When I came upon this paragraph, I laughed out loud: "Take two of my friends who recently made the upgrade to Windows 8.1 from
Windows 7. Upon installing the software, one of them said that “the
only way they could make it worse is if the right mouse click [would] be
replaced by smashing your right thumb with a hammer.” Another one
simply said that he “took my CPU back because of that crap” and switched
back to Windows 7."
For the record, I am neither a lover nor a hater of Windows 8 after my first few days on my new PC which came with Windows 8 (not Windows 8.1). Re-confirming my plan I am going to upgrade to Windows 8.1 after I get a little more experience.
What I have come to realize so far is that most of the new stuff in W8 has to do with the user interface. MOST of what we had gotten used to is still there, typically down a level or two. However, what irks the most is that the old "START/ALL PROGRAMS" method we all got so used to does not seem to have an acceptable replacement, and the old way is definitely gone and I have not figured out a way to get to the old familiar list. Instead, this, which I consider a major disppointment at best, is the replacement for START/ALL PROGRAMS:
This new ALL PROGRAMS list goes on and on to the right, and since I have a touch screen, I can easily scroll to the right with a simple swipe of my index finger.
So, bottom line, I like what I see but one must be prepared for some disappointments in the new user interface, especially after I/we have spent so many years getting used to and accepting of the old versions of Windows.
Stay tuned for more updates as I move forward with my W8 experience.
I have been struggling for a very long time about when or whether I should buy my next PC. I did NOT want to rush into Windows 8. Then along came Windows 8.1, and I gave a little. W8.1 supposedly fixed a lot of the issues that were complained about in W8. I will find out soon enough.
And then there was my concern for my PCDOC customers and students I am teaching. Some, now many many of you, have purchased or will soon purchase, new PCs,
Then there is my stubbornness about making Windows XP last. I have been (publicly) determined to have my XP systems last well beyond the end of support for XP in April of 2014. So my current status is that I have 2 machines that are running Windows XP. One of these has been my workhorse, but for the last 2 months it has been slowly dying on me, and I knew it wouldn't last forever. So it would be more correct to say I have one and a half XP machines!
The new machine I bought is a Dell Inspiron 15R. It has Windows 8 (not 8.1 - yet). It has a 1TB disk drive, 8GB of RAM, and a touch screen. It has an Intel Core i5-4200U CPU. This should last for a few years. Initially I will use it to document (in class handout form) a Windows 8 supplement to my growing library of student materials (now XP, Vista, and W7).
Once I am comfortable with W8 I will upgrade to Windows 8.1 - a free upgrade. At that point I will feel current. I have been falling behind.
After just an hour or so on my new machine I am playing music that lives on my W7 machine. I am also quite surprised at how easy it is to switch back and forth between the fancy W8 desktop and the traditional Windows desktop. I have added 2 photos below, one of each desktop window.
Much more to come - obviously, as I gain experience, but so far, so good!
I can't believe that I don't own a smartphone yet. It just boils down to the monthly charges for a smartphone. Right now I pay $35 a month to Verizon for virtually unlimited voice and text messaging. I just don't see the value - again for me - in doubling that fee or worse for the benefits I'd get. What surprises me is that I do like being out there on the technology curve and reaping the benefits. I guess in my old age I just struggle with the costs. Add to that the costs of cable, high speed internet, and land line and it gets rather ridiculous.
Nonetheless I have decided that if I do take the plunge it will be to an Android phone, and thus this post meant for me and like-minded others.
"These days, it seems like there's always a smarter, faster, bigger Android phone on the horizon.
Google's mobile operating system has managed to capture a record 80
percent share of the global smartphone OS market, according to research
firm Strategy Analytics.
That's thanks to Android's competitive licensing costs, a large,
ever-growing app store, and numerous hardware partners—HTC, LG,
Motorola, Samsung, and others offer multiple Android handsets on each
carrier.
And that's one of the best things about Android: Choice. At any given
time, on Verizon Wireless alone, there are at least 20 different
Android handsets to choose from. AT&T sells just as many, and
Sprint, T-Mobile, and the regional carriers also offer plenty of choices
these days. But how do you decide on the right one?" Read more.....
This is a good review of 6 of the top new features in Windows 8.1. For those of you on Windows 8, this is must reading. I think 8.1 looks pretty good. I'd probably wait 2 weeks or a month and watch the press for issues.
"Microsoft's just-launched Windows 8.1
upgrade is way more than a service pack, even though it's a free update
for Windows 8 users through the Windows Store. And, let's be frank,
even the operating system's most vocal supporters will probably agree
that Microsoft needs an update bigger than a service pack to change
Windows 8's somewhat rocky narrative. Yes, a lot of the changes are
tweaks and tightenings, but there are also plenty of new capabilities
like built-in support for 3D printing, Miracast display sharing, and a
new Web radio feature in the included Xbox Music app."
This comes from USA Today and will maybe help you figure out all the language concerning the microprocessors in today's electronic devices.
"Who cares about core processors? We do, and so should you if you plan to buy a new computer this year. Here's why:
If
you've been in the market for a new gadget lately, you've likely been
bombarded with tech jargon that sounds like a cross between a football audible
— i3, i5, i7 (hike!) — and a choice of Ivy League schools
(Snapdragon, Haswell, Ivy Bridge). I'm talking about various types of
core processors, which are like the heart and brains of our favorite
gadgets. Why should you care? For one, which one you choose makes a big
difference in cost — sometimes by thousands of dollars. Also, core
processors can play a big difference in how fast your gadget goes and
how long the battery lasts."
"NEW YORK — Not quite a year later, Microsoft's Windows 8.1 arrives
with considerably less drama than Windows 8, and that is to be
expected—the changes are far less radical than they were for consumers
who made the leap from Windows 7 to Windows 8.
But the latest
software promises to be a worthwhile update for anyone who bought a PC
and/or tablet with the Windows 8 operating system. And it represents a
critical test for Microsoft as it attempts to satiate critics, address
Windows 8 shortcomings, and ultimately improve the company's standing in
both the tablet and more traditional PC businesses.
The
8.1-update starts to arrive in the Windows Store at 7 a.m. ET Thursday,
and will be rolled out globally over the next 24 hours, Microsoft says.
Windows 8.1 will be available on new devices and in standalone retail
packaging on Friday.
So what doth the upgrade bring? The newest
version is more customizable than its predecessor, with more background
colors, and more variable sizes for the live tiles that have come to
define the Windows 8 experience, on computers and for that matter
smartphones.
Perhaps the biggest change you'll notice is the
return of a familiar Start button, located in "Desktop" mode in its
customary location at the bottom left corner of the taskbar. It's not
like you're completely going back to the future — clicking on the new
Start button returns you to the default tile-based Windows 8 Start
environment, known as the Modern UI with those colorful rectangular and
square tiles, some with live data for such things as weather, stocks,
e-mail and so on.
Microsoft in 8.1 also lets you boot up your PC
in the more traditional-looking Desktop environment if you prefer, or
stick with the default tile interface.
Microsoft's
better-integrated Sky Drive cloud-based locker takes on a more prominent
role in 8.1, and so does Bing search. If while searching, say, for a
performer such as Alicia Keys, you'll be able to stream some of her top
tracks in their entirety for free, provided via XBox Music. You'll also
see pictures of the artist, her birth date and a link to her Wikipedia
bio.
Multitasking gets better too in 8.1. Depending on the size of
your computer screen, you can display up to four apps side by side,
with the ability to alter the sizes of the windows that those apps
appear in.
The Windows Store where you'll find the new upgrade
also gets a design makeover. Microsoft says there are now 110,000 apps
in there, up from about 10,000 about a year ago. New and updated apps
are also continually being delivered to the place, a list that includes
Evernote, Facebook, Hulu Plus, Netflix, and NOOK.
It remains to be
seen, of course, how consumers and critics take to the changes,
aesthetically and feature-wise. But if you already bought into the
Windows 8 ecosystem, the 8.1-update is in the end a pretty big deal."
"Free doesn’t have to mean
cheesy, especially when it comes to freeware. A developer’s passion
project can become something you can’t imagine being without, and the
fact that you don’t have to lay out any cash to acquire it is a major
bonus. Some developers accept donations to further development, so
consider giving what you can if you find value in their efforts."
If you work at Facebook, your employer will already wash your underwear,
cut your hair, and feed you—now it's getting into the landlord game. The Wall Street Journal says
Zuckerberg will usher in the 21st century version of company towns, a
place where you can never truly leave the social network. Read…
It amazes me that this baseline security profile continues to work on all of our home systems, two Windows XP and two Windows 7. It has been a while since I have had to make a change. Note that these are all FREE programs!
From time to time I refer to my security baseline.
My security baseline is merely a list of programs I use (all free)
and recommend for anyone to use to keep their systems secure. This
applies to YOU if you use Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7. I do not yet have much experience with Windows 8, but have noticed when I get some hands-on time that Microsoft has replaced its Security Essentials with a built-in anti-virus called Windows Defender. For those of you who have been using Windows XP for a while, note that this is the same name as once used by Microsoft for its anti-malware program.
Remember, all of these products are FREE, but will do as good a job as any fee products you may use. I make that statement and stand by it based on 45 years of experience with computers.
1. Microsoft Security Essentials. This is a very impressive anti-virus program and can replace any you have now. DOWNLOAD HERE
2. Windows Firewall (Standard part of your operating system. Check the Security Center to be sure it is on.)
3. MVPS HOSTS File - download the current month's version and update monthly DOWNLOAD HERE
4. CCleaner - check for newer version than you may already have. Run weekly. DOWNLOAD HERE by clicking on Download Latest Version in the upper right hand corner of the page.
5. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware - run bi-weekly. DOWNLOAD HERE
6. SuperAntiSpyware Free Edition - run bi-weekly in the off week after #5. DOWNLOAD HERE
7. Spybot Search & Destroy - run monthly just before downloading new HOSTS file.I recommend, for now, downloading Version 1.6.2 under "old versions". DOWNLOAD HERE
I will be happy to assist you with any or all of the above installations. This can be done remotely.
Questions? Comment below or write me, pcdoc at brpcdoc dot com
Here is some good news for those of you who have Windows 8 and who may not be exactly thrilled with it. Some relief is coming. The referenced article comes from techradar.computing.
"Microsoft has revealed full details about the comprehensive update to Windows 8,
now known as Windows 8.1 and formerly known as Windows Blue. We've also
had plenty of time with the new update and are running it every day, so
check out our brand new Hands on: Windows 8.1 review.
The
Windows 8.1 release date is October 17 - it will be available to
existing Windows 8 users for free on Windows Update. It will be
available to buy in retail from October 18 and has already been released to manufacturers (this stage is known as RTM)."
"Whether you’re dealing
with your dad’s decade-old computer or your own custom-built gaming rig,
troubleshooting PC problems is a part of everyday life. Before you make
that $50 support call, though, try your hand at homebrew tech support.
We spoke to some of the best support reps in the business about the most
common problems they fix—and how you can do it yourself.
If you are serious about buying a new laptop, this is an excellent article. This is from PCWorld.com.
"So you’re heading back to school and you need a new laptop—but you
didn’t manage your finances over the summer. Your bank account is nearly
tapped out, and you still need to buy text books and lay in enough
ramen noodles to last through the winter.
Yeah, we’ve all been there. Fortunately, Moore’s Law is still in play,
so today’s budget notebook is yesterday’s workhorse. Pretty much any
modern laptop can handle the gamut of productivity chores—word
processing, number crunching, email, and the like—but all of the
machines in this roundup can also tackle media editing and encoding
sessions, and deliver respectable entertainment experiences.
To strike the best balance between performance and affordability, I
gathered the top five notebooks I could find for $650 or less. Benchmark
busters they’re not, but they aren’t budget busters, either."
"The first benefits of Google's $1 billion acquisition of map software service Waze will appear today.
Real-time traffic reports from Waze app users will now appear on the Google Maps app for Apple iOS and Android, says a blog post from Google.
The reports include accidents, road closures, construction and other incidents.
Meanwhile, Waze users will gain access to Google search and Street View. The updates to both services will be available today.
In
June, Google scooped up the Israeli startup for $1 billion in an effort
to bolster its already powerful Google Maps service. Social network
Facebook had been rumored to consider an acquisition of Waze prior to
the deal.
Waze is a social mapping app that provides turn-by-turn
directions and real-time incident reports filed by its community. The
app boasts about 30 million users."
OK, all-in-one PCs may not be the most popular tech items out there today, but there is still a market, and there are some pretty nice product offerings too. This article and table of the best 10 (in the author's opinion) product offerings comes from pcmag.com today. Of interest to me is that he includes offerings from Apple under the umbrella term PCs.
"The all-in-one desktop PC is an
interesting beast. It has gone from being the only game in town (think
Commodore Pet/Apple III/TRS-80) to a tiny niche (the original Apple
iMac) in a sea of tower PCs, to today, where the All-in-One PC is
replacing the tower PC as the form factor you picture in your head when
you hear the phrase "desktop computer.""
I found a link to this article today on boston.com. The link below to protecting electronic communications has lots of detailed information on how to proceed if you want to do something about this, but it gets pretty technical very quickly.
"In a recent court filing, Google admitted what
privacy researchers have warned for years: Users of the service have
“no expectation of privacy,” likening itself to a secretary who screens a
bosses snail mail. Here’s what you can do to change that.
As RT reported,
the assertion was made in response to a class-action suit regarding how
the company scans users’ emails for advertising purposes, such as
offering up vacation destinations when it can tell you’ve got time off
coming up.
But while the group that publicized the statement, Consumer Watchdog, claims that it’s a sign that Google does not respect users’ privacy,
the problem goes deeper: The concept of third-party, private hosted
email is almost fundamentally flawed, particularly now that it has come
to light that court orders can secretly get access to corporate servers
while preventing user notification.
Email was already deeply flawed since much of
it is transmitted unencrypted between servers unless a user adds on an
extra level of encryption such as PGP or GPG, and even then leaks of e-mail metadata are common.
Fortunately, Micah Lee of the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Electronic Frontier Foundation has put together a good, relatively comprehensive guide on protecting electronic communications,
and the better news is that much of what you need to do is not that
hard, and is getting easier. And that means that, no matter what GMail
or any other corporation, government, or hacker wants, you have major
control in keeping your privacy protected.
“But even with direct access to all the data
traveling at the speed of light through the Internet’s backbone
fiber-optic cables, even with cooperation of the major United States
tech companies (which are extremely difficult for people to boycott),
the largest, most powerful, and best funded surveillance apparatus that
humanity has ever seen cannot defeat mathematics.”"
While online data storage services claim your data is encrypted, there
are no guarantees. And with government surveillance programs crawling
the web for metadata and email, there's little doubt online privacy can
exist without strong safeguards.
This is very interesting: "Taken together, the closures signal that e-mails, even if they are
encrypted, can be accessed by government authorities and that the only
way to prevent turning over the data is to obliterate the servers that
the data sits on."
"Google's Android software continues to steamroll the competition in
smartphones, posing bigger problems for companies like Apple and
BlackBerry.
New data Wednesday from research firm IDC found that Apple's share of
the global market slid to 13.2 percent in the second quarter from 16.6
percent in the year-earlier period. Handsets running Android, meanwhile,
jumped to 79.3 percent from 69.1 percent.
The signs are particularly ominous for one-time market leader
BlackBerry, despite some high-profile product announcements recently.
Devices running its software accounted for just 2.9 percent of global
smartphone shipments in the three months ended in June, compared with
4.9 percent for the same period in 2012.
Android is given away free to handset makers by Google, whose
strategy is to make money on advertising associated with mobile devices.
It has long powered smartphones offered by industry giant Samsung, but
has lately also benefited by Chinese companies such as Lenovo, Huawei
and ZTE. that are grabbing a bigger chunk of the smartphone market.
"You are seeing tremendous growth in the developing world," said
Steve Mollenkopf, president and operating chief of mobile chip giant
Qualcomm Inc. Companies selling there are "picking up Android and
driving that.""
I am posting this for new visitors and regulars who might need a refresher. I
continue to use this suite of programs and aids and have no problems on
any of our 3 systems, two running Windows 7 and one running Windows XP. One of my objectives is to continue running Windows XP long after the end of Microsoft support in April of 2014.
From time to time I refer to my security baseline.
My security baseline is merely a list of programs I use (all free)
and recommend for anyone to use to keep their systems secure. This
applies to YOU if you use Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7. The only difference in Windows 8 is that Windows 8 comes with its own Anti-virus program. It is called Windows Defender. It too is free.
Remember, all of these products are FREE, but will do as good a job as any fee products you may use. I make that statement and stand by it based on 45 years of experience with computers.
1. Microsoft Security Essentials. This is a very impressive anti-virus program and can replace any you have now. There is no need to pay a fee for an anti-virus program. DOWNLOAD HERE
2. Windows Firewall (Standard part of your operating system. Check the Security Center to be sure it is on.)
3. MVPS HOSTS File - download the current month's version and update monthly DOWNLOAD HERE
4. CCleaner - check for newer version than you may already have. Run weekly. DOWNLOAD HERE by clicking on Download Latest Version in the upper right hand corner of the page.
5. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware - run bi-weekly. DOWNLOAD HERE
6. SuperAntiSpyware Free Edition - run bi-weekly in the off week after #5. DOWNLOAD HERE
7. Spybot Search & Destroy - run monthly just before downloading new HOSTS file.I recommend, for now, downloading Version 1.6.2 under "old versions". DOWNLOAD HERE
I will be happy to assist you with any or all of the above installations. This can be done remotely.
Questions? Comment below or write me, pcdoc@brpcdoc.com
"There is absolutely no question at this point that tablets are
responsible for the global decline in PC sales. This was an
inevitability that top market research firms fought at first in an
effort to guard their clients, but the numbers don’t lie: PC sales are falling as tablet sales skyrocket.
There are still signs of life for PCs though, and one is that people
for whom work is a priority still need the software and multitasking
benefits afforded by laptops and desktops. Recent market research from
Deloitte found that 82% of college students own computers and 80% own
smartphones, but just 18% own tablets. “The combination of smartphones
and laptops makes the tablet redundant for students,” Deloitte’s Brent
Schoenbaum told MarketWatch. Dealnews.com’s Louis Ramirez added that “unless you’re shooting for a degree in Angry Birds, tablets are a horrible back-to-school purchase.”
This comes from David Pogue of the New York Times:
"Ever hear the old saying, “Information wants to be free?” Well, here’s a corollary for you: “TV wants to be à la carte.”
Take the story of the iTunes store. The instant somebody offered the
chance to buy songs individually, the world changed forever. Hello,
music à la carte. Goodbye, Tower Records.
Now it’s cable TV’s turn.
We are engaged in a great civil movement, testing whether that business,
or any business so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. The
number of people who cut the cord, or cancel the satellite, in favor of
getting all their TV from the Internet is still small — maybe 1 percent
of us a year. But the online alternatives to cable TV are growing. And
once it becomes simple and easy to get Internet video from our laptops
and phones to the actual television, well, the term “TV drama” will have
a whole new meaning.
Actually, that has just happened. Google’s new Chromecast gizmo is the
smallest, cheapest, simplest way yet to add Internet to your TV. It
looks like a portly flash drive or maybe a fat keychain — and it costs
$35. That’s not a typo."
"The U.S. government has demanded that major Internet companies divulge
users' stored passwords, according to two industry sources familiar with
these orders, which represent an escalation in surveillance techniques
that has not previously been disclosed.
If the government is able to determine a person's password, which is
typically stored in encrypted form, the credential could be used to log
in to an account to peruse confidential correspondence or even
impersonate the user. Obtaining it also would aid in deciphering
encrypted devices in situations where passwords are reused."
I installed Dashlane on my XP laptop. I couldn't install it on my Windows 7 desktop due to a technical problem: Dashlane was unable to detect my internet connection (a hard-wired, hich-speed connection). It seems to me that their error message was not describing what their REAL problem was. I wrote their support team 2 days ago, but no reply yet.
I installed Dashlane on my XP laptop last night and this morning I UNINSTALLED it! I did not like it at all. I think their problem is that they do not have very user-friendly prompts or instructions.
Although I dd not exactly recommend it on June 8, I can say unequivocally today thet I DO NOT RECOMMEND DASHLANE.
If you try it and like it, please let me know. I would be glad to hear your two cents.
Okay, perhaps it's a little early to christen Microsoft's Windows 8 as the heir-apparent to its Vista operating system.
Microsoft hears the complaints loud and clear and is doing what it can to avoid another total disaster. For those of you already suffering with Windows 8 you might be interested in this PCmag.com article.
As for me, my laptop runs Windows XP and my desktop runs Windows 7. I like them both very much. I intend to keep running XP for as long as the hardware lasts. As most know, Microsoft will stop adding updates to Windows XP in April 2014. Won't that be loverly? Just imagine, no more annoying and nagging reminders that you have updates to run! I love the thought, and just hope that the old iron keeps chugging along.
"If you have access to a scanner, writing your name solidly in dark
ink in on white paper and scanning the page is one way to go. Once you
save the image file of your signature, you can insert it into Word
documents, PDF files or as an image in your e-mail program’s signature
area. (When saving the scanned file, choosing the black-and-white bitmap
or PNG formats may result in a crisper signature, but the JPG format is
more common.)
If
you do not have a scanner — but have a smartphone — a free or
inexpensive document-scanning app can capture an image of your
signature; many of these can also convert photos of documents into PDF
files or images. Some apps can also directly digitize your signature, so
you may want to browse around your phone’s online store to see what
solution works best for you."
I love my SOS Online Backup service. I regularly back up all of my important files on their systems in "The Cloud". It is very comforting to know that should I lose any of the 45,385 digital photos I have taken since 2001, I can download them in a matter of minutes from SOS. Same goes for all of my Music files, Video files, and miscellaneous Documents of all sorts.
When I first started with SOS I backed up my data on a daily basis, but now I have gained a lot of confidence in SOS and back up weekly.
If you are looking for an affordable solution to your back up needs, consider SOS. They are the best!
(Did I mention their technical support is superb?)
This is one password management program that really sounds good, and it's free! Furthermore, it is recommended by David Pogue.
“If you want to avoid having your identity stolen, use long passwords
that contain digits, punctuation and no recognizable words. Make up a
different password for every Web site. And change all of your passwords
every 30 days.”
"Have these security pundits ever listened to themselves?
That advice is clearly unfollowable. I currently have account names and
passwords for 87 Web sites (banks, airlines, blogs, shopping, e-mail,
Facebook, Twitter). How is anyone — even a security professional —
supposed to memorize 87 long, complex password strings, let alone
remember which goes with which Web site?
So most people use the same password over and over again, and live with the guilt.
There are solutions. Most Mac and Windows Web browsers now offer to
memorize passwords for you. But that feature doesn’t work on all Web
sites, and is generally of little help when you pick up your phone or
tablet. At that point, the only person you’ve locked out of all your
online accounts is you.
The only decent solution is to install a dedicated password memorization program (like Roboform, KeePass, LastPass, 1Password, and so on). Last week, one of the best was just improved: Dashlane,
now at 2.0. It’s attractive, effective, loaded with timesaving features
and available for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android — and it’s free."
"The Galaxy S4 is one of the most impressive phones on the planet, but a
troubling trend has emerged and it calls Samsung's long-term strategy
into question. This sleek Samsung smartphone will definitely get
customers in the door, but is the company doing enough to ensure that
they keep coming back?"
From the New York Times (I highlighted the last few words - the red highlighted section):
"With Windows 8, Microsoft
made bold changes to the look of the software that powers most personal
computers. But those moves may have been too aggressive for some
customers, the company now concedes.
Microsoft revealed Thursday that it had sold 100 million licenses for
its flagship software since it was released six months ago. That was
roughly the same number of licenses it sold for the well-received,
previous version of the system, Windows 7, in about the same time
period.
Yet Windows 8 has struck a sour note with parts of the computer-buying
public. With Windows 8, Microsoft replaced the operating system’s
traditional appearance with an interface that looks like a screen of
tiles. The change left some customers cold, and though they could switch
between the old and te new look, it apparently was not clear enough to
some of them how to do it."
"Did you know that computer viruses can now take pictures of you or
worse yet, live video? Well they can, and I’ve witnessed it! It’s a
pretty scary thing; who knows what kind of information we are
unknowingly giving these people. The question is this…is someone really
recording the video or is it in the virus programmed to scare you?
Either way, don’t take the risk! Here are a few things you can do to
protect yourself.
1.) Tape your webcam if you’re not using it or face it towards the ceiling.
2.) Unplug your microphone when you’re not using it.
3.) Check your add-ons in Chrome, FireFox and Internet Explorer.
4.) Hang up on anyone calling you to tell you that your computer is infected.
5.) When adding new software, beware of the new software they will
load on your computer, such as the “Ask Toolbar,” “Mcafee Security
Scan,” etc.
6.) If you suspect you may have a virus, have your computer looked at by a professional (like Call That Girl!) ASAP."
I should add, with all due respect to Lisa, you might also consider calling me!
I was in on the ground floor of marketing this "luggable" Portable Computer. My recollection was that it weighed 48 pounds, and I lugged it all over downtown Boston, up to Salem and then on to NH and even Maine! That was my sales territory. I tried to sell it as a portfolio manager in downtown Boston, to chicken farmers in Maine to optimize feed grain mixtures at the lowest cost through linear programming, to a commodities house in Boston, to engineers in Salem, MA, and on and on. We had to be very creative because there were NO "apps" as they are called today, so any prospect was faced with programming the machine on their own using BASIC or APL, the 2 languages available on the 5100.
Our team of 5 was housed in an IBM Branch Office on Wyman Street in Waltham, MA, and I commuted daily from Hampstead, NH to Waltham, although I tried to make sales calls without having to go to the office. My recollection is that during the one year before the program began falling apart I had sold 5 machines. They ranged in price from a few thousand dollars up to maybe fifteen thousand. We sold auxiliary tape drives (it had one built in) for tape to tape operations, and a very heavy dot matrix, continuous forms printer.
I am glad to see that the product has not been completely forgotten. It was a necessary program by IBM in its first attempt to market computers at the retail level using a dedicated sales force.
I think if I search some boxes full of photo albums I could come up with a picture of our sons using it as it sat on our kitchen counter up there in NH. Our kids were clearly way ahead of their peers in those days having access to a home computer!
I found this article on wired.com: I thank them for remembering, if not us, the product!
"IBM sparked a revolution in personal computing when it unveiled the
IBM PC in 1981. But the IBM PC wasn’t IBM’s first personal computer.
Six years earlier, Big Blue unleashed a machine called the IBM 5100.
It wasn’t just personal. It was portable — at least by the standards of
the day. It weighed a mere 50 pounds.
In the video below — an IBM ad circa 1977 — you can see the 5100 in
all its glory, from the VHS-like magnetic tape drive to the five-inch
monochrome display. But the machine is only part of the fun. You also
get late-’70s business types telling you why they need the thing.
“Managing real estate investments involves many difficult decisions. Do I
paint now or later? What about the landscaping? Can we afford it? What
about taxes?” says one woman. “It’s really nice having a computer to
help.”
The 5100 wasn’t the first personal computer. The MITS Altair beat it
to market by a few months. But it was the first portable computer —
arguably. Fifty pounds may seem bulky today — and, no you couldn’t use
it unless you plugged it into the wall — but the 5100 arrived at a time
when most machines were still the size of your desk. If not larger.
The 5100 grew out of an IBM project called SCAMP, short for “Special
Computer APL Machine Portable.” Like the 5100, this prototype let you
build software using the APL programming language. According to IBM,
SCAMP was built in 1973, using off-shelf components, and two years
later, it morphed in the 5100, which was priced between $8975 to $19,975
(sans accessories). It could also run BASIC, and it shipped with
several canned application, including a calculator.
The IBM PC was billed as the successor to the 5100. It was known as
the 5150. But it was a completely different machine, and because IBM
eventually licensed the basic design to other manufacturers, it would
remake the computing world in a way the 5100 never did.
Posted for new visitors and regulars who might need a refresher. I continue to use this suite of programs and aids and have no problems on any of our 3 systems, two running Windows 7 and one running Windows XP.
From time to time I refer to my security baseline.
My security baseline is merely a list of programs I use (all free)
and recommend for anyone to use to keep their systems secure. This
applies to YOU if you use Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7. I do not yet have experience with Windows 8.
Remember, all of these products are FREE, but will do as good a job as any fee products you may use. I make that statement and stand by it based on 45 years of experience with computers.
1. Microsoft Security Essentials. This is a very impressive anti-virus program and can replace any you have now. DOWNLOAD HERE
2. Windows Firewall (Standard part of your operating system. Check the Security Center to be sure it is on.)
3. MVPS HOSTS File - download the current month's version and update monthly DOWNLOAD HERE
4. CCleaner - check for newer version than you may already have. Run weekly. DOWNLOAD HERE by clicking on Download Latest Version in the upper right hand corner of the page.
5. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware - run bi-weekly. DOWNLOAD HERE
6. SuperAntiSpyware Free Edition - run bi-weekly in the off week after #5. DOWNLOAD HERE
7. Spybot Search & Destroy - run monthly just before downloading new HOSTS file.I recommend, for now, downloading Version 1.6.2 under "old versions". DOWNLOAD HERE
I will be happy to assist you with any or all of the above installations. This can be done remotely.
Questions? Comment below or write me, pcdoc at brpcdoc dot com
