E-Vista-rated
The new computer arrived on May 1 (May day, HAH!), and I've been futzing with it ever since. The new Microsoft Vista operating system on the new box is vastly different from previous OS's, and to make matters more complicated, I picked up the new MS Office 2007 that is supposed to work seamlessly with the new OS. The trouble is that it, too, is vastly different from previous versions of the office suite so it's been like trying to write left handed (for me, a right-hander) for the past 10 days.
Yes, it's faster and yes, it's sleek. I enjoy the newness, but the hiccups associated with loading familiar software and hardware are too numerous to chronicle here. I'll mention but a few ...
PRINTER
The new Vista box has no serial printer port so my trusty (albeit older) HP laser workhorse now must be put to pasture. I was only using it as a back-up, but I take no comfort in knowing that I now have no back-up. My practically brand new HP multi-function color laser printer installation CD wouldn't work with the new Vista OS, so I had to download an upgraded driver from the HP website. It would only recognize the color printer and not print in black & white (grrr). I worked around this by using the "add a printer" function in the new computer control panel and cherry picking an old B&W driver from the dysfunctional CD. Only now the damned thing won't scan (double grrrr). HP online support now advises that the full Vista-compatible download won't be available until the end of July (what a crock).
PIM
My all time favorite personal information management software (Daytimers) has now hit the wall. It survived Win 97 and Win XP, but it met its match in Vista. In search of a replacement PIM, I succeeded in synchronizing my Palm Zire with Outlook 2007 and I'll now give that a whirl. I'm not happy about it, but Outlook now has an added feature called "business contact manager" that may improve its past shortfalls. Hope springs eternal.
ADOBE ACROBAT
I can't get by in my business on just Acrobat Reader. But since my previous desktop computer crashed, I was unable to "de-activate" my full Acrobat v8, so my installation of this on the new box disallowed the activation claiming I was violating the 2-computer rule. These damned software packages are becoming real stool pigeons nowadays. So I called Adobe phone support and whined them into allowing this installation if I promised not to resurrect the old desktop. Whew !!
My only salvation has been the use of keyboard commands that are (so far) unchanged in both Vista OS and Office 2007. Otherwise, I find myself stopping mid-project numerous times a day to try and figure out stupidly simple tasks whose controls are now hidden in some clever new interface.
I'll be going on the road again soon and I somehow look forward to working on my old, slow XP laptop. It'll be like meeting up with an old friend after all this learning curve frustration.
Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com