, so not only are you probably getting a much better product - but also supporting the small farms that contribute so much to the local landscapes and the livelyhood of families - each purchase helped this tradition to continue. Yes, I know the computer thing can be so annoying, but you really do lived a wonderful life - so full of joy, good things to eat, and also some really supportive friends. Cheers

[Mary K. in Rockport]

We've been a Mac family since the get-go back in the 80's. But then, we're fans of the Second Choice in many ways: Pepsi, not Coke; Ford, not Chevy; and, um, we're hard-core Democrats, sigh.

[Marcia]

Here's a thought: write off your PC as a business expense and buy yourself a nice little MacBook for fun. Nowhere does it say you can't have both! I LOVE my Mac and will never go back!

[Teresa C]

You plant garlic in the fall?

[Jean E.]

Love my Mac. My oldest son just bought his first Mac because he did not want to deal with the headache that is Vista. Sorry you are stuck in PC hell. I have one I have to use occasionally; it serves as a reminder that I really like my Mac

[Roxie]

Some days are just like that. Hope you are feeling more your kick-ass self by now. If anyone can conquer VISTA and wrassle it to the mat, three falls out of three, it's Norma!!

[claudia]

You are a total crack-up. Choosing not to impose your iron self-control....you're killing me!

P.S. Of course you have iron self control, darling. Don't hurt me.

[Carrie]

Vista. Sigh. I've never even used it yet and it's caused me two years of trouble at least.

[Cheryl S.]

We haven't put Vista on any of our multitudes of computers. And if we were to get one that had it installed, we'd probably reformat the drive and get rid of it. Shtick dreck!

[Erika]

Have you downloaded Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) yet? Just because your computer is new doesn't mean it has the latest service pack, which I believe was released about a month ago. I found that SP1 solved a lot of my own Vista woes.

Personally, I would love to have a Mac! But there is no way I can afford a $2,500 computer. I bought my newest PC in February. It's a mid- to top-range model, and cost only $550 (including a 19" flat-screen monitor).

That's why Linux is better than either.

[Mercuria]

Theoretically, it's possible to downgrade your copy of Vista to XP for free.

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=45&TopicId=12525

It sounds like there are newer computers that possibly don't have XP drivers, but, given all the problems with Vista, it might worth checking. Obviously, if you can get your problems addressed without formatting the computer, that would probably be simpler.

[gayle]

Heather G (commenter above) is the ONLY person I've seen who had Vista and didn't HATE it...
Our computer is about 4 years old (almost a dinosaur...) but I truly dread getting a new one because of the Vista issue. Both my daughters are Mac users - I guess when the time comes, I'll probably join them.

[Sunnyknitter]

I also recently made the switch to Vista via a new computer and, knock wood, once everything got configured I've been fine. And Eclipse is happy on it too. I'm storing as much as possible on an external 500G hard drive and have to say am loving the new computer so far. I also thought about doing the Mac with Boot Camp route but chickened out. Maybe later down the road I'll try it, but so far so good. I've had the new computer about three weeks and it's been fine.

[Seanna Lea]

I feel like such a geek. Not because of the PC/Mac thing (I have a Mac, hubby has a PC, we share an alien) so much as apparently we have more computers than sense. Find a machine you like (or maybe two)! Just don't go our route, we have 7 computers!

Hopefully your Vista woes will be solved really soon and life will be full of the fun of the Intarweb!

[Cookie]

M$ is always looking for new and exciting ways to suck. Vista proves they are very good at their game.

Who doesn't love you? Tell me and I'll take care of them! You are The Norma and therefore fabulous.

[Catherine MacInnes]

I am a Systems Engineer, I have Vista, I don't hate it. In fact once you get over things being different it has some nice features. The drivers thing is a MAJOR problem however, especially if you are running Vista64. With the wireless thing, it is almost certainly a wireless driver issue. I suggest that before you start making phone calls and getting stuck in customer service lala land that you go to the wireless card manufacturers website (you may also be able to get it from HP), and look for the latest version of the drivers. Then, DON'T RUN THE INSTALL PROGRAM, unpack the drivers if they are compressed, then go to the device manager (right click on COMPUTER, and there is a link on the top left hand side). Find the wireless device, right click and choose update driver, then say "Browse my computer for driver software", locate the software and install it that way. You will likely have to click through all kinds of scary windows telling you that the driver isn't signed, but ignore them if you got the driver from a reputable source. I have found that 99% of Vista driver problems can be solved this way. Microsoft takes forever to accept a new driver into the automatic process, so they are always a ways behind the device manufacturers, which is a problem when the drivers were so buggy to begin with. If I stopped making sense somewhere along there, I apologize shoot me an email and I will try to help. Or you can always just run Wine under Linux, I am sure that your Court Reporting software would work perfectly that way ;)