If Windows 7 was my idea, as the commercials go, then the damn crash reporting tool in the operating system would actually do something useful rather than just mock poor users like me. Let’s do a tour in hopes someone at Microsoft actually improves this vital “flight recorder.”

We Don’t Anticipate A Sudden Loss Of Pressure, But…

My Windows 7 computer crashes about three or four times per week. Yesterday, it crashed three times within two hours — corrupting my Microsoft Money file in the process and nearly reducing a grown man to tears, as several hours of work went down the drain.

Why’s it crashing? Hell if I know. I wish I did know. Buried deep within the computer is a dump file that probably reveals what driver or software or who-knows-what is the culprit. But Windows 7 makes it virtually impossible for the average user to figure this out. Worse, the operating system simply lies about trying to assist after a crash.

There’s No Air Flowing Through This Mask!

I’m writing this after my computer has just rebooted from this evening’s crash. Here’s what’s on my screen:

That looks promising. “Windows has recovered from an unexpected shutdown,” I’m informed. “Windows can check online for a solution to the problem,” I’m reassured. “View problem details,” a drop down box offers.

Before trying the solution checker, let’s see exactly what the problem is:

Ah, yes. “Problem Event Name: BlueScreen.” So very clear.

Of course, having used Windows since Windows 3.0, I know this is a reference to the famed “Blue Screen Of Death” that appears when Windows crashes. Since I actually witnessed the blue screen when the computer crashed, I really don’t need Microsoft’s error reporting tool parroting back the issue. I need solutions!

The Ignored Dump Files

Scrolling down, I get information telling me where to find two “Files that help describe the problem.” Well gee, was it too hard to just describe it right within the dialog box?

One of the files I can read — it’s an XML file and seems to simply describe my system. The other file, the .dmp dump file, isn’t easily read. Even if I went through the effort, I’m not sure what it would tell me.

You know who would be able to read it easily? Microsoft. Pity there’s no way to have someone at the company parse through it and specifically come back with what the problem is.

I know they can’t do this, because I’ve been through it before. Windows 7 & Solving Those Annoying Wifi Crashes explains how earlier this year, I was literally begging Microsoft support to let me send them these files. When I did, they still didn’t seem able to figure out what the issue was.

How about trying to check for a solution. Sure, hit that button, and all the screen does is come back to say it’s checking for a solution before ultimately finding nothing.

(Lack Of) Action Center

Let’s not give up. Windows, in the taskbar, alerts me to the fact that there are issues for me to resolve. If I go into the Action Center to act on these, I get more details:

This looks promising. My graphics driver may be having an issue says one message, and “Steps are available for addressing this problem.” Excellent. Let’s take steps:

Darn. The solution couldn’t be downloaded. This is despite the fact that my computer really is connected to the internet. Maybe later I’ll track down the drivers manually, and see if I can figure it out on my own.

NOTE: After I wrote this, I manually installed new graphic drivers that were available. But while this error apparently happened twice yesterday, and may have been graphics driver related, the main error screen said nothing that specific. Fingers crossed that this turns out to be the problem.

How about that other message? Let explore it!

Oh, I had a Blue Screen Of Death. There’s a news flash. How do I solve it? Download every update and device driver for my computer? I think I’m up-to-date already. And by the way, I think some of all those updates that get shoved down my throat every Tuesday perhaps are causing the latest problems.

Well, how about another helpful tip. Remove any new hardware or software? Hey, Windows — want to narrow down which hardware or software you think might be to blame? You know, help me out? Way back in the Windows 95 days, I once literally deinstalled all my hardware and software on my computer down to the Intel processor. That was the problem — a bad processor (Intel was amazed and replaced it). I’d rather not rip apart my computer, if I can help it.

Restore my computer to an earlier state? I’d love to! The problem is, System Restore doesn’t work on my machine. When I try to use it, I get entirely unhelpful crash messages.

Why Don’t You Get A Mac?

At this point, I can hear all the Mac fans screaming “Get a Mac! Get a Mac!” Yeah, I have one. That’s what I run Windows 7 on, a 2010 MacBook Pro, using Boot Camp.

Am I nuts? A little bit. I’ll eventually do a longer post about why I use a Mac for Windows and why, despite Windows abusing me so terribly, I stick with it. Here’s the short answer:

• The MacBook has the best high resolution anti-glare monitor of any notebook I’ve seen
• The MacBook has great notebook ergonomics
• Windows is far superior to the Mac if you’re running multiple external monitor, as I do
• Outlook 2010 remains a great program that I find essential and is still better than Outlook 2011 for the Mac

Keep in mind, the reason that I went back to Windows earlier this year was because my old MacBook Pro had a hardware crash. I’ve also had Macs have software crashes. Neither operating system is perfect.

Still, Windows is driving me crazy. I know my hardware isn’t the most normal of arrangements, but then again, Boot Camp isn’t some home brewed way of running Windows, either. And when I was getting wifi-related crashes, that was on an ordinary Dell laptop pretty much designed to run Windows 7.

Fix The Flight Recorder

With the new year coming up, if the crashes continue, I’ll probably look harder at jumping back into the Mac world. But what I really want is for Microsoft to fix the reporting problems.

With airline crashes, investigators can discover the cause of many accidents from flight recorders. When Windows crashes, the error dump is like the computer’s flight recorder. Why can’t Microsoft find the problems, for my computer and others out there, using its virtual flight recorders?

Postscript: Oh joy. The updated video drivers have caused Windows Photo Viewer to die. It won’t load pictures but rather just stalls on a “Loading” screen. I went through this before a month ago, when I’d updated them when I was testing ways to get my high resolution monitor going. I updated the drivers (which ultimately weren’t necessary for the monitor to work). But as a consequence, I found Windows Photo Viewer stopped working. Rolling back the drivers fixed that. So, I guess my choice is between maybe fewer crashes or not using a core component of Windows.

I’m a big fan of screen protectors. My MacBook, my iPhone, my Android phone, my iPad — if there’s not a protector on it, I feel nervous. Over the past few months, I’ve tried various invisibleShield protectors from Zagg. They’re expensive, not always perfect, but sometimes I do love them. My review.

Before I dive in, that link above and ones below to Zagg are affiliate links. If you visit the site through them, and buy a product, I earn a little bit. Maybe you’ll want to after reading this review; maybe you won’t!

Good Grip, Feel Safe, But Not Always Perfect

Zagg’s protectors are feel slightly thicker and stronger than the typical plasticky protector you might be used to getting for your phone. I guess that’s because they use some special material that the web site will tell you all about. They’re said to especially help prevent scratches, and Zagg even has a warranty program to back them.

I’m most impressed with how well the protectors have worked for my iPad. I puchased “Full Body” coverage, which means I got coverings for the front and back of the iPad. It makes it far easier to grip the device. I definitely feel the iPad is more protected. I went with Zagg protectors because at the time, there weren’t lightweight iPad cases available. Now, I don’t even want a case.

I also got one for the Sprint Evo phone that Google handed out to attendees at its Google I/O conference. I don’t use the phone regularly, now that the trial period has ended. But the protectors — full body again — kept it safe when I was using it. As with the iPad, they give more “grip” to the device, so I’m less worried about dropping it. It’s very easy to see through, as well. You don’t notice it’s on.

In contrast, I had a Zagg protector on my Nexus One, and it looked terrible. It just felt for some reason like I couldn’t see through it properly, as if the top portion had been discolored. I contacted Zagg, and they covered it through their warranty program (sort of, I’ll get back to this).

On my iPhone, I gave up on it. For whatever reason, the protector just didn’t feel right when I was using it on that device. As I carry my iPhone in a case, I didn’t really need the extra protection that the invisibleShield offers.

Related to that, the Zagg protector that I put on my wife’s iPhone eventually died after a few months. It started peeling away on both sides:

I clipped one side, then the other, then eventually replaced it with a more typical protector.

Similarly, I purchased a protector for my MacBook that hasn’t held up as well as I’d like. I wanted a clear cover so that MacBook’s original finish showed through. The Zagg film does that. But one of the corners never went down correctly. Slipping it into my laptop bag, it caught and rolled back a bit. Now it’s a mess:

Tricky Installation

In the case of my MacBook, I mentioned how the corner never quite fit. A good thing about Zagg protectors is that they literally will cover every square inch of your screen or device. The bad thing is that it means you have to get them precisely on. Sometimes, it feels impossible.

Zagg provides ample instructions and even videos with advice. Personally, I wish the MacBook cover hadn’t been so precise, because I simply could not get it to fit the way I thought it should. It was also difficult in that the protector was so large — covering a 15″ laptop — that it kept sticking together as I tried to apply it.

Every Zagg protector will come with applicator spray. I’ve found it best to spray both the film and the device, which lets you slide the film into place more easily. You get a squeegee that you can use to push out bubbles. Commonly, you’ll find some microbubbles can’t be removed. Zagg says these will work themselves out naturally, and I’ve found that to be the case.

By the way, I wouldn’t bother with full body coverage if “front and back” is offered more cheaply. Zagg will produce little strips to cover all the side edges of your device. My experience has been that these just fall off.

Warranty Returns Lost In The Mail

I mentioned the warranty. I’ve done this twice with Zagg. The first was with my original iPad film, where the microbubbles never seemed to disappear as they should have. Zagg agreed. The second time was with my Nexus One film because of the discoloration. Again, Zagg agreed — though I never got my refund, in the end.

In both cases, the films were never received by Zagg, lost in the mail, I guess. The first time, they trusted me and issued a refund anyway. The second time, while saying that they did believe I’d mailed it and that the film was lost, Zagg still said they wouldn’t wave the replacement fee. See, the way warranty replacements work is that you buy a new film and get a refund when you send the old one back.

I get where Zagg was coming from, and they do advise to insure your film when sending it back. But that takes time to hit a post office counter, and it’s not worth it for their cheaper films. But if you do send one back, consider it, because my experience has been things seems to get lost much more than I’d expect.

Never Pay Retail

Finally, never, ever pay list price. Just follow Zagg on Twitter or Facebook, and you’ll get a 20% off code to use. Zagg often tweets special codes for deeper discounts, as well. You can also try searching on Google Real Time Search for zagg code and find people often sharing extra codes that they have.

Speaking of specials, today’s Cyber Monday. Zagg’s doing 50% off everything, site-wide. So if you’ve been considering their films, this is a good time to go for it. Just be aware that traffic to the site is currently making it very slow. You can visit them here.

I’m a Microsoft Office devotee. Sure, cloud-based apps are fine. But I like dependable, fast software right on my own computer. My life revolves fairly happily around Outlook. You can pry Excel out of my cold dead fingers. But maybe it’ll be Excel 2007 you’ll be prying away, because Office 2010′s new pricing policy has really ticked me off.

I’ve been using the beta version of Office 2010 for several months. It’s been great. Outlook has had many helpful improvements that continue making it a solid program. Excel? Well, I still miss the simplicity of Excel 2003. But at least Excel 2010 didn’t make anything worse than the confusion Excel 2007 unleashed. PowerPoint remains solid and Word, yeah, I rarely load that bloatware.

Dude, Where’s My Upgrade?

Now Office 2010 is out for sale. I got an email invite today to purchase it, since I’m a beta user. Absolutely! I clicked through to see what the upgrade pricing was:

Nothing. No mention of upgrade pricing.

I thought maybe it was a marketing trick. You know, don’t list that there’s an upgrade price and maybe they’ll pay full price. So I started digging around.

Upgrade Pricing Is Too Confusing For Mere Mortals…

In the end, I found this on the FAQ page:

To simplify our Office 2010 product offering, version upgrade suites are no longer available. However, we are now offering more ways to buy Office 2010 with a new preloaded PC. For more information on Product Key Cards, visit http://www.office.com/productkeycard.

But Two “Home” Products Is Crystal Clear

Seriously? Upgrade pricing was confusing? I mean, if Microsoft really wants to simplify things, here’s a thought. How about one suite that includes everything for a single price rather than the three suites that require a comparison chart:

Not only are there still three different suites but two of them are both “Home” versions:

All this concern that upgrade pricing would be confusing, but putting out two “Home” versions isn’t?

The difference, of course, is that “Home & Student” is for those doing “non-commercial” work. If you’re not making money in any way using that version of Office, you’re good. That’s pretty clear from the product name, right?

No Upgrade Price Feels Like Price Increase

I’ve been using Microsoft Office for I think as long as there’s been an Microsoft Office, and I’ve always had the ability to upgrade. I’ve also always upgraded because of it. In one way, it has rewarded my loyalty and kept me from moving. When I was just starting out, it was also an important price break. Every penny saved helped.

These days, I’m not so much price sensitive as fairness sensitive. It just feels wrong that in Microsoft’s new world, there’s no upgrade discount. But sure, I can also agree that really, each “upgrade” has really been a new product, so maybe it’s time we get over the entire “upgrade” idea.

Maybe I’ll Upgrade To “Free”

Still, there’s another change that’s been happening. I, and many other people, are weighing a decision to buy Microsoft’s entirely new software — with no upgrade discount — against Google Docs. Which are free.

What the hell is Microsoft thinking? Faced with a competing product that’s free, it effectively ups the price of its software for millions of loyal users?

Heck, Microsoft Office as software is even now competing with Microsoft Office on the web, which is also free. Excel on the web looks pretty good. Why again should I be paying Microsoft what feels like a higher price for its software, when it wants to give me much of that software for free?

Avoid The Limited “Product Key Card” Preloaded Edition

How about that way Microsoft says you can save by purchasing a preloaded version on a new PC, the Product Key Card option. Yeah, avoid that. Sure, it’ll save you $70 off the Home & Business edition. But you’ll only be able to install it one one computer and not transfer it to another computer, if yours should die or you upgrade to a new machine.

In contrast, the regular version of Office maintains the enlightened approach Microsoft has had for many years. You could run it on two devices, great for those who go from a laptop and desktop computer. It’s a wonderful policy. And if you need to move the license, you can.

The formal lingo from Microsoft:

If you purchase a Traditional Disc retail license of Office Home and Business 2010 or Office Professional 2010, the retail license terms allow you to install, activate, and use Office Home and Business 2010 or Office Professional 2010 on your primary PC and your portable device such as your laptop. This license is for your use exclusively.

If you purchase an Office 2010 Product Key Card, you can only activate and use the suite on one PC or device.

Waiting & Watching

When my beta expires on October 31, yeah, I’ll probably buy the retail version then. It is great software. I do want software in addition to cloud-based options. But I’ll be holding my nose as I do it, if the current price point is maintained. Or I’ll be shopping around like at Amazon, where the Home & Student edition is currently $20 cheaper than what Microsoft is selling it for ($129 versus $149) and the Home & Business version is $30 cheaper ($239 versus $279).

I may or may not earn off those links to Amazon, by the way, if you click and buy that way. Currently Amazon’s affiilate program doesn’t support direct linking to those products, for reasons that are beyond me. But I’d rather point directly to the right place to save readers money, regardless if it fills my Amazon tip jar.

For related Office 2010 launch news, see Techmeme. Also check out this nice hands-on with the free web version of Office by Charles Arthur at The Guardian.

Postscript: I forgot to mention there is upgrade pricing for one unique situation. That’s if you bought a qualifying version of Microsoft Office 2007 between March 5 and September 30, 2010, as explained here. In that case, you can download Office 2010 for free or get the DVD version for a fee (I can’t find how much this is).

Oddly, this means that potentially people can find copies of Office 2007 out there, which should begin to be heavily discounted, and get a free copy of Office 2010. Of course, the copies have to come from authorized retailers, which apparently is anyone but eBay and Craigslist, as those are the only two places singled out as not authorized (no authorized list is given).

Amazingly, you can even upgrade for free from recently purchased Office 2007 upgrade editions. In other words, you can buy a cheaper version of Office 2007 right now, if you can find it. Then you never need to use it. You just need the product ID to get a free version of Office 2010.

Right now on Amazon, Office Pro 2007 Upgrade is $300. That’s $160 less than the version of Office 2010 that it allows you to upgrade to. Crazy.

Also, Kelbyj who’s with Microsoft marketing, apparently judging from his Twitter bio, tweeted:

Re: upgrade pricing – Truth is not many users bought the upgrade so we optimized 4 new PC purchases.  Would love 2 chat more.

That does help to know.

Despite what some people may think, it’s easy to print from the iPad. No special drivers are needed, and many people already have an iPad-capable printer. Below, how to print from the iPad.

Step 1

First, you need to load what you want to print on the iPad. Above, I’ve loaded up my recent post about emailing with Steve Jobs about the size of iTunes updates.

Step 2

Next, prepare you printer. iPad-capable printers all have lids that open. Lift the lid.

Step 3

Send what you want to print from the iPad to the print queue. This is done by placing the iPad directly on top of the printer, in order to establish a strong analog connection.

Step 5

Use your printer’s “copy” command, which is specifically designed for analog printing. Voila! You’ve printed from the iPad:

Postscript: Derek Miller also pointed me to this similar post that I hadn’t seen from back in April on how to print from your iPad.

iTunes kindly notified me that it was time for yet another update today, making me again wonder why those “updates” have to be so large. Since Steve Jobs has been busy answering emails personally for many people, I figured why not, would he comment? And he did.

I wrote:

Hi Steve-

Why do iTunes “updates” require downloads of 90MB or more? Sure, broadband is far more common these days. But it still feels wasteful that you’re not making people update but rather download an entirely new software package.

And he wrote back:

It’s about the size of one downloaded album.  Not so big.

Sent from my iPad

I know, not so big. But still, I just think it could be a lot smaller. But hey, thanks for the response!

Yesterday, I wrote about how I’d shifted from my Macbook to Windows 7. Today, my Sony laptop stopped working. No joke. I’m sorry, Steve Jobs, I repent. I’m back on my MacBook now. Please spare me any further wrath.

My Windows 7 laptop is a Sony Vaio that I’ve had for nearly three years. As I explained in my post, it was giving me all types of problems I’d attributed largely to Vista — hibernation issues and battery warnings. Windows 7 cleared those up. But today, for some reason, my keyboard went out. First, I could no longer cut, copy and paste using CTRL X, C and V. Then I lost the ability to restore using CTRL Z. Then certain letters on the machine stopped working: i, j, m, u, z. Turns out, you really need all the letters of the alphabet to write.

I blame Sony more over Windows 7. The issues I had with that machine have always made me feel something wasn’t right. Prior to the Sony, I’d always owned Toshiba laptops. That’s the way I’d go, if I were to stay with Windows.

Of course, I probably won’t. Steve has me really scared now. Who knows what other powers he possesses?

Back in December, I debated whether I should dump the Mac. As circumstances would have it, Apple itself kind of tipped me over to Windows 7, which I’m currently using. Whether I’ll go back to my MacBook remains to be seen. So far, Windows 7 is pretty compelling.

Apple’s first mistake in pushing me away was providing me with a faulty MacBook. It died two weeks ago. It turned out to be a bad logic board, in the end. As I’d purchased AppleCare, the repair was covered on my two year old MacBook.

The people at my local Apple store were very nice. In fact, they even quickly pulled the hard drive out of my machine and grabbed an important Outlook file off it that I needed. But still, I was going to be without my Mac for a week — and since I was also going on vacation at the end of that week, that actually meant a two week hiatus.

I needed another machine, and here’s where Apple failed again. I’ve been waiting — and waiting — for the new rumored MacBooks. You know, the ones that supposedly have the super-fast i7 Intel quad-core processor? The ones that failed to get announced at the same time the iPad was unveiled. The ones that failed to get announced as part of Macworld.

If the new Macbooks had come out, I’d have upgraded before my old machine died and happily carried along. My big issue with my current Macbook has simply been that I’ve wanted more processing power. I run both Windows and Mac operating systems simultaneously, and for whatever reason, the Macbook just isn’t as snappy in doing that as in the past.

Rather than buying a new Macbook, I resurrected my old Sony Vaio that’s nearly three years old. This was the machine that, ironically, drove me to the Mac in the first place. It came with Vista, which was awful. It also seemed that Vista and the Sony kept deciding that both of my batteries were faulty. My laptop would just die for no apparent reason, which isn’t a good feature to have in a laptop. Putting the laptop into hibernation also caused it to go all blue screen of death.

When Windows 7 came out, I got a copy after a few weeks and installed it on the Sony. That’s pretty much seemed to solve the battery issue (very rarely, it still glitches). So when it was clear my Macbook would be gone for a long duration, I jumped onto the Sony and started using it actively.

Windows 7 is pretty nice. OK, it gave me my first blue screen of death today. That sucked. But the new taskbar, where you can hover and see active programs, is pretty handy. Programs themselves run well.

Where things really shine is for multi-monitor support. I recently outfitted my Macbook so that I could use four monitors (see My MacBook Pro Goes Multimonitor: 4 Monitors At Once!). Now, I’m using all those monitors with the Sony. Thanks to Ultramon, each monitor has its own taskbar (learn more about this in My Multimonitor Setup: Three Screens For One Computer). I find that a little easier for keeping track of everything that with the Mac, where you depend on the dock or that F3 /Expose thing.

It especially shines in that all my Windows applications can use all four monitors. On the Mac, they’re pretty much restricted to one single monitor. If I try to use Unity mode under VMWare, things just bog down too much. A faster Macbook would probably solve this — but as I’ve said, that’s not an option from Apple right now.

Why not just dump Windows entirely? That’s what I figured I should do back when I first debated leaving the Mac in December:

I’m coming to the conclusion I should jump one way fully — Mac or Windows, but not both. I should just give up Windows. Finally wean myself off Outlook despite (as I’ll explain in a future post), why Outlook remains a killer product. I’ve certainly enjoyed learning about image programs like Skitch or Aviary that have made the piggish Photoshop Elements largely unnecessary. Goodness knows I’m overdue to abandon FrontPage 2002 (Shut up! If you want a nice, clean HTML authoring tool for a writer, not for a designer, this is still a killer program). Surely I know I should transition more to cloud-based programs like Google Docs.

I started doing that with the Mac, to go all Mac. I tested out Office 2008 for the Mac — and discovered how awful Excel is in it compared to Office 2007 for Windows. I was clearing out my mail in Outlook to experiment with using Thunderbird. I was contemplating a move to Google Calendar even though it doesn’t understand that when I want to view a month at a time, that can mean 4 weeks across months (say mid-February through mid-March).

Then the Mac died. Suddenly, I was in an all-Windows environment. I didn’t even have to drag out my Office 2007 CD since Office 2010 is available online in beta. And since I was on one platform, my older Sony was pretty peppy running whatever I threw at it.

On Monday, I tried shifting back to my Mac. After about a day, I was done. I enjoyed too much the advantages of running my Outlook calendar on one screen, my Outlook mail on another, Microsoft Money on a third screen and so on. I can’t do that on my current Mac. And I want more time to transition away from from Windows. Also, in the wake of Google’s hacking attack, I’m a little less eager to jump into the cloud as I was in the past.

I sure do miss my Macbook’s keyboard, though. Apple even replaced my worn out N key! And my Mac’s screen is so much nicer, not to mention the look of the Mac overall. I also miss the ability to scroll with multitouch, though I depend on that more when I’m traveling than when I’m using a mouse back in the office.

In another sign that the move might be permanent, I pulled the extra 2GB of memory from my MacBook last night and put it into the Sony, which uses the same type. I’ll probably use the Sony on my next trip, too — since unlike the Mac, it can actually hibernate. That means save my current desktop state and shut down into extremely low power usage. The Mac will only “sleep,” which uses way more power. It hibernates only when it’s about to completely run out of juice, which isn’t handy.

Still, I’m holding out hope. There are some Mac programs like Skitch that I love and miss. If Apple gets the new Macbooks out quickly, I might go back. The clock’s ticking, Steve Jobs. Sure, I might get that shiny new iPad. But you might lose me on your cashcow, those overpriced real computers.

Postscript: So, um, that was a short move. See my follow-up post, Steve Jobs Is The Most Powerful Man Alive – He Breaks My Windows 7 Machine From Afar.

I’ve been a Mac user for nearly two years now. I’m seriously debating going back to Windows. Part of me doesn’t want to, feeling like I should make the jump entirely away. But a variety of reasons are making Windows appealing again, including cost, multi-monitor support and removable batteries.

I used to run a Windows desktop with three external monitors (see My Multimonitor Setup: Three Screens For One Computer). I loved my setup. I could have my email front and center, important as I do so much in email. Over on a side monitor, I could bring up a browser to check on some article I was reviewing. On another monitor, I could validate some strange search situation I might be reading about in that article. And back to my central monitor, I could easily bring up an editing window to write a blog post.

In addition, I used to use a Windows laptop. My last one was a Vista machine that kept crashing. That pushed me to the Mac. And soon after that, my desktop crashed. I began relying solely on my Mac. It let me run both Windows XP and Mac brilliantly. In the office, I’d have Windows running on an external monitor and the Mac running “down below” as I call it on the laptop screen (see My Mac & Windows Under VMware – Awesome!). On the road, I use the wonderful Spaces program on the Mac to toggle between my Mac “side” and my Windows “side” effortlessly.

I loved the simplicity of having a single machine. I was no longer trying to copy over all my date for long trips away. I’d just shut the lid and go. Life rocked.

Over time, it’s been rocking less. One problem is that I still missed having my three screens. I went from two 20″ screens and a 22″ wide screen in the middle to only the 22″ and a 15″ laptop. I explored some options to add a third (see Multiple Monitor Solutions For The MacBook Pro), but I never implemented these. In particular, I just worried that adding more displays to my laptop would be more of a processing drain.

Processing drain? Well, the Mac runs slower these days, it feels. I suspect the Mac is just like Windows. That over time, junk of all sorts builds up, and a clean install freshens stuff up. In the past, I got that freshening usually either through a computer crash (inconvenient!) or purchasing a new computer every two years.

Meanwhile, the Mac is hot. I mean burning hot. I’ve got a stand now that suck wind out from underneath to the degree I feel it could double as an aircraft engine. That helps, but what a pain. And when I’m traveling, I worry I’ll set light to my seat-back table on an airplane or my hotel desk.

I also have found VMWare to be more sluggish. If I let it auto-protect, it decides to do a backup whenever it’s damn well ready to do it, bringing everything to a halt. I finally had to shut that off. I’m also feeling like I’ve gone back in time, since my dual processor machine is devoting one processor to Windows and one to the Mac. Meanwhile, my connectivity within VMWare just sucks. For some reason, pages take forever to load in Firefox (or Chrome), regardless whether I’m in bridged or NAT mode.

I’m coming to the conclusion I should jump one way fully — Mac or Windows, but not both. I should just give up Windows. Finally wean myself off Outlook despite (as I’ll explain in a future post), why Outlook remains a killer product. I’ve certainly enjoyed learning about image programs like Skitch or Aviary that have made the piggish Photoshop Elements largely unnecessary. Goodness knows I’m overdue to abandon FrontPage 2002 (Shut up! If you want a nice, clean HTML authoring tool for a writer, not for a designer, this is still a killer program). Surely I know I should transition more to cloud-based programs like Google Docs.

But then there’s the cost. I keep thinking how nice a quad-core machine would be, even though I suppose I don’t need that much power, if I’m going cloud based. For the Mac, that’s like $2,500+. Oh, it comes with a beautiful 27″ monitor. But that’s another issue. I don’t know that I want one large monitor.

One thing I’ve realized is that Mac users are “maximizing” users. What I mean by that is that if you use a Mac, you’re putting windows all over the place, manually dragging them to the size you want, sometimes losing track of what’s open so that you need that F3 key that gives you an overview of everything.

On Windows, I think you tend to maximize the programs you’re using. OK, maybe it’s me. But still, rather than drag a bunch of stuff around on one huge monitor, I want to maximized and togging between stuff between multiple monitors using the Windows taskbar, which I think is better than the Mac dock.

Really, I want a Mac Mini that has a quad core and that could support three monitors. They don’t make that. I can get a dual processor that supports two monitors. If I do that, I still feel like my Windows experience will be slow.

Alternatively, I can get any number of nice Windows machines with tons of memory, quad processors and half the price. And I’ve got plenty of monitors sitting around. I’m swimming in extra monitors.

This brings up Windows 7. That old Vista laptop. Imagine that, putting Windows 7 on it makes it work just fine. And it feels better. It may be tha that the Mac got me through the Vista years.

So, I’m still debating all this. Now if Mac made a quad processor laptop that could run three displays, I’d have no debate. I’d even pay the premium — except for one issue. Non-removable batteries.

I used to do 11 hour flights. Often I’d have power, but still, having a spare battery is helpful. These days, my longest flight tends to be 6 hours. Having two batteries makes a huge difference. Oh, sure, the new Macbooks have  a 7 hour battery, supposedly. I don’t know if I believe that. I do know the many occasions I’ve found being unable to juice up, say coming off a flight and having to go right into a meeting or a conference. Having that removable, fully-charged battery is a life-saver.

As I contemplate this, all I can think is why don’t I have more choice with my Mac options. Do I really have to abandon them, because they don’t let me run three monitors as easily as I could do on Windows? Am I just not getting that I should use one or two big monitors instead.

In the end, I ultimately might just go with what I know, what works, the easy way — back to Windows, back to multiple monitors and stick with my Macbook for trips.

Postscript: See My MacBook Pro Goes Multimonitor: 4 Monitors At Once!, with thoughts on me still struggling at the end.

I’m leaving Windows further and further behind. First I went to the
Macbook
Pro. Then I moved my wife to a Macbook in March. Then when that crashed this week,
I went Linux — in the small form of an
Asus Eee PC. It’s an amazing computer. Windows what? Who
needs that?

A bad inverter cable (or so the Mac "geniuses" said) is to blame for the
Macbook’s LCD going out. Naturally, this happened a day after I shipped like six
or seven old Windows PCs and laptops with our stuff to California, any of which
would have sufficed as a temporary replacement until the repair was done.

Lorna couldn’t be without a computer for days, so I had to figure out
something. A cheap desktop? Not so cheap. A cheap laptop? Same thing — and I
really didn’t want yet another Windows machine around the house. Then I saw it
– an Asus Eee at our local PC World for about $400.

Hmm. But the screen and keyboard seemed so small? Could it drive an external
monitor and keyboard? Indeed, it could! The thing is loaded — USB ports, built
in WiFi, VGA out (1024×768 max) — even a card reader:

OK, this made sense. Cheaper than getting a new laptop, plus I could file the
expense away under the necessary new gadget category! So we got one, hooked up the monitor
and an old keyboard I had, and life was rocking:

The computer found the wireless easily. It recognized the USB keyboard no
problem. It has Firefox preinstalled. Everything Lorna uses is online (Yahoo
Mail, Google Docs, etc). I plugged it in, walked away and she was off.

Later, I wanted to know what else it could do. Open Office is installed. It
even has some cool games on it. That’s handy as I’ve been promising my oldest
son his own laptop. I was going to give him one of the old Windows machines. But
this thing fits his fingers just fine. Plus, I think it’s cool that his first
computer won’t be Windows, won’t be a Mac but instead Linux.

It might as well be one of the others, of course. That’s because the desktop
feels like them. A taskbar for open programs. A status bar with running
programs. Super easy to use and transition to.

Of course, I might steal it away if I want a really light computer for a day
trip. It’s tiny. Here’s it compared to the MacBook:

The screen is tiny, though.
There are nine inch ones are coming out in the
same form factor, which is cool. But it’s doing exactly what we need now!

Over the years, I’ve had a number of conversations with friends concerned
about how disposable (and wasteful) technology has become. Case in point — the
new printer I bought for less than the price of ink cartridges.

Until last week, I had three printers — a fairly modern HP all-in-one unit,
a Brother laser printer and my old HP all-in-one, a G95.

The first two we shipped, since we use them routinely, and they’ll work in
the US just fine. The G95 I figured we’d use until we moved for the odd print
job or copying we might need.

Unfortunately, I failed to check if the Mac supported it. Mac running Leopard
does not. Oh, HP will lie to you and say that Gutenprint makes it work. I bet
no one from HP has actually tried it. I know that
many report the same issue
I had. It would send the print job out but nothing would come back.

Annoying. I couldn’t believe I’d need to buy a new printer with weeks to go
here. But, I did need to print something. So, I started checking prices.

The local Argos had an HP printer for 19 pounds — about $40. Really? So cheap?
Absolutely, and complete with two regular print cartridges, too. I snapped it up
– it’ll get donated before we go.

It’s so cheap because it’s discontinued. Discontinued no doubt because some
other model with some incremental change has replaced it. And that model will
probably be cheaper than the print cartridges that go into it, since that’s
where the makers get their money. And it all seems so wasteful.

In about a week or so, the new 3G iPhones everyone is expecting will come
out. Suddenly people will want to dump their old phones, and plenty will. There
was probably no good reason a 3G iPhone couldn’t have come out last year — so
more waste. And no doubt in six or nine months, Apple will roll out some
slightly updated iPhone designed to make all the accessories that worked with
the old ones useless. And more iCrud will become iPollution.

A friend of mine said a few months ago that they "want to take better care of
my gadgets I’ve got." I loved that phrase. I especially love it after going
through an office full of outdated gadgets.

Do I really need that new thing? Do we really need to be so consumer-driven
that perfectly good stuff just gets tossed out. Why does everything have to have
a different power supply? Why do we need so many memory card formats?

Sigh.

I know, it’s nothing new that hasn’t already been said and better by others.
I just feel lost having no control over it. I can refuse to buy stuff, sure –
but then a Mac upgrade or something else makes it a necessity. Still, I’m going
to try.