May 28, 2008 | computers, hardware, Vista, WinXP
I’m starting to get annoyed when I sit down at a Windows XP computer because it’s missing so many things that I take for granted in Vista. I just reformatted a hard drive and installed Windows XP from scratch for a client and it required far more work than...
May 27, 2008 | computers, Dell, hardware, mobile, Vista
On a Dell laptop, it is crucial to DISABLE one “power-saving” feature guaranteed to drive you mad. In Vista’s “Power Options” panel, the bottom item on the left is “Dell Internal Network Card Power Management.” It is intended...
May 27, 2008 | computers, hardware, mobile, Vista
Vista is very smart about power management! Use the default settings, you might be pleasantly surprised. As always, the goal is to make a computer more like other appliances – ready to be used within a few seconds after turning it on. Any computer –...
May 22, 2008 | computers, hardware
The same problem has now turned up twice in two weeks. So far I’m not aware of any recent update or change that makes this happen, but keep this in the back of your mind in case it comes in handy. The symptom is a black screen and a blinking cursor after the...
May 15, 2008 | computers, hardware, Vista
We have learned a lot about Windows XP in the last seven years. I can work deeply in Windows XP with confidence, and I’ve developed a pretty good collection of tools for troubleshooting – some from third parties but a lot that are included with Windows XP...
Apr 14, 2008 | Apple, computers, hardware
I had a feeling of deja vu when I was talking to a friend about a new computer last week. In the late 1980s and early 90s, I set up dozens of Gateway computers. They were comparatively inexpensive, they were pioneers in the business of custom configurations for...
