New Laptop(s), Windows 8 and a Luke Update

 

     I mentioned in my last post that I was getting used to a new laptop...well, I had to get used to 2 new laptops! I noticed from some comments that I got, that I didn't make it clear that I have had several laptop computers. I actually have been a computer junkie for many years. I almost hate to admit that my first "home computer" was a Commodore Vic 20-circa 1980. You had to plug it into your television and it really couldn't do anything. I could balance my checkbook, but I couldn't print anything. We didn't have the internet (imagine that) or windows...I never really got the hang of it.

 

 

     I moved on to an apple computer that also used a television as a monitor. It was clunky and the screen was in black and white. I used it a little, but couldn't wait to try something new. In the years since, I have had HP, Dell, Compaq and Gateway desk top computers. Some I bought in stores and some I special ordered. I have had HP, Dell and Toshiba laptops. I usually kill a laptop every 2 years...but my Toshiba Satellite actually is still working and I'm past the 2 year mark. It is however, slowing down and the cord has been replaced and taped and ready to be replaced again. So, I decided it was time to get a new laptop. I spend much of my time these days on my iPad, but for blogging I still need a laptop.

 

     Getting a new computer is like buying a new car for me, I hate to buy the same thing or it doesn't feel new. So, last Friday, I purchased a new Gateway laptop. I have purchased most of my laptops at Walmart because it is so easy to return them if they don't work correctly. She was a beauty, red on the outside and a white keyboard. When I turned her on...there was Windows 8 (see the picture above). I spent all afternoon Friday learning how to use Windows 8, adding the things I wanted to the Gateway and removing other things. I noticed that the keyboard was a bit tricky, but I thought I just wasn't used to it. I also noticed that the computer froze a couple of times, but I didn't worry about it. On Saturday morning, when I realized that it was taking twice as long to load pages and I kept getting a notice saying I didn't have a WiFi connection (even though my old laptop was working fine) I realized that I hated the new Gateway. Saturday afternoon I did a reset to take it back to factory settings (it took hours) and at 9:00 pm, I returned it and bought another Toshiba Satellite. I have gone back to a 15" screen (my old one is 17"), it has an 8GB memory and a 750 GB hard drive, which is an upgrade from my old one. It also has Windows 8, which is a big change (more later), and best of all, it works beautifully. The keyboard is comfortable, the speed is great and I am very pleased so far. She isn't as pretty as the Gateway (this one is blue-gray) but I can live with that...it isn't the color I care about anyway.

 

     Windows 8 is the first major change in Windows since about 1995. It is a big change. I like it but many don't. I think the fact that I have an iPhone and iPad is a big help. Windows 8 is app based and for those who don't know what an app is...there will be a big learning curve. I am not afraid to try things on computers, so I just got busy and tried to learn my way around it.  I also went on Youtube and watched a tutorial because I couldn't figure out how to close a page or turn off my computer. With Windows 8, your computer opens to a Start Screen instead of the desktop that we are all familiar with. You can customize your start screen with many different apps. I can read my Kindle, watch my Netflix or check out the weather, email or CNN from the opening page of my computer. I think it is fun and colorful, but I can see why those who aren't as familiar or comfortable with current technology will have a harder time learning how to use it.

 

     So, I have spent since Friday afternoon hours and hours of putting things on a laptop...removing them. Returning a laptop. Putting things on a laptop and getting it the way I want it. I think I am finally where I want to be and can start using it for normal things again. Thank goodness!

 

And now about Luke...

 

 

     Luke celebrating the 50 day, halfway mark to his 100 days living in St. Louis. He gets to come home after 100 days if all goes as planned. He has been doing well for the most part. You can see he is puffy from the steroids, but that will go away. The latest update from his mother this week is,

 

      "Last week Luke's anti-rejection medicine was switched to oral instead of IV. Luke was not a fan of the taste and it was causing his belly to be very upset and he wasn't eating. He couldn't keep down the dose I gave him Sunday night. Yesterday, he had a clinic appointment and they switched him back to the IV form. Luke is feeling better and seems a lot happier. He finally ate a lot of lunch yesterday. Thankfully, he will be finished with this medicine by the end of June. It breaks my heart watching him take all of these medicines. He has been doing this for the past two and a half years. I know he is tired of all of this. Please pray for God to give him extra strength to make it through the next few months. Please keep praying for the abnormal cells to disappear. He will have another bone marrow biopsy on day 100. 41 more days of praying for those cells to disappear. 41 more days until our family is together again :-) Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support! God bless all of you for caring so much about Luke and our family."

 

     I ask you for your continued prayers for this sweet boy and his family. His mom is exhausted, but doesn't complain. I don't know how she does it, but I guess you find strength when you have to.

Computers...A Love/Hate Relationship

Yesterday wasn't a good day. For a week or two, I have been having some problems with Internet Explorer shutting down frequently and then restarting. Over the past few days I have done all the "normal" things I do when I have a computer issue. I ran my virus scan, checked for malware, upgraded from IE 8 to 9 and back to 8 again, checked the disk, defragmented the hard drive, tried several restore points and so on. You get the picture. I googled repeatedly looking for answers and as it was getting worse, I attempted a recovery suggested by someone I googled. Big mistake. Whatever I did...made things worse.

After my "repair" I started getting messages. The first sign of a real problem came when my computer didn't recognize my iPhone and I couldn't fix that. Shortly after that a message popped up that my virus protection was turned off, but I couldn't turn it back on. When I tried to Google to see what might be going wrong...I discovered that IE would no longer open. It was broken/fried/gone. My computer showed that it was still there, it even showed it was running-but it wouldn't open. Long story short, I started this process at about 10:00 a.m. yesterday and I finally went to bed at 2:00 a.m. this morning. I did learn a few things during the process that I thought I would share with you.

1. It was very obvious that my issue was with Internet Explorer, not the computer. I was extremely lucky that I had a secondary browser on my computer so that I could still research things to try. I happened to have Google Chrome and it was still working.

2. I was also lucky that I had a couple of USB Flash Drives at home and I was able to remove all my pictures and my taxes etc. from the computer before I took the last drastic step.

3. It was a serious mistake to make a repair without writing down what I'd done. The suggested repair had me looking up a file, clicking a couple of places and shutting a few things off. I think that I created more of a problem than I had originally and the steps were too complicated for me to remember how to reverse them. I should have taken notes as I did it-lesson learned.

4. I ended up taking my computer back to factory settings. In other words, it is the same as when it came out of the box. I have a Satellite L675 laptop and I really didn't want to have to replace it. Factory setting is a very drastic step, but it also cleans up all the junk we accumulate on the computer. It took a long time and several steps. I had to go online to find out how to do it as they no longer send a recover disk with a computer. It wasn't difficult, just time consuming.

5. So far, I have only found that my daughter's tax information didn't save to the flash drive  for some reason. I lost all of my favorites and the items in my favorites bar as well as the Swagbucks Toolbar. I also lost all of my songs on iTunes (I know-I should have been saving to The Cloud). That isn't a big deal as the songs are still on my phone. As of yet I haven't found a way to move them from the phone back to the computer and that isn't the end of the world.

So-my reminder today to each of you is to:

1) Backup your files and photos to a flash drive (don't just plan on it like I did).

2. Add a second browser, even if you don't use it.

3. If you make changes to your computer-write them down so you can reverse them later.

4. If you have iTunes/iPhone/iPod-use The Cloud if you are going to be upset losing your music.  

I am still a bit stressed, exhausted and very hopeful that I won't still have issues.

My tablescape for this week, isn't happening.

I also don't have to find a way to work a new computer into the budget!

I call that success!