Windows 7 Adventures

I would like to upgrade both my Dell Inspiron 9100 laptop and my Dell Dimension E-510 desktop to Windows 7.  I was not unhappy with XP, and skipped Vista all together, but I'd like to stay current.  I'm eligible for a student copy, but missed out on the really reduced price by not ordering before 12/31/09.  I needed a few hardware upgrades -  added memory to the laptop over the summer, and also added memory to the desktop and replaced the DVD-RW on the desktop after the holidays. Like a typical home user, I hadn't backed up since my last upgrade and it was time I learned how to do back-ups.  I got an external enclosure to convert an unused 80 gig internal hard drive to an external USB drive for back-ups and storage.  The XP back-up utility does a pretty good job for backing up documents and settings, and I found a decent disk imaging program called Macrium Reflect - free for personal use.  Once I had a handle on the back-up thing, I installed W-7 on the laptop - because it had the least amount of things to restore should everything fail.  W-7 Upgrade advisor indicated that the system required a custom install, but was compatible.  There were 3 yellow flags and one red flag indicated for programs, but none of them appeared to be important, so I proceeded with the install.  After the install, everything appeared to be OK, except for sound, which was NOT one of the yellow flags. I went to the Dell website for a driver, and Dell indicated that the Inspiron 9100 was NOT compatible with Windows 7 and no updated sound driver was available. At this point, I chose to restore XP using the Macrium Reflect restore (which was flawless - great little program). I spoke to my son and he said that I could use the XP driver for sound. So I attempt the installation again. This time, my CD product key is invalid, so I can't complete the installation. I'm re-installing on the same computer, so I have no idea why my product key is now invalid. The support website that came with the CD says to call Microsoft. I call Microsoft, and a very nice tech informs me that since it is a student copy, I have to contact the educational distributor for a new CD key. Of course, this is a holiday weekend, so I will not be able to get any live help until Tuesday. 

Did you send e-cards this year?

I did.  Not because I'm "green" or thrifty or anything like that. I sent some paper cards, too, with the family update and all.  But I was very late getting started and didn't get the first batch mailed out until Monday.  So the rest were e-cards.  Very good for procrastinators.

Online shopping rocks!!

Even a procrastinator like me just got some great discounts & free shipping.  All items in stock & promised by 12/18/09.  K-Mart/Sears saved me tax, too.  Their free shipping offer calculated the shipping, deducted it from the total before calculating tax & then added a lesser shipping charge on the new total.  Sounds convoluted, but it resulted in additional savings.

Another Curves franchise closing

I haven't always been consistent, but I like exercising at Curves.  The equipment is hydraulic, designed for women, and doesn't require adjusting or setting weights.  The one I belonged to changed locations in 2006, then closed this summer.  I transferred my membership to another location, and now it is closing too.  I can transfer again, but will probably just drop it and try to motivate myself to use the Gazelle.

Cable TV

I have been very frustrated by my cable TV provider, which is also my internet & phone provider. The VOIP phone system has always been a problem, but it is cheap and we have cell phones.  The current problems started last month when their website for online payment was shut down for upgrades.  I called to pay my bill by phone and got hoodwinked into signing up for Broadstripe forever.  A couple of days later, I noticed I had lost all of my premium channels.  I called support, and they sent a tech to troubleshoot, who told us we were no longer enrolled for any premium channels.  I called support again, and told them to switch me back to my old plan.  We got the premium channels back on one box, but not on the other.  I called again, and they sent a tech to replace the boxes.  Then, we had the premium channels, but were still missing EWTN, which I had before all this switcheroo.  I called again, they resent the signal, and now we had EWTN, but lost the premium channels again.  Finally, after about the 6th call, I have all the channels I had prior to being hoodwinked.  In the middle of all this, I got a cable bill for $254.  No way do I intend to pay that much for cable TV.  After a few more phone calls, they found the billing error.  I've had the same cable provider for over 20 years, but they've changed hands 2 or 3 times.  This last change has me thinking of switching to FIOS or Comcast - both are available in my area.  The price for FIOS is about the same.  Comcast is slightly less, but didn't offer the Western channels that hubby likes except in their most expensive package.  I could live without cable TV - could get me a digital converter for broadcast TV, sign up for Netflix, and be happy with it.

New grandaughter

Daughter & son-in-law have new baby girl.  Lily, 6 lb, 2 oz, 18 inches.  Born 6:59 am Oct. 9, 2009.  That makes 6 grandchildren.    

Star Wars in Concert

http://www.baltimorearena.com/event-more-info.shtml?e_id=246

I might want to go to this.