RE: What are the advantages of Apple over PC?
Mac claims to play well with MS Office these days and it is a selling point for the Mac, but as a consumer, are you going to want to buy a Mac that has a version of Office on it that was converted to function on a Mac or are you going to want to own the the OS that Office was originally designed for?
Yes, I would want to own the OS that Microsoft Office was originally designed for, ...Macintosh. Although I hear that the OS it was ported over to a year later runs it pretty well too...
RE: Directv in Canada
What size dish is in the KVH? For Banff you want at least an 18" or 20". You might get some signal in Jasper with a 20". Motorized domes aren't much use up north.
RE: Laptop Screen
Laptops are a pain to diagnose. It could be the screen, the inverter, or even the cable. IBM had a bad batch of Thinkpads where the cable was a little short. After a while of opening and closing the lid the cable started to unplug causing lines.
RE: Cell Phone Redux
Tracfone.
I just bought a little Motorola flip at Walmart on my last trip south based on the recommendations here and can say it was well worth it.
The phone was $20 and a 60 minute card was $20. The card gives you 90 days of service. 34 cents a minute may seem high (higher minute cards give a lower rate) but there are no long distance charges. You can even get a local Canadian number for free so people can call you without paying long distance. Compare that against a buck a minute roaming charges plus long distance.
If you go with a different company be sure to check the coverage. Most companies have a less coverage with their pre-paid plans than they do on their contract plans. Tracfone uses everyones networks so the coverage is excellent.
RE: T-mobile Blackberry curve 8320
We evaluated them and although the phone was ok the software was horrendous. On PC's the installer kept freezing and on OS X none of the included software would work at all. The phone was well laid out and had a good list of features but they did have a tendency to ignore incoming calls and emails. We had high hopes but had to pass on these. Excellent design, poor quality control.
Keep in mind that web browsing on anything short of an iPhone is going to be a painful experience.
RE: getting access to my slingbox on the road
OK, now I am getting somewhere.....I have a 6Gb per month Blackberry plan I could tether with...is this not going to be enough?
Bart
You might want to verify this. Not all the 6GB plans allow tethering and you probably know the plan only covers Canada.
RE: $#%@ Windows!
A couple of points I would make are 1) Are you saying that security fixes shouldn't have urgency behind them? 2) This one was discovered in March across multiple vendors implementation of DNS. Not what I would call rushed but since the vulnerability was in the wild yet it didn't really have to be.
Not at the cost of breaking a system. If rushing an untested patch is alright, why not take it one step further and disable the network stack anytime a vulnerability is found. Then MS could fix the OS at their leisure.
Zone Alarm is incredibly popular. There is no excuse for MS not to have tested it.
Let's consider for a moment that ZoneAlarm appears to be the only one impacted by this...could it be that they either didn't thoroughly test the patch (which any software vendor worth a dime will do) or had just plain bad code?
Or do they have a more secure firewall? After all, it works if you lower the security settings. Did they even get an advance copy of the fix? Not everyone thinks they did.
Yes, those that don't use ZA didn't have this issue.
And maybe their firewall is less effective than ZA. Don't know, don't care, I don't use Windows anymore.
RE: $#%@ Windows!
Here we go again. Those with a grudge against MS openly complain about something that "MS did". How come no other firewalls were affected except Zone Alarm? What was MS supposed to do, test the change against the 10 or 20 firewalls out there?
With the exception of the built-in firewall, Zone Alarm is the most popular and is given out for free by a lot of ISPs. If the company that makes Zone Alarm had advance notice and a sample of the hotfix, maybe some of the blame could be shifted to them. Considering that this was a rushed "hotfix", meanwhile MS had to pull the long awaited and supposedly tested SP3 at the last minute because of a conflict with their own software, I doubt it. Vista SP1 came with a list of 3rd party apps that it would break, why not the same here?
A software developer shouldn't have to update their product because the OS maker changes the specs. If I design an app and it gets an official made for XP logo, it should work on all patch levels of XP. Why should I have to eat the cost of fixing my app when I'm not the one that broke it?
To be fair, Apple did something similar with the 10.5.3 update. They broke Parallels which is a critical app for a few people. That one took a week to fix.
Just like all the complains against Vista when the majority of them should be against the software vendor that doesn't update or upgrade their software.
This is partly true. People buy Vista thinking it is Windows and everything is compatible with Windows. The XP - Vista thing is sorta like 95 - NT4 and 98 / 2000. Not everything was compatible. Although the majority of the complaints are that Vista is a bad OS, regardless of backwards compatibility.
Then there are those people that willy-nilly upgrade software without having a backout routine. I always love those people because I made lots of money undoing their lack of caution regarding their business.
Well, in this case it was MS doing a "willy-nilly" update without the user getting a choice because automatic updates were turned on. The same automatic update feature that MS harasses you to turn on, lest a pack of roving pygmies sneak over the ethernet and pwn your computer. It was working before MS touched it, now it's not. MS broke it.
People get sold a simple upgrade, and if Joe Average has to learn how to make a system image to avoid losing everything, that ain't simple and the company is at fault. Just like if an uninstaller doesn't get rid of everything, it is defective and the company is again at fault. As techs we both know the value of making an image before any major changes. We know this because experience tells us that all software is******and doesn't work as advertised. You can't criticize people for following directions.
By the way, I have had to backout 2 software products when they wouldn't run correctly under Vista. 1 was Avast antivirus which I ran for 2 weeks until I determined it was causing a FireFox 3 problem. 2. was Comodo firewall which wouldn't allow me onto the internet after getting on a free open site. Sure it took me a while to figure out what was causing the problem, but I can quarantee you that I didn't blame Vista or MS.
Good for you, you didn't blame MS for 1) two 3rd party apps having a conflict and 2) a buggy 3rd party firewall. At least MS didn't push an update in the middle of the night that killed your internet connection leaving you no way accessing info about a fix.
RE: Dish Network in Canada
Dish network works on the same satellites as Bell Expressvu. You seem to be able to pick up dish Network using an expressvu dish. Look up the co-ordinates for the Expressvu dish in the Canadian area where you are going and you will get the settings for Dish.
Nope. They use the same KIND of satellite but not the same actual satellite.
Bell uses a satellite at 91w for most channels and 82w for HD and ethnic. Dish uses 119w for general programming and 110w for ppv and others. Dish also uses other sats but 119 and 110 cover the majority of programming.
RE: Using Firefox, need advice re different IS program
AVG 8 has a bug, well I call it a bug, they call it a feature, that consumes extra bandwith. It's called LinkScanner and it should be banned from the internet.
In a nutshell, if you do a search on Google and the search returns ten web pages, Linkscanner will visit, download and scan all ten pages even if you didn't click on any of them. Imagine if you are charged by the megabyte for your connection, or god forbid, you are on dial-up. Never mind the poor shmuck that is hosting the website that gets billed for this usage, meanwhile the person didn't even see his site.
AVG thumbed its nose at the internet, saying "if you want to make omelettes, you have to break some eggs." Other antivirus programs offer the same protection without this abusing behavior. This shows they are on the same path as Norton.
If you must use AVG, please disable Linkscanner.
BTW, anyone see a conflict of interest in Microsoft putting out an insecure OS then charging people to secure it (OneCare)?
RE: Want basic cell phone
I'm beginning to thing such a phone doesn't exist.
If it doesn't play games, have ringtones, play music, play movies, text or have a camera, nobody wants it. Actually being able to talk on it and have a decent quality of reception is secondary. A basic phone should also be an inexpensive phone, but instead, the makers cram all the features into it and just use cheaper, less reliable parts.
One option I've used is ebay. Look for a new, never used or activated basic phone like a Star-Tac digital that is for the network of your choice. They are out there although the prices can get high sometimes. Shows how the makers are missing the boat when people are paying big money for a phone that's over 5 years old just to avoid the extra garbage.
RE: New Printer
I need a wireless printer for the travel trailer .. and now have an Epson which I like real well, however the usb cord is not long enuff for me to have it where I want it to be.
You all are talking of networking .. can I use a wireless in conjuction with my laptop .. and would it work like my wireless mouse .. just plug a remote USB in and away we go? (of course I realize I would have to install the driver, etc.) -Marji
Linksys (and others) makes a wireless print server. Plug the USB cable from the printer into a box the size of a pack of cigarettes and connect to it via your laptop's wireless card.
RE: Totota Prius number 1,000,000 but can you Dinghy it?
I don't think he has ever even been in one! I am 6'2 and have no problems and 3 other men go to lunch with me everyday and are all comfortable. I think he's just jealous because he has not got one because Tyndall has no clue what he is talking about on this car.
The great thing about the internet is that people like Don Don can hide behind a keyboard and make inane assumptions when confronted with a view differing from their own.
Just so we're clear, I had a full week of riding around in the back of these "compacts" while in Vegas. All were low mileage and direct from Toyota. As much as I respect the gas mileage and technology in the Prius, it is still a typical small car with a cramped back seat. What good is legroom or width if you are sitting sideways slouched down because the roof is so low in the back? It's no different than other "fastbacks". I'm 6'3" and my wife is 5'10", trust me, we were not comfortable. The bottoming out on every bump in the road was not pleasant either. Less than 400lbs in the back and every bump was met with a bang and a rubbing sound. Maybe if you are getting a free ride at lunch you'd call it comfortable. I know I'll never pay to ride in one of these things again.
So yes, Don Don, I have been in a Prius and know what I'm talking about when it comes to the back seat. If I make a comment about the front, how it drives or reliability, be sure to call me on that. No, I'm not jealous and do not want one. Regardless of its merits, it is 1)only available as a four door, 2)front wheel drive and 3)not visually appealing to me. A Prius is not a suitable vehicle for me.
RE: Totota Prius number 1,000,000 but can you Dinghy it?
Also the Prius is a Mid Size car and has ample room for 5 adults.
Yeah, three inside and two strapped to the roof.
If I call for a taxi and a Prius shows up, I'll send them away and call someone else. Two people in the back is painful. Three is competing with the clown cars at the circus.
RE: Small Monitor
Tyndall, the monitors look great but I can't see anywhere to order from TTX nor can I see any dealers listed. Is there something I'm missing?
Give them a call at 905-814-5004 or email ttxsales@ttx.ca. If they won't sell direct they should be able to refer you to a dealer. I was a dealer way back when I owned my own company. They make a good product.
RE: Propane in Canada
Thanks to all for the info, makes life a bit easier.
My info came from a fellow fulltimer at a campground in Arizona. He told me that when he was entering B.C. at Blaine, WA. the Canadian customs person entered his 5r and turned on his stove. When it lit he was given a ticket and told he couldn,t travel with his tanks on. Either he or I must have been from another planet, he obviously was not Canadian, eh.
Thanks again for the good info.
I've never seen a customs officer check for any kind of violations that doesn't pertain to import, export, immigration, etc. I'm not even sure they have the authority to enforce vehicle or safety code violations. I do know they've never nailed me for seatbelts even though that would be a great money maker for them.
The only way I could see this happening is if he arrived in Canada by ferry and during the inspection they found he left it on during the ride.
RE: Small Monitor
I used to install small (under 10") CRT's and LCD's on piece of junk systems. Some were touch screen as well (serial or USB). TTX has a few small LCD's and most can be ordered with touch.
RE: New Hard Drive and All???
By any chance are you talking about a BIOS password? I believe the responses so far have assumed a Windows OS password.
~Rick
Oof. :E I'd hope not. Some laptops can have the bios reset by shorting it like a desktop. Others have hard drive passwords and/or a super secure bios (ibm) that pretty much renders the board useless. In any case, that password cracking service or boot disc would be useless.
