my new computer

I know, I have been a bad blogger lately, but I promise it's just that I've been busy with not really fascinating things. I recently bought a new computer and I thought that experience was moderately entertaining, so I'll inflict it on you.

I wasn't actually in the market for a new computer, but when mine overheated after processing MOPS pictures, I decided it was no longer reliable enough for business use and needed to be replaced. I have a NAPP membership, which offers discounts on hardware from certain vendors, one of which is Dell. So I started shopping at Dell (interesting fact: although I have bought a handful of Dell computers for other people, I have never bought one for myself) and settled on a nice higher end XPS machine. In order to even find out what kind of discounts you can get from Dell with your NAPP membership, you have to call Dell and get cozy with a salesman. So I called Dell and got this guy Mark.

Now, Mark is a really nice guy, and it would probably be a pleasure to buy a computer from him. Theoretically, his job should have been really easy since I had configured the exact system that I wanted and all he needed to do was take my credit card number. We quickly got into trouble, though, when I told him what line I wanted and he started... trying to talk me out of it. First, maybe I really wanted a laptop. No? Well, I sure don't want that computer, because it's the "Cadillac" of Dells and I would be spending too much money, plus it's a gamer's system (that means powerful because those guys are really demanding), and I don't need that much. What I really want is (I forget what the line is but according to Mark, they made Shrek with it), because I'll spend way less money--sure, I will get less computer, but I'll still be getting all the things I need, and Mark is all about saving me money.

Now, if you know me, you know that telling me that I don't know what I want to do is going to get my dander up, just a little bit. And so Mark is working uphill at this point. First, he tries to talk me into a workstation (after I have told him I'm a photographer and pushing my computer and am shopping because I just melted mine). When I point out that I need space for a second hard drive, lots of memory, and dedicated graphics, he switches over to the Shrek line. He starts configuring with a lower end (but still powerful) processor, dedicated graphics, and then we hit a snag with the 80GB hard drive. That used to be big, but we're talking lots of picture files here. We debate for a while and decide not to upgrade because I do have my second hard drive ready to install and it's large... although the first hard drive is where Andy's considerable music collection and our documents are all supposed to live, along with the operating system. Then he tells me that it comes with 1GB of memory. I try not to laugh, but we agree that it will be more cost effective to pull my extra memory out of my melted computer and put it in along with the hard drive. Then, it's a selling point that this machine comes with XP and I will be able to upgrade to Vista myself when I want to. Somehow, installing a new operating system is not high on my list of fun things to do, and I have actually been using Vista and all my programs run on it already. Well, he leaves me with XP. Next up, apparently this computer doesn't come with a sound card, and to get one, I have to actually buy it with Vista (oops!) and pay almost $200 to have a sound card installed. I have repeatedly pointed out that this is not just a work computer, it is also a home computer, and even when I'm working I might actually like a little music. Then, he's staggered that I don't want a 19 inch monitor, I should just get it anyway because you never know when you will need an extra extra monitor (yes I have an extra already), and it's probably actually more expensive to take the monitor off. I do succeed in getting him to remove it and the computer is, in fact, cheaper.

At this point Mark has successfully built a computer for me. With a less powerful processor, a teeny hard drive, a negligible amount of memory, and he has saved me...wait, he hasn't saved me any money at all. In fact, his computer costs slightly more than my Cadillac. And the kicker here is that can't get a NAPP discount on this system because it is already so cheap. I thank Mark for his time, promise to read his emails carefully, and hang up.

Then I go back to the website, reconfigure my Cadillac, double check that I am, in fact, spending less money this way (and hey, I can play music on it!), and buy it. It came within a few days and it hums. The only issue I had was installing my second hard drive and my second DVD burner (lightscribe, before you ask), because it was a new format and required working with the BIOS, something I've not done a lot, but it was an easy issue to fix. I am thrilled with my new machine. And Ben, before you ask, I never considered buying a Mac.

I wonder if they had a big pile of the Shrek machines, or a competition going on to see who could sell the most of them, or what.

tips on setting up a new computer

I'm feeling compelled to write this because I've been asked for help setting up new systems (or protecting old systems too) several times within recent memory. For those of you who are not as geeky as I am, meaning you don't visit websites that are even vaguely geeky or techy, here is Robin's quick tutorial on basic PC things to know. If you want more in depth info, I guess you can email me, but if you really want to know something good, then email my brother instead.

antivirus software: don't have it? Then please don't tell me because I don't want to know. I probably don't want to get emails from you either. Don't tell me you don't want to spend money on it because seriously, in this day and age that's not an excuse. If you keep an eye out you can always get a good program for free (after rebates)! If you don't even want to do that, there are free (before rebates) options as well. Here are the absolute and total freebies:

• avast!
• AVG

I'm currently using avast! on my desktop because my free after rebates program of choice (Kaspersky) doesn't like it. I don't know why. One caveat, though: the free programs may not let you schedule regular scans, so you may have to remember to run full system scans yourself. Once a week is good, but I'll forgive you if it's only once a month. FWIW, I no longer use Norton because it didn't play nice with Vista and it really does use more than its fair share of computer resources. I'm greedy that way.

spyware: If you have Vista, Microsoft's Windows Defender is already installed. If you are running XP, I would recommend downloading it. Does it do much? Honestly, mine has never caught anything (then again, I am a careful surfer). But WD is meek and inoffensive and FREE, so why not? One great thing about it is the Software Explorer, which allows you to turn off various unnecessary startup programs (like Adobe Reader, iTunes, Quicktime, etc.). You will want to run the Software Explorer after you have installed all your main programs, because every time one of these guys thinks it's important enough to run at startup, it will do that when you install it. That means that when you do your weekly update of iTunes (c'mon, Apple), you will have to go back in and disable it again. And again.

Another great freebie in this category is Lavasoft's AdAware. It doesn't offer realtime protection unless you pay for it, but the scans are thorough and delete anything remotely spyware-ish. Even tracking cookies. I love it for that alone.

browsing: Are you using Firefox yet? If you're not, you should be. I only use IE for going to Microsoft's site, running Microsoft Update, and uploading pictures to Shutterfly (their plugin does not work with FF). FF is more secure than IE, plus it has great addons available which are worth their weight in gold. I don't even use very many but they are enough to make me never go back:

• AdBlock Plus. Once you install this, all the ads you hate to see on your favorite sites will become mere white space. Could anything be better? If the AdBlock filter doesn't catch an ad, right click on it and add it to your list. Some sites (cars.com) don't play well with this plugin but they are few and far between from what I've seen.
• Customize Google. For you gmailers.
• FireFTP. If you need to FTP stuff and want a free FTP client.
• McAfee SiteAdvisor. This one is critical and works for both IE and FF. Install it, and you have an automatic Jiminy Cricket supervising your searches. Install it and then search for something like "free Photoshop" or "free wallpaper" and see what happens (green means safe, yellow means "be careful", and red means DANGER. Kind of like a stoplight. Easy!).

office: are you too cheap to pay for Microsoft Office? But still want to play nice with people who do? Then try OpenOffice. It's free and it's compatible with Microsoft's version. When you get a new computer, even if you install MS Office, make sure you uninstall the MS Office Activation Wizard, the trial, etc. The AW goes first--as I recall it won't come off if Office is off first. And who wants two copies of Office taking up space? I'd take off Works, too, because why use a program that's not compatible with your friends'?

all purpose setup: I have not used this one for myself, and the author takes no responsibility for any damage done to your computer, but this is for those systems that are fresh out of the box. Do you, like me, really hate that your new computer comes with all kinds of junk/trial software that you don't actually want? The PC Decrapifier (yes, that's its actual name) checks what's on the system and will uninstall the junk for you. You still have control over what goes and stays but I'm sure it helps you to sort the good from the bad.

Well, those are the highlights... if you were to call me for help setting up your new computer, this is what I would tell you to work on, although you would have to look up the links for yourself. It's not a comprehensive list by any means, and I can't take responsibility for blowing up your computer (meaning follow my advice at your own risk). If I think of something else, I'll let you know.

shopping

happy shopping: Last year, my friend Angie gave me a cool little purse that was made by some design student at Savannah College (I think). I have been carrying the purse ever since (except for walking through the greater LA area because it's not what I would consider secure) and love love love it. I love it so much that it's starting to wear out. I have also had a minorly catastrophic pen leak in it and have had to start considering the sad thought that I would have to replace it. Before I became too maudlin, however, I thought I would Google her (since she considerately put her name on my bag) and hooray! She has a website! And hooray! She has some cute purses on sale! Her name is Claire Sanchez and if you are interested in a unique purse or bag, I recommend you check it out.

not so happy shopping: I have been anxiously waiting for Canon's annual fall DSLR and accessories rebates so that I can treat myself to a new zoom lens. Turns out that I need not have waited. There are four lenses that have similar specs (the differences are small but critical) and three of them are on the rebate list. The one I had decided to buy... well, it's not. Now I am torn... do I still buy it? Or should I get one of the less expensive ones? The rebate wouldn't have been a huge impact, honestly... it would have gone from crazy ridiculous to just crazy. But it would have helped. No, I won't tell you which one it is.

blood drive update: Jerry came in at 3:47. Bruce, 3:72 (you do the math). Beth scratched. Luella, 4:26. Me, 8:26. I'm slow but steady. Betty came in at 5ish? I'll check with her on the number.

photography: I've been contemplating jumping on the blogging bandwagon on my photography site (like you don't have enough blogs to watch) so that I can post pictures there instead of making you look at them here. I mean, I'll still give you pictures of my kids here, but maybe you don't want to look at other people's kids. I've just finished shooting an awful lot of pictures around the church and would like to share some of my favorites. If I start one on that site, I'll let you know, and both of you can add it to your RSS feed.

techy: And if you are wondering what on earth that is, I actually don't really know. You can ask David (my brother). What I use, and I totally recommend it, especially for all you gmailers out there, is Google Reader. See, what happens is you tell Reader what blogs you visit (it may work for other things too, I honestly don't know), and it does all the checking for you. All you do is click on the link for Reader (which is under More on my screen right now) and it tells you who has posted since you last were on Reader. It's fantastic. I mean, seriously, do you get tired of visiting a friend's blog day after day after day... she doesn't post for like three weeks, so you don't check for a week, and then you discover that she posted five times or something while you weren't looking? Not that I've ever done that to you. Google Reader totally takes care of the watching for you. And you can sort the blogs you visit into categories, like photography, family, church, etc. It's pretty awesome. An RSS reader does the same kind of thing, I think, but I am not sure on the details. Try it, though, it will revolutionize your blog reading life.

a public service announcement

This is just so I can once again prove to you that I am a geek, however well I may (or may not) hide it. Just read an article which mentioned one of my "favorite" pet peeves and so I thought I'd share the following quote:

Privacy 101: The Etiquette of Blind Carbon Copies

Sending e-mail to hundreds of contacts via Gmail is easy--just paste the list of addresses into the message's To: field and click Send, right? Sure, but put on your flame-retardant reading glasses. Though your e-mail recipients may have given you their addresses, that doesn't mean they want them shared with everyone. Good manners dictates putting one address in the To: field (your own will do fine) and the rest in the Bcc: field. (Some e-mail programs and services may require an additional step to activate this field.) E-mail servers strip the Bcc: addresses out before forwarding the message, protecting recipients' privacy.

And that's all I have to say about that.