H.I.T.S.
By the time you read this, we all may been snowed in. I’m just joking, but it’s amusing how scared we’ve all become of a little snow.
When I moved here from England in 1978, we had some real winters.
Now, we get a threat of a tiny bit of snow and school is cancelled. My younger students are loving every minute of that.
As I’m writing this, the snow is coming down pretty hard, but I’m sure it will be all over by the time the column airs.
We did have a scary moment last night when the power went off for a few minutes.
The only thing illuminating the room was the computer monitor and the backup power supply unit was beeping loudly, which drove our Yorkie, Basil, into a massive barking fit, although most things drive Basil into a massive barking fit.
We threaten him with visits from Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer ( a href=”http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/ http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/ end
), to no avail.
Well, it’s been a mixed bag of computer-related stuff this week,
First, I got an e-mail from Ross, an old friend from England who I found again through http://www.friendsreunited.com. I’ve said it before, but it’s still amazing to see pics of people I haven’t seen since the 1970s.
Ross sent a bunch of photos and a long update on his life and the lives of his brothers, who I knew from my teenage “Beatles” years in Blackburn, which was 30 miles away from Liverpool. This proved again what a great communication tool the Internet really is.
Also this week, I’ve finally decided to get one of the new Intel-chip Apple computers.
After much nail-biting and research, I’ve chosen another iMac model. I almost bought a MacBook Pro laptop model, but I was disappointed with the speed of my last laptop. In the end, I got up really early and visited Apple.com and found a refurb (or reconditioned) unit. Apple’s refurbs look brand-spanking new and have the same 12-month warranty as the new ones, but are a lot cheaper.
In fact, they’re such a bargain that, apart from the really expensive models, they’re all gone by mid-day.
My choice also features a 20-inch screen.
I can’t wait to try Parallels Desktop and Windows XP on it, because — with the newer Intel chip models — you can install Windows, as well as the regular Apple operating system.
As a guitar teacher, I like to use some music software that’s only made for Windows, so that frustration will be over. Also, the claim is that it’s 50 percent faster than the iMac G5.
Sounds good, although I’m skeptical about that. I also think that Leopard, the new Macintosh operating system, will be out in a couple of months and Apple usually allows you to update the system for about $20 — if you’ve bought a Mac computer within the year.
The only annoying part is transferring all your old “goodies” (i.e., software applications and documents) that you want to put on the new computer.
Fortunately, it’s pretty easy on the Mac. There’s an application called Migration Assistant that takes all the hard work out of it.
The iMac also has a built- in Web cam, so maybe I can even visit with some of my old friends via it in the future, since my one friend, Charlie in Tampa, has an iMac, as well.
We’ve also finally been able to schedule our buddy, Jeff Morris, to come to the HSTV studios to film a new H.I.T.S. show.
Jeff works for Microsoft and will be detailing some of the many new features of Vista, the company’s new operating system.
Jeff is always informative, in an understandable way, so we’re thrilled whenever we can get him as a guest.
Maybe we’ll get him to sing on the show, too.
We’ll also be giving away another really cool prize, so be sure to tune in.
Don’t forget that you can check out these columns in our H.I.T.S. archive at www.bloodylimey.com
.
You can click directly on these links that you see in the column, saving you the long “squint and type” while muttering bad things about us under your breath.
We have featured discount ink sites in past columns, so here’s a cool link for you laser printer owners — a href=”http://tonerpirate.com http://tonerpirate.com end
. They have great prices on OEM and remanufactured cartridges.
Don’t forget our favorite inkjet site at a href=”http://dealnews.com/printer-ink/ http://dealnews.com/printer-ink/ end
. If you have a printer that you use a lot, this site will save you lots of money.
I’ve used lots of those links and the savings are enormous.
Stay warm, have a great week and happy surfing.