Office 2013 and Visual Studio 2012

After installing Windows 8, I also installed Office 2013 and Visual Studio 2012.  So far I have noticed only one improvement over previous versions: in Word you can now edit a PDF file, which is nice.  Other than that, it seems pretty much as in previous versions.  No doubt there are bug fixes and new features but they don't jump out at a person, I'll tell you that.  I think they have also reached maturity, so one wonders, what's next for Microsoft?

Moving from Windows 7 to Windows 8

I wouldn't call it an upgrade, nor a downgrade either - maybe a "sidegrade"?  Anyway, I installed Windows 8 Pro on my 2010 Gateway desktop machine.  The installation process went smoothly.  Microsoft's migration procedure is well done.  I've used Windows 8 for two weeks now, and here are my thoughts on it:

Pro:

1. I have two monitors and Windows 8 allows different desktop backgrounds on them, unlike Windows 7.  And it will even auto change them alternatively - nice.
2. One really annoying bit about Windows 7 is fixed: when copying files to a server, Windows 7 plopped the progress dialog box on top of the do-you-want-to-overwrite dialog box, so you had to move the progress box to another place in order to click on the overwrite choice.  Doesn't happen in Windows 8 - yay!
3. Windows 8 has a nice selection of free games.  I do miss Wes Cherry's original Klondike, though.

Con:

1. The Metro interface is lame, at least on a large screen desktop computer with a mouse, like mine.  And you need to use it, because the start menu is removed.  But there is a fix: StartIsBack is a $3 (for two licenses) app that duplicates the Windows 7 start menu faithfully.  Well worth the three bucks.
2. Desktop gadgets are gone.  I didn't like them for awhile but changed my mind. There's a fix: download 8gadgetpack for free.
3. Can't play DVDs.  I purchased Media Center from Microsoft for $10 to add this feature.  Save your money. It's a disappointment.  Media Center is hard to work with a mouse - seems meant for xBox or a touchscreen.  And it has few features. Then I downloaded the free open-source VLC Media Player - much better, works great.

P.S.  Two more things: PRO the photo viewer can now rotate iPhone pictures.  CON my Synology Data Replicator backup program stopped working right.

Hi-Res Monitor

I got a new high resolution monitor.  It's 2560x1440 pixels IPS 27" which is just like the 27" iMac except cheaper.  They sell these on eBay direct from South Korea. Mine's a Crossover monitor and the seller was accessorieswhole.  It works very well and I'm pleased with the beautiful view.  You do have to be careful that your graphics card can support the monitor.  The sellers have little tables about this, as I'm sure you'll see if you look on eBay.  Under $500 including express shipping. 

Postscript:  I've since learned that you can get even higher res 2560x1600.  And also that it's important to get one with a stand that tilts and swivels, sometimes noted with a -P suffix.
 

Catalyst Control Center not opening

I had a problem with my graphics card.  My computer hung and I rebooted and the screen went into VGA mode.  I tried bringing up Catalyst Control Center for my ATI card, but it refused to start - no GPU found!  So I thought something's gone wrong with the card, and went to Fry's to get a new one.

Fry's didn't have any of the graphics cards I wanted - they had a couple of really high-end $500 cards, slightly discounted because they had been returned, and then a whole bunch of $50 graphics cards, not as nice as the one I had.  I finally got a cheap nVidia one.  I had a similar problem a few months ago when I went to Fry's to get a new monitor.  I wanted a high-res one.  They had exactly one - 1920 x 1200 ASUS so that's what I bought.  Used to seem like Fry's had everything, but not so much these days.  On the other hand, I got a couple of 8gig USB flash memory cards there for $6 each, a bargain.

I removed the ATI drivers, removed the ATI card and installed the nVidia card and its drivers.  Same problem!  Booted up into VGA mode, though it could handle 1920 x 1200, but graphics GPU not found.

After going down many false paths, I finally figured out the problem:  I needed to install all the latest Windows updates.  Not at all sure what's going on here, but I'm happy that it's working again.  Now the next mystery: the Windows Experience Index (right click on My Computer and choose properties to see this) is lower for the new card.  I would go back to my old card, but the computer feels faster with the new one!  Again, a head scratcher but hey it's working again and I have more important things to worry about.

MacBook LCD display

Bobby's MacBook had a messed up display.  Horizontal and vertical lines converged on a spot in the lower left corner. I brought it in to the Genius Bar at our local Apple store.  They diagnosed it as a broken LCD.  They showed me how pressing the screen where the lines converged made the display change.  Pressing the screen elsewhere had no effect. Kids are rough on computers, yeah we know.

The Apple would have fixed it, for a reasonable price, except that the MacBook's internal indicators showed that it had water damage (see previous post). That being the case, they would only replace all of its innards, for a cost more than a new MacBook Pro.  So I took the MacBook home and looked it up on iFixit.com.  They have step by step instructions on how to replace the LCD, and they'll sell you a new LCD and the tools you need.  I suppose these might be cheaper on eBay, but hey, I went ahead and ordered them.  The cost was about half of what the repair would have cost at the Apple store if they had been willing to do it.

I followed the instructions and replaced the LCD.  Took me about an hour.  The MacBook works fine now.  Hooray for iFixit.com!

Water Damage

Our kids have computers and they don't always handle them gently, and I patch them up as best I can.  I will get to Bobby's latest problem with his MacBook but first I must explain the water damage and how we dealt with that.  He spilled Propel (a soft drink, not much sugar thank goodness) on his MacBook keyboard and it stopped working.

I let the laptop just sit for a few weeks, not plugged in.  The liquid will mostly evaporate if one has patience.  Then I put it in the oven on the lowest setting "Warm" which looks to be about 150 degrees (F) for 10 minutes.  I took it out of the oven and let it cool for an hour.  The heat helps get out the last of the moisture.  Then I plugged it in and let it charge.  After it charged it booted up just fine and has been running for a couple of months now.

I can't say that this approach will always work, but it costs nothing and has saved several of our devices from the recycler.

Stuck program on iOS

Let's say you've got an app on your iPhone or iPad that is "stuck" i.e. it just stays at one screen and no input affects it.  The best thing to do is to kill the running app and restart it.

Here's how:  double click the Home button.  This pops up at the bottom of the screen the icons of running apps.  Your bad boy is probably the first one.  Press and hold your app's icon until it starts wiggling. A red circle with a minus sign in it will appear at the top left of the wiggling icons.  Touch the red circle on your problem app, which stops it running.  Now press the home key once to return everything to normal.  Restart your app again by pressing its icon as usual and all should be well.