Category Archives: WHATS GOING ON

Alamo City Comic Con, RANDOM REVIEW, RANDOM STOPS, WHATS GOING ON

23 Things I Noticed During Alamo City Comic Con

ComicCon Loot!

ComicCon Loot!

Its been some time since I’ve done one of these (or anything for that matter) so without any further ado:

  1. Arrived in downtown SA at 930 on Saturday as I was worried about finding parking, luckily it wasn’t a problem at that hour.
  2. The con did have some good guests, but I’m not into ‘celebrity worship’ much; I attend cons to hang out with friends and be supportive by flinging money at some of them.
  3. That said, it was awesome to meet Rob Paulsen and get the Pinky half of my ‘Pinky and the Brain’ print signed. 🙂
  4. Guests that I don’t “get” : reality TV show participants and cosplayers.
  5. A friend had a decent explanation for cosplayers being a ‘thing’ now: They are our models/supermodels.  Fair enough. Still don’t get it.
  6. It was kinda neat that one could get autographs from all four of the original voice actors from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. Cowabunga!
  7. This is probably the biggest fan con I’ve been to; took me a while to see the whole thing.
  8. Granted, it wouldn’t have taken quite so long if I hadn’t stopped to say hi to all my friends scattered about.
  9. Funny moment: I was standing on the loading dock chatting with a friend when Ernie Hudson walked out talking on his cell phone.  He stood nearby for a while talking on the phone then just ran off.  Dafuq?
  10. I saw Nichelle Nichols and some other folks walking by shortly after, didn’t want to be “that guy” so I simply waved hi.
  11. Saw Stan Lee on a news report afterwards, he makes me slightly less ashamed to own a “Members Only” jacket.
  12. Dear Guardian Knights Comics: Say what you want, but the ‘animal characters’ in “Gears and Bones” are furries.  This is not a bad thing.
  13. Speaking of furries: I saw a few fellow fuzzers walking around, which is always good.
  14. Even more furries: the cosplay I noticed most often was Rocket Racoon, mostly by women. I have no problem with this.
  15. I really need to get a good pair of sneakers, my casual shoes became slip-tastic once wet.
  16. I made a mental note to buy a paleta from the guy that’s usually in front of the convention center before leaving but it seems I missed him. Hijole!
  17. Craziest T-shirt : “I GOT RIPPED OFF BY [name of other con]”  That’s some kind of messed up right there.
  18. I ran into two candidates for “Patient Zero.” You know who you are.
  19. Cannot mention this enough: Having a Whataburger within walking distance of the convention center is THE BEST THING EVER
  20. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU construction people for restoring the connection from Market Street to 281 northbound.
  21. I probably wouldn’t be as tired after the fact if I had a job where I walked around at least some of the time.
  22. Yes, I managed to gripe about work even here. I’M SORRY!
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BUSINESS, Computers, Microsoft, TECH, WHATS GOING ON

Change of Screenery

technology2I have owned a iMac for five years now.  At the time, I figured that if nothing else, the improved hardware would be worth the expense.  It has been a pleasant experience for the most part…mainly because I installed Windows 7 onto it.  Thus, I don’t have to deal with OS X unless I really have to…like when I’m publishing an e-book to the iBookstore.

OS X is nice, but when I need to Get Things Done, I find myself gravitating back to Windows.  I also own a Windows laptop and thanks to The Cloud (or OneDrive to be more precise), I can easily keep my files in sync between my various devices instead of relying on the ol’ ‘sneaker-net’ like I used to back in my netbook days.

I will concede that the Mac is good at certain things, like organizing pictures and iTunes and all that good ‘not-computery’ stuff.  I also like that Time Machine keeps a full backup of my system in the event that something awful happens.  While I (fortunately) haven’t put it to the test yet, I have faith that it will work as advertised.  Sadly, my lack of being in OS X means I’ve accumulated quite a few pictures that I haven’t file away yet for safe keeping or kept very well organized, for that matter.

And so I have decided to start using my Mac, as, well, a Mac.  My 12″ laptop will serve as my ‘desktop PC’ and so I will be able to finally get all my pictures organized and keep all of my music in one place for what that’s worth.  Of course, when there’s Serious Work to be done, I’ll be booting back into Windows 7.  I’ve even gone as far to consider buying a new Windows desktop for the first time in a number of years.

Windows 8 makes that proposition a little trickier than it should be, but not for the reason you might suspect.  As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t mind Windows 8; the 8.1 update has made it much more usable with a keyboard and mouse (TIP: On the Start Screen, click the arrow pointing down to easily find all of your programs).

My issue is that I kinda want a touch screen.  The Metro/Modern user interface is made for touch and having (literally!) poked at Windows 8 on Windows tablets I’ve grown to appreciate it for what it is.  The issue is that touchscreen monitors are expensive and ‘all in one’ computers generally don’t have as much horsepower as a tower.  While I am not a big gamer, when I’m rendering a video it would be nice to not have to wait a half hour for it to finish.  There’s also something about having some  BIG IRON sitting under my desk chugging away at Important Stuff.

I’m tempted to build a new PC from scratch, but part of me says ‘I don’t have the time’ and the cost savings isn’t quite as dramatic as it used to be.  In the end, I may end up going to Ye Olde Eletronics Store to plunk down a few c-notes for a tower.  While I may lose nerd points for that, I’m pretty sure I don’t have many left after buying that iMac in the first place. 😉

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FURRY, Oklacon, RANDOM STOPS, TECH, WHATS GOING ON, Wild Nights

34 Things I Noticed During Wild Nights 2014

robinhood

Robin Hood!

I spent the weekend at Oklahoma’s other outdoor furry convention, Wild Nights, and as is always the case, I noticed a few things…

  1. After two false starts trying to go to this convention, itlooks like the third time’s a charm!
  2. Introduced my co-pilot to slot machines at a gas station casino; many apologies in advance if he becomes a gambling addict!
  3. Cell service is zip at the park, luckily I saved the camp maps to my tablet.
  4. At first, I listened in horror as the only FM stations my radio picked up played country music and then luckily stumbled upon a classic rock station…whew
  5. Looks like they got off to a late start with dinner, I hope everyone had a big lunch.
  6. The park is awesome, and even has real trees!
  7. Feels odd to not be wearing my rings, I keep reaching to take them off before I walk to the restroom…TMI, maybe?
  8. Old tech is better #1: LED lights have come a long way, but I’ll take my trusty 2-mantle Coleman lantern for lighting up camp any day.
  9. I thought I was going to be attached to my backpack for the weekend but I surprisingly did okay without it.
  10. Thing I forgot: a handkerchief, its driving me nuts because I keep reaching for it when I cough, but it isn’t there!
  11. Last year, I wrote a story at Oklacon about my own withdrawal from the Internet.  This year, I may scribe a similar story about a friend descending into madness.
  12. The blooping noise the tap makes when getting water is the COOLEST THING EVAR.
  13. I didn’t go to the hat-making panel and spent the rest of the con wishing that I had one!
  14. Idea: Glow in the dark zippers for tents.
  15. Temps were in the fifties outside on Thursday night, WHY were the a/c units on at the cabins?
  16. Robber’s Cave State Park took a little looking for, didn’t help that I took the scenic route.  Stupid Apple Maps
  17. The cave itself took some hunting to find, too, but then again, we went off the beaten path.
  18. Apparently the NOAA weather computer saying ‘shitstorm’ on the radio is the funniest thing ever.
  19. Crepes for breakfast, potato soup for lunch; seems like someone in the kitchen knows what they’re doing!
  20. Didn’t bring the car key for passenger, came to regret it after being asked ‘is it locked?’ every hour or so.
  21. We got caught by the grocery stores in the nearby town being closed early twice, once at 9 and then at 8. I wanted to ask if dancing was also forbidden and that’s because I’m from a small town in Texas.
  22. Nothing like hearing a gust of wind come from the trees then seeing a cloud of pollen descend. Crap.
  23. Scheduling seems to be an issue for Wild Nights, and registration also took a little while. Don’t forget to bring some patience along!
  24. Comparing the two OK outdoor cons: Wild Nights has the better venue, but Oklacon seems to be better organized. Balance of the universe and all that.
  25. Also: At Oklacon, I took home red dirt in the Excelsior as a souvenir. This time, it’s POLLEN. POLLEN EVERYWHERE. *cough cough*
  26. Saturday afternoon turned into siesta time at the con, there was very little going on. Works for me.
  27. Wore my bear ears into town for no good reason. Oh yeah, because I felt like it. That’s a good reason.
  28. Had my first s’more ever, yum!
  29. Once the weather forecast started mentioning thunderstorms, hail, and tornadoes, it quickly lost its comedy value.
  30. Old tech is better #2: While most smartphones were useless, my radio worked just fine.
  31. There appeared to be an exodus of people Saturday as word got around about the impending weather. We hung around, but put everything away just in case we had to make a quick exit.
  32. I don’t think I have ever slept in a top bunk, and after spending a restless night in one, I still haven’t.
  33. This felt more like a camping trip at a furry convention than a convention that involved camping.
  34. Drove into some hail after leaving the event, apparently we just missed the bad weather.  There but for the grace of God we go.
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CONS, FURRY, FURRY FIESTA, RANDOM STOPS, WHATS GOING ON

46 Things I Noticed During Furry Fiesta 2014

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  1. I’m bringing my iPad mini along to use as a hotspot and not a tablet, go figure.
    Best Furiends! I’m the one in the middle :3
  2. Downloaded the first ten episodes of “Welcome to Night Vale” so I can see what all the hullabaloo is about.
  3. I figure that should at least get me to Waco.
  4. After about two years finally remembered my Buc-ees coffee mug!
  5. Note to self: Get a toll tag
  6. Apparently one taco is not enough to get me from San Antonio to Dallas. Should have known better.
  7. First order of business upon arriving, turn on 3DS!
  8. “Welcome to Night Vale” short review: OMG IT IS AWESOME I MUST COSPLAY AS CARLOS THE SCIENTIST NOW
  9. I had a guide orca-dragon take me to my room, go figure.
  10. It is a HIKE from the overflow parking to the hotel.
  11. No story of mine in the conbook this year, I has a sad 😦
  12. Hopefully that’ll be my one missed conbook deadline for the year.
  13. Still feels weird having my actual name on my badge, oh well.
  14. Good Lord, the hotel is cold as frak, good for the fursuiters but BRRR for us!
  15. Elevator-con, and we’re on the top floor…greaat
  16. Note to self: room share with >4 people, NEVER AGAIN, sucks not having a key
  17. These things get more fun the more people I know at them, yet I somehow end up alone in the con suite at the end of the day at least once. *sigh*
  18. The International Anthropomorphic Research Project survey was fairly short this year, yay
  19. Friday was a wash due to being tired, definitely driving up on Thursday next year
  20. Soda is not readily available at the hotel *twitch*
  21. Saw plenty of furs at the store shopping like it was no big deal on Saturday morning. That’s kind of cool.
  22. One random guy stopped me to chat at the store, I think he wanted a ride because I passed by him on the way back to the hotel. Sorry, dude.
  23. There are never enough blankets. Bring one.
  24. Wandering about without wearing my glasses (due to a mask) should be fun.
  25. Maybe its me but shouldn’t “Buy It Now” mean I get it now?? So I’m new at this…sorry
  26. Is there a superhero whose power is fixing elevators?
  27. I forgot to turn on my 3DS until 1pm on Saturday, nooo!
  28. Maintenance guys and ‘bartender’ at the con lounge had a great “Who’s on First” exchange involving ice. Lucky I was there to break it up.
  29. The fursuit parade took 30 minutes to film, glad my battery held out!
  30. I was more worried about my camera’s battery giving out vs my cell phone, heh.
  31. Aaaand its gone.
  32. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to the person that advised me to wear my ears with the elastic looping behind my head! Much better!
  33. One downside of bigger hotel is that its harder to find people >.<
  34. Had sushi for the first time ever.  As the old beer commercials used to say: “Tastes great, less filling.”
  35. I wasn’t sure what I was eating at the sushi joint, but being of Mexican heritage, I figured it couldn’t be worse than any of the stuff I already eat.
  36. Had some random kid join us for sushi, think I frightened the bejabbers out of him, though. GOOD.
  37. Well-done fries at In-N-Out Burger are still the BEST THING EVAR. Open one in San Antonio, already!
  38. I wonder if it would be easier for FurPlanet to simply mark the books that aren’t ‘adults only.’
  39. Finally got a room key on Sunday and LOST IT *sad face*
  40. Ordered a commission that is going to be drawn ON A PUNCH CARD OMG PAWSOME
  41. Bought my table stuff along in case I wanted to give a stab at selling books in artists alley again. I didn’t.
  42. I heard the Artist’s Alley line started at 4 in the morning, change the system to a random drawing or something, guys!
  43. Biggest problem was probably the elevators.  I need the exercise and can deal with the faraway parking.
  44. Glad to have a friend along on the drive home, think I need a partner moreso then, than on the drive up.
  45. Something always seems to happen on I-35 when I drive home for a convention, got held up in New Braunfels for a good twenty minutes because of an accident that shut down the freeway COMPLETELY.
  46. Let’s do it again!
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RANDOM REVIEW: 2013 A.D.

2013As the final hours of the year tick away, I have to say that 2013 was a really good one for me.

After years of dealing with apartments and all that malarkey, I broke down and bought a house.  Home ownership has been pretty awesome so far: I went from one-bedroom apartments to a two-bedroom house with a garage and a huge backyard and rabbits and I can barbeque and have friends over and I love it.  Given the age of the house, home repairs and replacing things will eventually come but for now its been smooth sailing.

On the e-book front, I decided to try to sell printed copies of my work at a few conventions and events and failed spectacularly, at least from a business standpoint.  I can count my total sales on my hands.  People just don’t read much anymore, or at least not the types of folks that go to anime or furry conventions.  On the plus side, I did get to talk to lots of folks, present some panels and if nothing else, hopefully inspire some folks to ‘go it alone’ themselves.  I only published one new e-book (should have been two, but life and all that) and definitely need to up my output next year.

2013 was a fun year of conventions, camping, writing, video games, furries, cookies, home maintenance and most importantly, friends and family. I am optimistic that 2014 will be even better; my goal is to compete at least two story collections as well as the follow-up to “The Rules of Tech Support,” which is my best-seller so far.  I am also hoping to attend some new conventions, make new friends, and well, get some work done on the house.  So without any further ado:

MISSION START!

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BUSINESS, JUST SAYING, RANDOMIZER9.COM, TECH, TECH SUPPORT, WHATS GOING ON, WORDS

“De-empathized”

square coverTech support folks are often accused of not caring about customer problems.  Most of you won’t want to hear this (and the rest of you will nod your heads in agreement), but the unfortunate truth is that yeah, many of us in tech support really don’t care about your problem.

A tech support person hears so much wailing and gnashing of customer teeth over the course of their job that it eventually fails to have any meaningful effect.  We eventually become ‘de-empathized’ and thus lose our ability to feel empathy or sympathy towards our customers.  Most of us don’t start out with much to begin with so it doesn’t take very long to reach that point.

Why?  A few reasons:

First, a tech can interact with a lot of customers, particularly if they do phone support. Let’s assume a tech talks to 20 customers over the course of a day:  That adds up to 100 people over the course of a week, or 5,200 people in a year.  Considering that the majority of them of them are calling because something is not working, a fairly high percentage of them are going to be angry, upset, and frustrated.  While most people are civil, many are not, and of course, there are a few jerks, to put it politely.  I submit to you that it is very difficult to hear all that negativity (to say nothing of the stupidity) and not have it affect you.

Secondly, techs get the same paycheck regardless of how many problems they fix or don’t fix.  If a tech puts in extra effort its probably because you’re being nice, or at least civil, but there are usually no consequences for not being able to fix a problem.  As much as I hate to admit, there are some problems that we can’t fix.

Finally, there is the repetition of hearing the same cries/pleads/screams for help day after day after day.  When you hear every customer tell you their problem is a matter of life and death the phrase becomes meaningless.  There is a saying that sums this attitude up best: “A failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.”  The constant exaggerating by customers only aggravates us further; are we supposed to believe that a customer just sat behind a computer for three hours on a stuck install?

Don’t confuse indifference for laziness, though:  Those jaded-don’t-give-a-crap support people are still going to do their jobs, but they are going to do it without a single shred of touchy-feely-ness.  I can’t pinpoint exactly when I stopped caring, but I haven’t cared about my customer’s problems for quite some time, now.  Unfortunately the lack of empathy and concern can be heard loud in clear in my ‘phone voice’ at work, and I’ve been called out on it on occasion.

But just like I do when I hear the cry of ‘it has to be done now’ or ‘it was working yesterday’ or ‘its your company’s fault.’  I sigh, fix their problem or tell them it can’t be fixed, and move on to the next person.  Its just water off an apathetic duck’s back.

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Books, BUSINESS, CAMPING, CONS, COOKING, CREATIVE, FOOD, FURRY, JUST SAYING, Oklacon, RANDOM STOPS, RANDOMIZER9.COM, TECH, WHATS GOING ON, WORDS, Writing

51 Things I Noticed at Oklacon 11

oklaconlogoThis year marked my second Oklacon, and I did a much better job of keeping up my usual list despite, or maybe because I kept it on old-fashioned paper!

  1. Fursuit parts are apparently very good for keeping yourself warm.
  2. This is a great con for attention whores: Just yell or talk very loudly and EVERYONE on the campsite can hear you.
  3. Anyone playing the guitar at 7AM should be shot or at least kicked in the nards.
  4. I’m thinking that its about time to retire my old Sears Hillary tent. 😦
  5. I was happy I could get a signal on my Verizon iPad in nearby Watonga, OK, but then I got to the campsite annnd its gone!
  6. Even instant cappuccino tastes great when you’ve been sleeping in 30-degree weather.
  7. I’m not sure which is bothering me more: not wearing my university ring or not having a comb in my pocket.
  8. Someday Dr. Nuka will tire of my ‘What’s up Doc?’ greeting and get all sciencey on my tail.
  9. Somehow ‘All My Exes Live In Texas’ got stuck in my head.
  10. They should probably make sure the participants are able to play volleyball out of suit first.
  11. Plastic hammer + heavy metal stakes = FAIL
  12. I was a bit overdue for a shave on Thursday but the cold is keeping me from doing so.
  13. Good idea: Putting QR codes on my dealer’s table sign. Almost Good Idea: Putting QR codes on my dealer’s table sign at a con where cell reception sucks.
  14. Maybe its just me, other folks seem to be doing just fine. Just what I need: another reason to dump Sprint.
  15. I learned today that Canada apparently has its own version of Texas called Alberta. The thought that each country in the world may have its own ‘Texas’ might explain a lot…and fills me with fear.
  16. One of the researchers was having problems with her camera and was getting frustrated, I had to quip: “This is the part where they usually call me at work.”
  17. Even though I’m not at work, my tail was still dragging at about 4PM…should have had that second cup of coffee!
  18. The collective rolling of eyes could almost be heard whenever someone insisted they were the only one in the furry fandom whose fursona was an X.
  19. Best money I’ve spent recently: $15 for a small stool for sitting in the tent; its a little snug in the forbidden zone, but otherwise worked well.
  20. Its funny how the lack of data turned my smartphone into a glorified watch…and a phone.
  21. I only posted once to social media all weekend and haven’t missed it. It feels good to be talking to people that are actually sane.
  22. The rain snuck up on us Friday night but surprisingly nothing got into the tent…there but for the grace of God go I.
  23. Unlike last year, the bathrooms were kept up and I even contributed by plunging a few times and even fixing a toilet, nice to put that homeowner skill to use.
  24. I should have been annoyed by Reville being played at 9am, but instead I found it amusing…because I was already awake.
  25. My writing panel went well, four people showed up!
  26. Hot dogs? At a furry con? Say it ain’t so!
  27. My laptop is a battery…a big, frakking, heavy battery.
  28. The zipper on my tent was misbehaving and the first thing that came to mind was ‘MY KINGDOM FOR SOME DUCT TAPE!’
  29. Things I forgot to bring: wet naps, duct tape, mayonnaise and once again, a roll of toilet paper.
  30. I could only not shave for so long, Saturday night the face fuzz was gone.
  31. I might need to switch to Mountain Dew from coffee, the Dew seemed to keep Nuka going.
  32. He graciously gave me one of his, and I gave him some of my cough drops, balance of the universe and all that.
  33. Yeah, it was great to hear my dealer-neighbors bicker back and forth like an old married couple…which they probably were.
  34. Furries apparently really hate sports, which is yet another way I stick out in that club in addition to being straight and over 30.
  35. From the ‘clever idea’ department: Previous year’s con shirts: $12 for 1 or $10 for 2
  36. Hearing the rules for ‘Predator and Prey’ made me think of ‘Calvinball.’
  37. When in Rome: I got mustard on my camera’s strap during lunch and my first instinct was to try to suck/gnaw it off.
  38. Part of me want to either stay in a tent alone or get an A-frame bunk next year…hmm.
  39. f I had known coffee cups/mugs were going to be sold at the auction I would have been there in a shot.
  40. I wonder what the organizer thought when I gave him my tax form that said “Sales: $4”
  41. A guy nearby needed help tearing down his ‘insta-tent.’ I knew there was a reason I didn’t like those things.
  42. Well, that and they cost twice as frakking much.
  43. Very thankful to have a second person in the car on the drive home, I probably would have had to stop for sleep otherwise.
  44. Saw so many Braum’s burger/ice cream/grocery joints on the drive up/back that we had to stop at one on the way home. Quite good!  Still haven’t been to Waffle House.
  45. Put over 1,100 miles on the Excelsior the whole trip and used up just over two and a half tankfuls of gas.
  46. Flying J has REALLY good coffee.  That, or drinking instant coffee at work for so long has ruined my taste buds.
  47. We encountered absolutely zero traffic problems on I-35 from Oklahoma City all the way down UNTIL we hit San Antonio and spent 25 frakking minutes going the last 5 miles home…REALLY, SAN ANTONIO?
  48. Good Idea: Empty fridge beforehand so no food goes bad during the drip. Problem: No food in fridge to eat upon return.
  49. While I only sold 2 storybooks during the weekend, it was still 2 more than I sold during Furry Fiesta. *shrug*
  50. Thank you, Sharon.
  51. I can’t wait to do it again!
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Computers, JUST SAYING, RANDOMIZER9.COM, TECH, Ubuntu, WHATS GOING ON, WHISKEY-TANGO-FOXTROT

Eww-buntu

wtflinux

Dafuq?

Well, that didn’t take long.  Within 24 hours of installing Ubuntu (see previous post) onto my laptop, I found myself reaching for my Windows 7 restore discs.  While wasn’t bad, it possessed one major flaw that kept it from staying on my laptop: it was horribly inefficient and significantly cut down its battery life.

I found that to be odd because one of the things I distinctly remembered about Linux was that it was efficient, but the fan on my laptop just wouldn’t stop spinning as I installed programs on it and got re-accustomed to the Ubuntu UI.  While doing so, I had forgotten how convenient it was to have multiple desktops.

Getting back to my main point, running Ubuntu reduced the laptop’s battery life from 4-5 hours on Windows to under 3…and that was with Wi-Fi turned off.  While  I was processing that unfortunate turn of events, my screen started to glitch.  This was a fresh install with all updates installed and barely any additional software on it.  As awful as Windows supposedly is, I’ve NEVER had something like that happen so quickly.  I have to say, I was very disappointed with the experience.

Already annoyed with the battery performance, I (metaphorically) flipped the table, opened the laptop’s DVD drive and inserted the first restore disc.

Ahh.  That new Windows smell!

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Hello, Ubuntu

technology2After spending way too much time arguing with Windows 8 and kludgey USB microphone drivers last week, I finally got tired of arguing with it and decided to banish it from my laptop…again.  As I mentioned in my write-up, I like the idea of Windows 8, but the fact that I can’t do everything with a snazzy full-screen app and continually have keep going back to the desktop and browser (to say nothing of all the old Windows stuff I still use) made it fairly pointless.  Thus, I dug out my restore discs and prepared to breath that fresh new Windows smell on my computer again.  You know, the way a new computer runs all fast and stuff until you bog it down with all the security drek that is a fact of life on Windows.

I popped in the first of four DVD-ROMs and got to thinking…maybe, just maybe, I should give Linux another try.  I was originally exposed to it in college and never really used it much until Ubuntu came along.  I would poke at Ubuntu every so often out of curiosity, but I never thought about running it as my main operating system, not even on my laptop.  I was too wedded to Windows-based programs and the alternatives just weren’t very good at the time.  In particular, it was a long time before good alternatives to Microsoft Word came around, in my opinion.  Gaming on Linux also wasn’t much to brag about in those days, either.

Times have changed since then: I find myself using more and more open-source software and less Windows-exclusive stuff, viable Microsoft Word alternatives now exist and I don’t play games on my PC much any more.  I also use a cloud-based service to store most of the files I work with on a daily basis, so it is easier for me to (figuratively) trash my laptop on a whim and start all over again with a new system.

I ejected that recovery disk, set up a flash drive and prepared to install Ubuntu on my laptop.  What the hey, I can always go back to 7, right?

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Closing Windows

technology2I don’t drink alcohol, but it is going to be hard to resist the urge to raise a glass of something on April 8, 2014.  That particular Tuesday is going to be a special day for many of my fellow techies around the world and I have no doubt that many of my I.T. brethren will be celebrating the momentous occasion that takes place on that day.  What is it, you ask?

It is the day that Windows XP finally DIES.

Don’t get me wrong, Windows XP has had a hell of a run since August 2001.  It was a good OS and was definitely a step up from the awful Windows Me that preceded it.   Heck, it was so good Microsoft kept it around when Netbooks came into vogue a few years ago.  Those netbooks and the terrible Windows Vista probably helped to keep it alive probably well past its originally intended expiration date, but all good things must come to an end, so here we are…or at least here we will be in just under seven months.

Windows 7 is goodness and I finally decided to eat my Windows 8 peas, so XP is but a fond memory for me except for when I have to deal with customers that still use it at work.  I can’t give them too much grief, because I still use WinAmp 2.9 and Microsoft Money 2000!  That said, I’ll be happy as a clam when I no longer have to worry about whether users should click on ‘Add/Remove Programs’ or ‘Programs and Features’ in the Control Panel!

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