The Technology Curve...

[Jonathan Randall]

Anybody getting tired of trying to keep up with technology? Recently, I purchased an Acer Iconia 500 tablet PC (refurbished at a substantial discount). Since then, the 200,501, and now, 510, have come out. The 510 has 4X times the capability of my current tablet. Should I spend 400.00 - 500.00 to upgrade? Heck no! No freakin' way!

And now my Lenovo laptop - only a year old - is slowing down (too much software installed). Should I drop it and buy that new Toshiba?

Seriously, I wish life would slow down. New tech was cool when I was, like, 25 years old. At 45, it is an incredible annoyance - and expense.

VHS - I don't lament its loss one bit. DVD to Blu-Ray discs? Expensive upgrade generally not worth it if you have already have the DVD and an HDMI capable Blu-Ray player that upscales DVD's to near high-definition.

Thoughts?

[Erik]

Never, ever buy the first release of anything. That's my thought on this.

I still run a pc that's over 8 years old. Just keep it clean from malware and don't update the OS if you can help it. As often as not those updates just bloat the OS, slowing things down and encouraging you to buy an upgrade.

[rainesr]

I usually run a PC for a few years. Technology (not all I guess) is at a point where double or even quadruple the capacity is not necessarily perceivable in a meaningful way. As long as I can do what I need to and a fair chunk of what I want, I don't worry about upgrades.

Tablets, especially the Androids, are still new and will move very fast for a while yet. That is why I don't have one. As far as laptops, I avoid the more high end models. They are very expensive and tend to break down more often than a middle of the road model.

High end Macs seem to be the only durable laptops that have a ton of features and capability.

~Rob

[sean_stonehart]

I run PCs into the ground... or melting point, whichever comes first. Then I build a new one from scratch with bleeding edge hardware/software.

Phones I trade out once I can.

Just got my first tablet (iPad3) so I don't know yet on how I'll work this one through.

[Erik]

I only update when my PC won't do something I want it to or need it to.

Only thing that has made me upgrade in the past, say, 10 years, have been new releases from Relic like Company of Heroes.

Otherwise, for internet, MS Orifice, playing music, the old stuff is just fine.

[rainesr]

I'm thinking of going with a Mac for my next Desktop or I may build my own and run OS X on it. Not sure yet. I need something to run iTunes and I won't pay for Windows anymore. Apple needs to write an iTunes for Linux, then I would be all set.


~Rob

[cejames]

Hi, All:

First, I work in IT at a major University IT organization. I was the go to tech guy for my department for many years. I also was a Windows/PC guy and I have an extensive back ground in Security so finally about a year or so ago I got hacked. I was the actual first system hit by this nefarouos virus and fought for days to try and rescue my system.

I got so aggravated by the Windows systems that I finally made the choice to switch, to the iMac, and I am so pleased that I could scream every morning when I log in and log on.

I am a true believer and even tho a IT guy also feel overwhelmed with the speed and degree of technological invasion and would rather go peacefully into the wild of non-techno life but alas we are stuck. I like the old saying:

Technology is far outdistancing man's humanity and we need to allow humanity to catch up but again, alas, not going to happen as long as the supply and demand remain so high.

Consider today's technology one that has brainwashed the youth today they cannot live without and since it involves "instant and rapid gratification" like orgasm of sex it ain't disappearing any time soon or even slowing down.

Sigh, get a mac or imac mac laptop or better yet an iPad,

You will be glad you did,

Charles J.

[Jonathan Randall]

I usually run a PC for a few years. Technology (not all I guess) is at a point where double or even quadruple the capacity is not necessarily perceivable in a meaningful way. As long as I can do what I need to and a fair chunk of what I want, I don't worry about upgrades.

Tablets, especially the Androids, are still new and will move very fast for a while yet. That is why I don't have one. As far as laptops, I avoid the more high end models. They are very expensive and tend to break down more often than a middle of the road model.

High end Macs seem to be the only durable laptops that have a ton of features and capability.

~Rob

Yes, I agree about high-end laptops. The Lenovo I purchase a year ago cost $370.00 (or thereabouts). That's a little too extreme on the low-end, so the next one will probably be a mid-grade. The Lenovo has been great for the money, though. Beautiful little laptop.

Androids are evolving at the speed of light. However, since I use mine mostly as an e-reader running Barnes and Noble's Nook application, you are right, I would not notice a 4X speed difference with the new Iconia.

My next major PC will probably be a Mac. Right now, I'm using an HP from WalMart: the "blue light special", lol. Still, even a year after its purchase, it runs pretty quickly and for $500.00, I can't complain. I did have to put in a new DVD drive, though, as the original was a POS.

[rainesr]

Come to think of it my sister has a Lenovo, that thing won't die. She has had it for nearly 5 years and it has taken a beating.

I have bought the high end laptops and they just do not add enough value to justify the cost. I don't play games or do anything intensive on laptops so why bother.

My wife started down the Apple devices route and now we are stuck with iTunes, otherwise I would only run Linux (No iTunes for Linux). Since Windows more or less disgusts me, I will just submit to Apple's plan of world domination.

~Rob

[Jonathan Randall]

Come to think of it my sister has a Lenovo, that thing won't die. She has had it for nearly 5 years and it has taken a beating.

I have bought the high end laptops and they just do not add enough value to justify the cost. I don't play games or do anything intensive on laptops so why bother.

My wife started down the Apple devices route and now we are stuck with iTunes, otherwise I would only run Linux (No iTunes for Linux). Since Windows more or less disgusts me, I will just submit to Apple's plan of world domination.

~Rob

Lenovos are, to put it simply, marvelous machines with just about the best price/performance ratio out there. Unfortunately, they are made in China...

I would run Linux, but don't feel like putting the time in to learn a new system - again.

Windows 7 is actually not too bad. Certainly no equal of OS X, though. Like you, I have iTunes. Too late - and expensive - for me to change midstream. That's the Apple way...

[Erik]

I got a dell. It's not quite crap but it's not great. I'll go for a Lenovo next time. Poor reliability (like the Dell) and abysmal, piss poorthem service (like Dell) annoy me.

Honestly, though, I just don't like Apple products. I find their businesses practices offensive, their UI is dumbed-down to the point getting stuff done is inconvenient, and the Mac is always hanging on me. No taskbar and not exiting an app by clicking a window annoys me, too. I don't understand why people like them so much. Maybe I've been in the Windows world so long that I just know how to live with it.

[rainesr]

The thing about Apple products isn't that they are innovative or even creative, its that they work and they work like a human (not an IT pro) expects things to work. I think they must have a team of Human interface experts/designers that they rely on far more than software developers. My mother can sit down and use a Mac or iPhone even though she never used one before. She can not do that with Windows and most certainly not Linux/FreeBSD/UNIX type OSs.

~Rob

[Erik]

My mom can, too, but I cannot find anything on a Mac.

No right button, getting file extensions to show up, and closing a friggin' app so all the RAM isn't taken up by 1,001 apps Mom thought she had closed, barely visible indicator of apps running on that pseudo-taskbar, and no task/thread manager readily available, all these drive me nuts. And, for some reason, with me Macs crash or hang far frequently than Windows devices. Maybe I'm just apple-jinxed.

[Webmaster]

No right button, getting file extensions to show up, and closing a friggin' app so all the RAM isn't taken up by 1,001 apps Mom thought she had closed, barely visible indicator of apps running on that pseudo-taskbar, and no task/thread manager readily available, all these drive me nuts. And, for some reason, with me Macs crash or hang far frequently than Windows devices. Maybe I'm just apple-jinxed.

Hmm, I've been using Windows since it was version 1.0 and before that MS-DOS. I switched to a Mac about five years ago (for exactly the same reason that James mentioned above) and have not had the problems you are experiencing. I have a mouse with a right-button, file extension can be made visible with a simple preference change, and closing apps is no big deal. There is even an app like Task Manager called Activity Monitor (in /Applications/Utilities folder) that is far superior. Every single issue you stated Erik can be either changed through preferences or by free add-on products.

[Erik]

I'll look into Activity Monitor.

Is there a way to close an app without going to file-->close or pressing ctrl-q?

How much space is an app taking up when its windows are just closed?

Since my wife and parents use Macs and call me to solve their (self-created) problems, this is the kind of stuff I've been noticing. I haven't installed any extra utility apps nor plugged in a 3-button USB mouse because they aren't my computers.

And how do I restart a frozen Mac? Hold down the 0/1 button for a few seconds? Is there anything like ctrl-alt-del to call up the Activity Monitor so I can see what is hanging the device? Maybe they hang less frequently but I remember it more because it's been harder to un-hang.

[Webmaster]

I'll look into Activity Monitor.

Is there a way to close an app without going to file-->close or pressing ctrl-q?

How much space is an app taking up when its windows are just closed?

Since my wife and parents use Macs and call me to solve their (self-created) problems, this is the kind of stuff I've been noticing. I haven't installed any extra utility apps nor plugged in a 3-button USB mouse because they aren't my computers.

And how do I restart a frozen Mac? Hold down the 0/1 button for a few seconds? Is there anything like ctrl-alt-del to call up the Activity Monitor so I can see what is hanging the device? Maybe they hang less frequently but I remember it more because it's been harder to un-hang.

Erik, try this link for lots of keyboard shortcuts, including quitting an application.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343

I cannot answer that question concerning memory when an app is open but the window is closed. Check out Activity Monitor and see if you can compare a few apps in both states.

Get your parents a standard mouse and it will work just fine on a Mac. Also, the Apple Magic Mouse is awesome. No visible buttons on the mouse, but if you "click" on the left side, it's a left click. Click on the right side, and it's a right click.

How to unfreeze a Mac? I've had it happen so infrequently that I am not sure, but I do know that holding down the power button will shut things down and unlike a Windows machine, will not hose up your computer.

[jjaje]

Hi, All:

First, I work in IT at a major University IT organization. I was the go to tech guy for my department for many years. I also was a Windows/PC guy and I have an extensive back ground in Security so finally about a year or so ago I got hacked. I was the actual first system hit by this nefarouos virus and fought for days to try and rescue my system.

I got so aggravated by the Windows systems that I finally made the choice to switch, to the iMac, and I am so pleased that I could scream every morning when I log in and log on.

I am a true believer and even tho a IT guy also feel overwhelmed with the speed and degree of technological invasion and would rather go peacefully into the wild of non-techno life but alas we are stuck. I like the old saying:

Technology is far outdistancing man's humanity and we need to allow humanity to catch up but again, alas, not going to happen as long as the supply and demand remain so high.

Consider today's technology one that has brainwashed the youth today they cannot live without and since it involves "instant and rapid gratification" like orgasm of sex it ain't disappearing any time soon or even slowing down.

Sigh, get a mac or imac mac laptop or better yet an iPad,

You will be glad you did,

Charles J.

But isn't the greatest rise in "getting hacked" platform neutral these days? That hacking is now being done via the web browser, phishing and what not, and the hardware/OS makes less difference.

[rainesr]

But isn't the greatest rise in "getting hacked" platform neutral these days? That hacking is now being done via the web browser, phishing and what not, and the hardware/OS makes less difference.

No not really, attacks via the web/email have become popular but they still have to execute code on a computer, primarily the one being attacked. It is not trivial to execute Windows specific instructions on say a Mac or Linux.

Also why break into Macs or Linux, that something like <5% of all desktops. Presumably an attacker has goals, they will probably be realized faster by breaking into the other 95% of the desktops out there. In my experience Microsoft software is way easier to root anyway. Less work wider coverage, can't go wrong.

~Rob

[Jonathan Randall]

Well, I installed Iolo's System Mechanic on my desktop PC and, boy, has it made a difference! Computer runs faster than when it was new. Usually, I use freeware such as CCleaner, but I caved in and bought a subscription to a commercial product. What a difference it makes.

Is it just me, or are shareware PC utilities declining in utility? AVG - even the free version - used to be one of the best virus checkers out there, but now, I have found it to be nearly useless in recent years. Kaspersky, on the other hand, is incredible. CCleaner was/is? a great little utility, but the commercial product, System Mechanic, runs circles around it.

Can't wait to jump to Mac. Windows 7 really is an improvement over Vista, but I am becoming fatigued by running through hoops keeping a Win system working.

Thoughts?