All This Technology...

I got me some mad Word skillz. I can format, fix, and fancy-up all sorts of documents.

I'm slick in Excel. Formulas and logic functions and all that so all my required reports calculate and print automatically.

I can find anything on the web.

Download, upload, install... even some registry hacking.

But there's no undo command for catching a cold. No reverting to the previous saved version. Not even a "clear all" so I can start fresh. Nope. All I can do is cozy up with some orange juice, chicken noodle soup, and the internet until this nasty virus is gone. Maybe I should Google upgrades for personal virus protection...

Me v. ActiveSync

Once upon a time, before Palms were big and Laptops were small, I purchased an HP Journada. It was an oversized handheld computer that ran WindowsCE with stripped versions of Office. And-- the reason I picked this little device-- it has a nearly-fully size keyboard.

I loved my little Journada. I named him Snoopy, referring to how the cartoon Snoopy would type away into the night atop his doghouse. And I would type away wherever I was.

The Journada had this "nifty" program called ActiveSync. In theory, it would convert all the WindowsCE versions of files to normal Windows versions. In realty, it resulted in much cursing and finally in me just saving all my files as RTFs and using a flash card to transfer the data. In these early days, ActiveSync was a little buggy and a lot slow. My main problem was that it would refuse to sync, even though nothing had changed in the day since I last cybernetically connected the two devices. It would refuse, refuse, refuse. I'd unplug, plug, curse, kick, pull out hair, beg, clickclicklclick, run the troubleshooter. Then, sometimes, magically, the two devices would connect and sync happily. Sometimes, not. Hence the use of the Flash Card instead. And I didn't have to wait for the files to convert.

Eventually, I abandoned my Jornada. It was the dawn of Flash Drives and the Jornada just didn't have the software to run off a flash drive. With a flash drive, unlike my compact flash card, I could take my files everywhere and always have them ready to go. So, the Jornada was put into a box and the ActiveSync bid a joyful farewell.

Until now.

ActiveSync is back on my computer. My new phone, which has Windows Mobile 6, includes ActiveSync for syncing calenders, contacts, documents and files. Well, it's been a few years, so it can't be as bad as it was. Heh. So I thought.

The good news is, after several hours and some internet research, my ActiveSync is happily installed and, so far, working as intended. Why so many hours? Because Microsoft Products don't play well with Limited User. Yup. I run my computer in Limited User mode to reduce the chances of some data-munching or zombie-making virus. This is a Windows-included setting. But I couldn't install or run ActiveSync on my Limited User account.

My web research (google: activesync limited user) found that in order to install the ActiveSync on my Limited User account, I have to turn the Limited User to Administrator, install the software, then switch the account back to Administrator. Really. Microsoft products... are the worst when it comes to playing nice with Limited User accounts. Which is probably why so many people run as Administrator.

Now, don't get me wrong. I like Microsoft products. But I'm not going to pretend they're perfect. Neither is the Hubby and I still keep him around. ;-)

Google It

Everyone Googles. But not everyone Googles well. It's kind of like dancing. Some people shouldn't dance in public, but we all groove from time to time. I have my own special "clean space" dance, reserved for those infrequent times when clutter accepts its eviction notice.

The best tip I have for Google, is to type in exactly what you are looking for.

For example, looking for that song you heard on the supermarket radio? (Earworms, all of them...)
But you only remember a single line?

Try thi: type in that one line, plus the word lyrics.
For example: how to save a life lyrics

Once you have the lyrics, you can get the song title. So, in my example, "How to Save a Life" happens to be not just the words in the refrain, but the title of the song. With that, I also know that the group that sings the song is The Fray.

And with that, just to confirm , I can Google "How to Save a Life" The Fray and get the YouTube videos. After listening to the YouTube Video, I can confirm that it is the song, and perhaps go buy it from iTunes.

This also works with movie quotes, lines from a poem, and other things. Type in the line you remember. If perchance you remember incorrectly or misheard something (also called an eggcorn) try taking out the parts you're not sure of. See what happens.

Similarly, if you're looking for how to reattach the zipper that lovely, wonderful husband pulled off, I might search for "Repair Zipper How-to" or "How to replace zipper." (No quotes.) For some strange reason I do, um, Google as Yoda talks.

When you Google, ask yourself what is it, exactly, you are trying to find. Only if that fails, then get a bigger net and try broader terms. Just know that for certain types of people, Google can be addictive. It's like a freaking drug, man. My next cell phone will have internet just so I can Google things when away from my computer. Need my fix, man. Need my Google.

Mac or PC?

I always thought those Mac and PC commercials, with the middle-aged boring guy as the PC and the young hip guy as the Mac, were pretty cute. Somewhat skewed, but so are all commercials.

Personally, I think whether a person picks a Mac or PC is kind of like picking your type of undergarment. It doesn't matter to most anyone else, but you sure better be comfortable with the choice.

I'm a PC. (No, I'm not going to tell you my underwear choice!) My biggest factor is price, and PCs tend to meet that need far better than Macs. I don't need processor power for much more than handing a large (very large!) MSWord document or maybe streaming a video. My current desktop computer is the Holiday Inn Express of computers-- it's not fancy, but it does the job rather well.

I've used Macs. The skies didn't open up for me. (In fact, I got tend to get frustrated because all the commands I'm used to are missing or moved. That problem is compounded because when I'm on a Mac, it's usually to troubleshoot an ill-intentioned device.) But I have nothing against the little cuties. ;-)

Some users have less trouble on Macs-- particularly with viruses. Fair enough. But the only virus I've gotten in the last ten years was from my stupid pirate brothers downloading a game crack that was infect. That reminds me-- I still haven't thanked them for that... To me, all computers are comparable. It's the user that is the biggest equation. What do YOU want from your computer.

I have more time than money, so I'll buy the cheap machine (or cobble parts from friends and family to make a Frankenputer ). Then I'll use my time to learn how to make sure it obeys. The occasional sacrifice of a goat or small animal to the computer gods doesn't hurt.