COMPUTER CORNER #1037 - 03/13/08<br />

Printed From Acorn-Online.com

Columns
COMPUTER CORNER #1037 - 03/13/08

Mar 13, 2008

Recently I had mentioned a small handheld computer, the ASUS eeePC which was later demonstrated at our computer club. It is now the hottest selling computer worldwide with sales exceed corporate projections.

There is a shortage of parts, and management was prognosticating sales in Europe to be up to 750,000 units per month. While packing enormous power in a small package with a seven inch display and a complete office suite, it is very portable: ideal for communication and the Internet. I had talked Paul (my number three son) into making a presentation at our computer club without giving him a chance to really learn about the device, and all attendees were duly impressed. Since it came with the Skype software and a video camera built-in, he decided to take it outside my house while being wirelessly connected and show the accumulation of snow to my grandkids in Charlotte. It had a standard VGA socket so that the screen could be connected to a large monitor. He repeated that demonstration in New Canaan where our club audience was duly impressed.

I had mentioned that it ran the Unix operating system, which is less hardware intensive that Windows. However, there is now a demand for a Windows machine with a slightly larger display. The maker is no stranger to computers. It is the largest manufacturer who until now was happy to just make components, like motherboards. By the way, my newest HP machine uses an ASUS board.

Vista gadgets

I have been a casual user of computers for many years, and many of my friends rave about the great news value of online media. They describe their conversations on “blogs” or RSS newsfeed and can’t believe that I am not more “with it.” What is your experience? Am I really being a fossil? Andrea H.

Dear Andrea: I am supposed to be in the forefront of computer technology. So when I hear about any new fad, I check it out and stay impressed for at least a day.

Some of the stuff is great, yet I still depend on my newspaper for information. You have seen me wax enthusiastically about new sites and developments. I report on them and then seem to promptly forget because we are all overwhelmed by the rate of change.

I leave it up to the editor to explore the news and report on them in print. They do the heavy lifting while I can inform myself over breakfast. And fossils aren’t all that bad, considering that it is how the world’s oil originated.

There are many ways to get news, and since I use Google as my default home page, selecting the “News” hyperlink at the top of the page will bring up the three or four most important news items in various categories. This gives a quick overview of what is going on in the world.

It takes reasonable fortitude not to get sidetracked by clicking on the various subjects and graphics which then expand the news to a much larger scale. The pages are replete with jumping and flashing ads, which most of us have learned to ignore.

A more discrete way to have the latest news on my desktop came with Vista’s gadget bar which I can edit. Gadgets are small applications, copied from the Mac’s “Widgets.” I permanently display on my screen, in that order, a clock, calendar, local temperature, computer and network activity, stock market and news. The gadgets can be selected from a default list of 20. Click on the “+” at the top of the bar, and just drag them from a graphic list to the location wanted on the gadget bar. Each can be customized.

The news gadget has a collection of 100 items, with only the first few words showing. Click on one item will open a small window with one paragraph. Clicking that, will open MSNBC with the full story and many more links, including movie clips. You will have to discipline yourself to ignore all the offerings or hours will fly by while you surf.

As I write this column, those gadgets are present. I cast an occasional glance at them and unless something is of vital interest to me, I have learned to ignore their frantic signals. The data will still be present and updated when I am ready to look.

Slow startup

Is it possible to speed up the boot process of my new Vista computer? In previous systems it could be done by eliminating some unnecessary tests on boot up. Can the time be shortened? Thanks. Fred B.

Dear Fred: Most of the tests, like the memory test in the olden days, could take several minutes and the quality of the chips was not as good as we have presently. One improvement that you can make if you have dual or quad processors is to change the setting so that the system will take advantage of them on start. By default, only one processor is used. Go to Start | Run type MSCONFIG | Boot (tab) | Advanced Option (button) | check mark “Number of Processors” and change to 2 or 4 | OK | OK.

You should see a reduction in the boot time, but it may not be significant. Windows and Vista are so bloated that they have to load in excess of one hundred utilities and libraries. This is what takes time.

If the system has trouble reading a file it will retry 10 times before moving to the next. And it takes great perspicacity to try to figure out all the details for each of these processes.

If you really need to know, you can generate a Bootlog file which shows all the attempts with success and failures. That file is in plain text and goes into the root folder. To request it, and slow your boot up a little more, you can go to the boot option in MSCONFIG and checkmark “bootlog.”

Missing Run command

I am using Vista. Frequently I am told to use the “Run” command to start some programs or utilities. It is supposed to be on the list of programs after pressing the Start button. I am sure that it is not on my computer. Can you help? Charlie F.

Dear Charlie: No one has purloined that command. It is just hidden so as not to overload your menu. It is easy to bring it back. Just right-click on the Start button | Properties | Customize (Button) | scroll though the list shown and checkmark “Run command” | OK | OK. The deed is done and Run should show up permanently now each time you that you hit the Start button. Look at the other option on the same list. Are there some other items you want, or don’t want to see when you press Start? Here is your chance to make changes.