More Windows 8.1

There were a couple of annoying things that came up in Windows 8.1.  I had to switch from my old "local" login to my xbox/hotmail Microsoft account, which I didn't want to do.  I found out later that I could have avoided this by disconnecting the Internet during the Windows 8.1 install -- word to the wise.

Also, I had to re-do the registry hack to add the Copy to Folder and Move to Folder options when right-clicking a file.  I had this before, but it got zapped during the "upgrade" to Windows 8.1.

So now I've had Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 for awhile.  It seems to me no better, and in some respects worse, than Windows 7.  Let's hope that in the post-Ballmer era, a new direction is found for Windows.

Extending our WiFi network

We have a fairly big house, and one corner of it was not getting WiFi from our Apple Airport Time Capsule.  I bought an Airport Extreme to extend it.  I was expecting a nightmare of configuration debugging to follow. I figured I would probably have to set it up as a separate Wifi.  But not so!  I hooked up the Airport extreme and went back to Shelly's iMac.  There was a dialog box asking me if I wanted to extend our existing network.  I said Yes and that was it!  The network was extended seamlessly to the far corner of the house.  Hats off to Apple for this one.

Windows 8.1

I downloaded Windows 8.1 from Microsoft.com.  Install over Windows 8 went smoothly.  I then needed to redo three customizations that I had on Windows 8.  I used regedit to set PaintDesktopVersion to 1 so that you see the exact Windows version in the lower right corner.  Then I re-installed 8GadgetPack and got my gadgets back.  Then I installed the latest version of StartIsBack to get the start button back.  Windows 8.1 doesn't really restore it - just a button that goes to the Metro interface.  StartIsBack setup also nicely sets Windows to boot to the desktop.  So now all is well.  Seems pretty much the same as Windows 8.

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.