Yahoo's Mail

Yahoo's neo mail looks nice, but doesn’t quite work the way the old Yahoo Mail worked. The way to get around just seems to be a bit harder. Their reasoning when asked seems to be to give users more space to read mail. Actually I think its so they can shove more ads in user’s faces, but since I don’t read my Yahoo mail on the web, I could/might be wrong.

In reality, I don’t use Yahoo mail much at all. I do belong to a lot of Yahoo groups, but since I wanted to read all my mail on my computer and Yahoo wouldn’t let me pop my email to my computer, I just changed my mail to my ISP’s mail a long time ago, back to the days when I was still using Windows XP and Outlook Express.

Recently I discovered that it is possible to download Yahoo mail to an email program on my computer by using IMAP instead of POP mail. I used Thunderbird, but most other email programs will work as well,

Today I decided to try something new using my Yahoo mail account. This is not a paid account and I have been led to believe I could not download Yahoo mail using POP. Imagine my surprise when I setup this account in Windows Live Mail 2012 and it downloaded all the mail, including the junk mail, in this account.  There isn’t much mail here as I don’t use it much. When I checked the server settings, I saw this:

  Advanced

I was really astonished. Has Yahoo finally relented? For many years Yahoo in the USA was the only major email provider to not allow users to download their email unless they had a paid account. Some folks got around this by using a third party program called Yahoo Pops, but most just read mail online.

Perhaps Yahoo finally decided the US users could be treated the same as other users? Or maybe Microsoft just added those settings?

Anyone know?

Mouse Without Borders

I love this little program! I got it from Microsoft and it is just wonderful.

I have two laptops, one with Windows 7 and one with Windows 8.1. I also have a monitor connected to my Windows 7 laptop. So space is getting a bit cramped on my computer desk. This little program from The Garage makes it a lot less crowded..

When I got this program, I wanted to view the video to see just how to install it, but apparently the video is no longer working.

Here is how I installed it.

First I downloaded the program to each laptop and then installed it on my Windows 7 Laptop and then the Windows 8.1 laptop.





Once it installed I got the first setup screen and it asked if I had already installed it on the other computer.



When I clicked ‘No’, it said to keep this window open and finish the setup on the other computer.



Now on the other laptop I clicked ‘Yes’ and received the final setup screen:



Here I input the Security Code and the Computer name from the first laptop.

In order for the install to complete, I turned off the firewall for both laptops, just long enough for the install to work.Now I have this cute little desktop icon on both my laptops.



I really love this little program!

Printing an Envelope in LibreOffice

The instructions for how to print an envelope in LibreOffice aren’t really very plain.

Here is how I did it.

First open a text document in LibreOffice

Next click Insert from the menu and select envelope.



Enter the Address information.



Select Format.



Print from the File Menu.

LibreOffice is easy to use, but sometimes the instructions are a bit hard to find.

Windows 8.1 - Again

Windows 8 just isn’t as user friendly as Windows 8.1. For the short time I had it installed, it seemed to be much better, at least until I wanted to install something.

So I decided to try again. This time I made sure I had all of the current Windows updates. I thought I had done that the last time, but maybe I didn’t, so checked twice to be sure.

I downloaded Macrium Reflect and installed it.  I made the Restore disk and made the backup to external media.

AskLeo has tutorials for Macrium Reflect, you can view them here, Macrium Reflect 1: Downloading and Installing, Macrium Reflect 2: Creating Rescue Media, and Macrium Reflect 3: Creating a Backup Image.

Once my backup was made I went to the Windows Store, downloaded and installed Windows 8.1 again.

It did seem to go faster this time. That may have been because most interested folks had already downloaded it, but maybe it was just my imagination. After it downloaded and installed, I had to set everything up again, just like any new install for Windows.

After it finished the entire process I checked for updates, but there weren’t any. I decided to install a program to test it and the install went just fine. So far it seems Windows 8.1 is running as promised by Microsoft.

This computer is not new. It is a Compaq that came with Vista and I got it for the sole purpose of using it as a test machine. I tested the beta for Windows 7 and the preview for Windows 8. I also tested the Windows 8.1 preview.  Since I downloaded and paid for the final release of Windows 8, I probably won’t test anymore  Windows versions on this pc, but then, who knows, I just may if the computer is still working when the next one comes out.

My Windows 8.1 Is Now Windows 8

Less than a week after the upgrade from Windows 8 to windows 8.1 I encountered a problem. A big problem. .

A few days earlier I tried to connect to my Windows 7 but received a message it wasn't available, even though it was turned on. (This was working in Windows 8.)  I thought it was probably a setting somewhere and would investigate when I had more time.

Yesterday, I attempted to update my ESET Smart Security to version 7. It acted like it was installing, but before the install completed an error message popped up and the install closed. The error indicated I did not have sufficient Administrator privileges, which i knew was wrong, but I right clicked on the install and selected run as Administrator, but no go.  The same error occurred.





I contacted ESET and they told me to download  ESET Smart Security 7, uninstall the old version and then install the new version. It did not uninstall.  I finally used Revo Uninstaller and cleaned up all the files, but the new version still would not install with that message ‘The Installer does not have sufficient Administrator privileges…..

Now the hunt was on, how do I set the privileges?

I learned some stuff about using the Microsoft Management Console and about How to Enable Local Administrator Account.but all this did not help me install ESET.

I booted into the Admin Account, nope, didn't work. I tried installing from an elevated command prompt, no way.

So then I tried to install the previous version, still the same problem.

Now I am starting to get really frustrated.  The problem is Windows, not ESET. I had read that there were problems with Windows 8.1 in my favorite newsletter, Windows Secrets, in an article by Susan Bradley. But none of the problems mentioned by Susan were anything like mine.

So, I backed up my data, and reinstalled Windows 8. It isn’t as nice as Windows 8.1 in lots of ways, but it let me install stuff, including ESET.

Windows 8.1

I upgraded my Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 without any problems. It took almost as long to download and upgrade as a new install, but when it was completed, everything worked OK. A few settings I had tweaked had to be re-tweaked, but all in all it was an easy upgrade.

As soon as I completed the upgrade, Windows Update popped up and I had 4 updates!



The new Start button isn’t like the one in earlier versions of Windows. To access anything, you must right click on it and then you get this:



That’s ok, but I wonder why they put Programs and Features here, it’s not like I want to uninstall programs that often.

I have set my windows 8.1 to boot directly to the Desk top as I really hate those great big flashing tiles on the Modern UI.

Some folks are having problems getting to the Windows 8.1 update.

Maybe these sites can help you.

How to download the official Microsoft Windows 8.1 ISO

Why can't I find the update in the Store?

Windows 8.1 Upgrade Woes

Windows 8.1 is what Windows 8 should have been in the first place. However, the average user is still probably not going to be too happy with Windows 8.1, as they won’t know how to tweak it to their liking.

How to eradicate Metro from your Windows 8.1 PC

So far I can live with it.

Missing?

Yep, I’ve been missing in action.

Every now and then I get an overwhelming urge to ‘re do Windows’.  Most of the time I shrug it off and keep on going, but early last week, I just re-did Windows.

For some time I have been keeping a special file directory containing all of the programs, utilities and settings I need. I keep the activation codes for the programs that I have bought online in this file. I keep this special file directory on an external drive (actually more than one), so after I did all the updates I copied this directory to my freshly installed Windows and put everything on it that I need/want.

Sounds like a good plan, but as everyone knows, sometimes things just don’t go as planned.

Nearly everything did go just fine. Nearly.  Unfortunately the thing I usually rely on the most had some ‘glitches’.  OK, a LOT of glitches.

I have just way too many email accounts. I want to keep them separate, so I use several email programs. Outlook 2010, Windows Live Mail 2012, Thunderbird and eM Client are my email programs.  (I am eventually going to replace Outlook with eM Client. I am still checking it out, but it is looking good.)

For several of my accounts, Thunderbird would not accept the passwords. Try as I could, just couldn’t get those accounts to work. Eventually I just had to go online and change the passwords and finally they all worked. As for Outlook, well I almost just forgot about it, as I managed to make a huge mess of that. Put that on hold and started over and it went without a hitch. I know better, but I kept trying when I was really tired.  After a good nights sleep, things worked better.

I thought I had a more recent backup of some of my files, but of course that was one of the things that went awry. However, the important stuff is always backed up daily, so I am now good to go.

So now that is all done, I'm back!

The Sound on YouTube

Lately some videos on YouTube don’t seem to be playing any sound. Really, sound is so necessary to hear those kitties and puppies!

While the fix is easy, it doesn’t seem apparent at first.

Just look at this tiny screenshot, notice the white bar. (Just click the screenshot to enlarge)




Grab that white bar and start sliding it until it all the way over to the right side.



The sound should now be playing.

My guess is YouTube is trying to satisfy those folks who hate sound blasting at them when they go to a site. If that isn’t the reason, I have no idea why the change. But the fix is easy.

The only problem, you have to move that slider for every video.

Laptop Typing

Sometimes when I type the cursor jumps to a previous spot on my page. Since I am not a touch typist, I may not notice this for a bit.  Now I have to go back and retype a lot of words.

How aggravating!

It is aggravating, but the fix is easy.  Just turn off the touchpad while typing.

My laptop will allow me to disable the touchpad by ‘tapping’ in the upper left corner, but it sometimes takes a lot of tapping.

There are several utilities that can help with this if your computer doesn’t have the settings to allow you to turn it off. On my laptop there is a small program named Synaptics that resides in the Control panel and can be accessed by clicking ‘Mouse’.



I can either turn the touchpad off temporarily  or disabling it altogether. Since I always use a mouse I choose to disable it.

You can also access the Touchpad settings by going to show the hidden icons on the Desktop: Click that tiny up arrow to see what’s there.

Click the red Snaptics icon to open the dialog in the Control Panel and choose your settings.  You can also make changes to your cursor, how fast and which to use here.





For more options on disabling the touchpad, look at Gismo’s site.

Internet Explorer

According to StatCounter via CNET, Internet Explorer’s use is on the rise World wide.

I don’t use Internet Explorer. Every time I try there seems to be issues that cause it to freeze or crash. I suppose it could be a conflict on my computer somewhere, but if that is the problem, why is there no conflict with Firefox or Chrome?

Recently I have been using IE a bit more often, since I need to test an application in IE. Up until about three days ago it was working just fine, but then all at once  it would load blank pages whenever I clicked a link.

The usual suspect when there are browser problems is an add-in. In order to start fresh, I set IE back to the default state.



I rebooted but still nothing worked. Apparently the default state doesn’t disable add-ins.

So I opened the tools menu and selected Manage Add-ons.



There I found the culprit.



Once I disabled it, everything worked as it should. No more blank pages.

Windows Live Writer Network Connection Error

Sometimes when I try to make things better I do the opposite, I break things.

I like to use Windows Live Writer to compose  posts to my blogs. (I have a blog besides this one, sort of a rant, ramble and rave blog, named Martha’s Blog)

Both of my blogs are using a template from StudioPress. I really like these templates, but the blogs seem to take a long time to load when I get ready to work on them.

So I have been working to find a way to make them load faster.  I’ve installed plugins and removed plugins and finally decided to use a feature called CloudfFare.

I’m not sure exactly what CloudFlare does but it is supposed to make my blogs load faster and so I went for it. It’s also supported by BlueHost my hosting provider.

In the process of all the plugin installing and removing, I managed to break the publishing to my blog with Windows Live Writer. When I tried to post, I got this message instead.



So I rebooted because that’s the first thing I do when something appears to be broken, but that didn’t fix it.

I knew it had to be a setting somewhere that had been changed and I was right.  I went to Options in Windows Live Writer and clicked Accounts and selected MyNotSoPerfect PC/Blog and clicked Edit. I could see the web address was incorrect! The www was missing! I clicked Update account information and made the correction and saved it.

The post draft to blog works just fine now.  I vaguely remember making a change somewhere in the blog’s setting to remove the www from the web address. Why I did that was probably from bad advice somewhere in Google searching.

But all is well that ends well, so they say.

The Last Day Is Fast Approaching For Windows XP

Windows XP will not quit working on April 7, 2014. It will work just like it does on April 6. But it will no longer get updates from Microsoft.

For some users this may not really be a problem. As long as a user has a backup so that when their computer gets hacked or infected, they can restore it to a good condition, at least as good as Windows XP can be.

I have a Fujitsu laptop with Windows XP SP3.  Recently I put this computer back to when it was new in 2005. I installed all of the updates and put just a few basic stuff on it and installed all of the games we like to play and made a full backup. It will no longer be connected to the Internet when there are no more security updates.

This computer is really better than a lot of what is available today in terms of hardware.But it is old tech. Windows XP was a great system (still is in lots of ways). Unfortunately there are big security holes. A great many of them were patched, but the code is old and some of those holes just can’t really be fixed.

So what will  you do if you are still using Windows XP?  Will you just keep using it or get a new computer? You could just upgrade the operating system.

Find out if your PC can run Windows 7 with the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.

Or maybe you want to go to Windows 8?  How to upgrade to Windows 8 (You will like Windows 7 better.)

There are some ‘gotchas’ to watch out for, mainly drivers, usually the driver for your video card, but there could be driver issues for other hardware.  The advisor should let you know in advance what you might have a problem with, as well as programs you are using.

Before you install a new version of Windows, be sure to backup any important data files to external media, such as an external hard drive, flash drives or even CDs. If you aren’t sure which files to back up, look at the How-to Geek’s site for suggestions.

We upgraded an old HP desktop (2003) from Windows XP to Windows 7. The only issue was the video driver. If you don’t play any games, the generic drivers will probably work.  We found a driver on HPs website, it was a driver for Vista, but it worked.

Please note, you will have to do a clean install and reinstall all of your programs.  A lot of your old data can be found in a file on the C drive, named windows.old. But just to be on the safe side, make that external backup of your files. Once you are sure you have all of stuff safely on the new Windows, you can remove the windows.old using Disc Cleanup. Disc Cleanup can be found in Accessories/System Tools.

 

How Dumb Is That?

If you are using Windows 8, you might have figured out by now how to close an app, but then again you may not. It isn’t intuitive at all.

An example is the Mail app. (I don’t know why anyone would use it, but it’s there so I’ll use this.)  Once Mail is opened there doesn’t seem to be any way to close it.  There is no Menu, so no ‘Close’.  There is no little ‘x’ in the upper right corner. So how do you close Mail? Or any other App for that matter?

So far I’ve found two ways. (There may be more!) Besides just rebooting, which may be how some users are closing Mail, pressing the Win key and D key at the same time will take you to the Desktop.  Then in the far upper left corner of your screen. is a tiny little Mail icon.



Right click that tiny icon and get this:

Click Close and then Mail closes.

OK, yep that’s dumb. Now if you think that’s the only way to close mail, think again.

Once Mail is open and you want to close it, move your cursor to the very top of the screen and with the little hand that shows up, drag it down to the bottom of the screen and Mail is closed.

(I tried to get a screenshot of this process, but for some reason all I couldn't get a screenshot to work.)

I simply could not get this to work using the touch pad, it was the mouse or Mail didn’t close.

This seems to be even more dumb to me.

The more I use Windows 8, the less I like it. I feel like Microsoft threw me under the bus.

Maybe Windows 8.1 will be better, but I am not holding my breath.

The Awful Ask Toolbar

That blankety blank Ask Toolbar installed stealthily on my computer today.

I know how it usually gets on computers. It piggy backs on downloads for stuff folks want and if we aren’t careful and watch what we click or don’t uncheck, that nasty little sucker installs on computers.

Except in my case, I didn’t download or install anything today. I didn’t download or install anything yesterday either.

The only thing I could figure is I must have inadvertently touched a link on a web page somewhere that caused this sneaky toolbar to install. I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it, but WinPatrol popped up and asked if I wanted to allow the Ask Toolbar to add itself to my Startup.

I couldn’t believe it! But there it was in the Control Panel/Programs and Features!  The date of the install showed 8/16/2013, today’s date.

So since I didn’t download anything or install anything, how or where did I get this nasty toolbar? After I uninstalled the awful Ask,  I decided to investigate.

First I looked at the Event viewer in Administrative tools. Whoa! Tons of entries for APNMCP. A Google search let me know this was part of the Ask Toolbar. I kept looking at the Event viewer and saw an entry for APNMCP on 8/12/2013! So that set the old brain cells churning, I reinstalled Cute PDF Writer on the 12th! As I remembered, the install wanted me to install the Ask toolbar, but I unchecked the boxes and denied the install. Apparently it didn’t take ‘NO’ for an answer.

Since I had used Revo Uninstaller to remove this sneaky toolbar, I couldn’t find anything else about the Ask install. However, I have a Dell computer that I use just for testing stuff, so I fired it up, downloaded and installed Cute PDF Writer.

What an eye opener. This install was every user’s nightmare. The following screenshots tell the tale. Click an image to get the larger view.

The first screen after I started the install. Note the check boxes oh so conveniently already checked.



I unchecked the boxes and clicked next.



Then the installer wanted me to install Price Finder, which of course I declined.  Fortunately this didn’t install anyway, at least I can’t find it.

Finally after the install completed a browser window opened with the Read Me and then another window opened.



I closed the window and looked at the Add-ons in Firefox. Yep, there it was, although it was disabled.

I started looking.  In MSCONFG it was in Startup.



It was also in MSCONFIG/Services.



I looked some more, this time in Programs on the C drive. Yep, there it was!



Then I looked in the Temp Directory in AppData/Local and found a lot of other stuff including two log files, and therein tells the tale.

This is a partial listing from the log file, a screenshot.



I left all of this on my test computer and will wait to see just when the Ask Toolbar shows up, if it does. But it does show in the Control Panel/ Programs and Features, so I expect it will bare it’s ugly self eventually.

I have seen a lot of reprehensible behavior from unsavory folks and I have read a lot about the nasty Ask Toolbar. This is absolutely one of the worst and I am now recommending NEVER install Cute PDF Reader.  There are other utilities that will do the job and won’t install the awful Ask Toolbar without your permission.

The Nitro Reader will do the job and it’s free and when I installed it, no offer of the awful Ask Toolbar was there.

Don't Print it, 'PDF' it!

UPDATE! Since the experience I had today with the Awful Ask Toolbar, I suggest using Nitro Reader.

I used to print lots of stuff. I printed web sites with how to do stuff, because it might come in handy later. It probably would have come in handy, if I had been able to find that printed page when I needed it.

I had piles and piles of printed stuff.  I went through so much paper and so much ink!

Then I got smart and started printing all this stuff to PDF files and saved them all in my digital file cabinet. No more trying to find something I printed a month ago in that ever growing stack of printed stuff.  No more buying lots of paper and especially that expensive printer ink.

I used Cute PDF Writer.

Installing Cute PDF Writer has some ‘gotchas’ though.  Just like all of the other used to be free of sneaky installs, Cute PDF Writer also has some ‘extras’ if you aren’t careful during the install.

Those gotchas were worse than I thought. Read here!

The download page can be a bit confusing, but just click the free download link and start the process. Be sure to note where you are saving the file. (I like to save the file instead of running them, in order have them in case I need to reinstall something later.)

Click the images to view a larger size.



Once you have the file, click it to install it and watch carefully during the install.First come the infamous Ask toolbar. You DON’T want it, so  un-check those already checked boxes.



Then the installer wants you to install ‘Hotspot Shield’. Whatever that is, I don’t think you want that either, so click the ‘Decline’ button.



Then Cute PDF Writer will install and once more try to get you to get the Ask toolbar, just decline it.

It’s worth the hassle.  While I despise the way shareware sometimes (usually) wants to push unwanted junk on to users, I know why they do it. They need the $$ and this is one way to get paid for their wares.  You just have to be careful during the install.

Now that you have a new ‘printer’ to print to PDF, why not get a great PDF Reader to read all of those files?  I like PDF-XChange Viewer.

The download link is right there on the first page.



So save some trees, not to mention some dollars and print to PDF using Nitro Reader!

The Quick Access Toolbar in Outlook 2010

Of all the programs Microsoft has made, my very favorite is Microsoft office’s Outlook. I got hooked on Outlook way back in 1998 when Microsoft made it free (because Outlook 1997 was so bad). Since then I have always used Outlook, even though later versions have not been free. It is in fact rather pricey especially when there are so many good free email programs available.

But Outlook manages my life.  The reminders alone make it worth while to me. It tells me when my doggy needs her monthly heart worm medicine. It tells me when it’s time to take my daily vitamins, and it tells me a host of other things.

All those ribbons in Outlook are a bit daunting at times, but the Quick Access toolbar makes the ribbons work for me.

(Click images for a larger view)

.

To add just what you want to the Quick Access toolbar, in Outlook click File, then Quick Access Toolbar.

Then add the items you want for easy access.



Once you have just what you need on the Quick Access toolbar, you can hide the ribbon for more room for reading email.





I have tried to find a program that will work for me that is free. There are lots and lots of email programs that are free and lots more that aren’t free but not so expensive as Outlook. Some are pretty good, but so far I haven’t found one that would really work for me.

The Name Game..With Microsoft

Microsoft makes great software.  More computers use Windows than any other operating system available.

They make a great office suite and they also make my favorite web editor, Expression Web.

But Microsoft has a naming problem. They manage to name the different versions of Windows with names that don’t confuse folks, but some of the products they make have names that surely confuse.

If you want to tell someone about Explorer, you better be sure to preface Explorer with either Internet or Windows. While it’s true both of these products actually explore something, they don’t explore the same things.

Then there is Outlook.  ‘Do you mean Outlook Express or the Outlook that comes with Microsoft Office?’ (There is no telling how many times I have asked that question when trying to troubleshoot an email problem!) And there is outlook.com as well!

Not to be outdone with naming email programs, here comes Windows Mail, then comes Windows Live Mail and Windows Live Mail 2012. These are all email programs, but they are totally NOT the same.

There was a confusion about Messenger as well. There was Windows Messenger Service and just plain Messenger. I think both of those are obsolete, but I imagine they may be in use by some folks. (Microsoft bought Skype and Messenger is now incorporated into Skype.)

Microsoft’s Windows 8 is still having a problem with names. While in the beta stage, The start page for windows 8 was being called ‘Metro’ by Microsoft. (Still is by a lot of folks!)  But then a Germany-based conglomerate called Metro AG, said, ‘Metro’ is their trademark, so now that ugly start screen is called ‘Windows 8 Modern UI’ which doesn’t make it look any better.

As if that isn’t enough, now Microsoft is having a problem with the name ‘SkyDrive’, the online service for too many things to count. How could they have not seen this blunder coming?  I think they need new trademark lawyers or whoever it is that searches trademarks.

Then again, maybe they need someone to name everything else, and just stop using outlook, explorer, live and probably some other unoriginal names as well.

Magic Desktop

Today I uninstalled an unwanted program. I used Revo Uninstaller and while it was loading I noticed a program called Magic Desktop. I had no idea what it was, but figured it was a game and decided to check it out.

Dummy me! I found the program and opened it and could not get out of it. So decided to use the good old ctrl, alt, delete to get to Task Manager to stop the process. That's when I discovered Task Manager would not open.

ACK!



A System Restore point from yesterday saved me from needing a total restore and brought back my Task Manager.

According to Programs and Features, this was installed on 11/29/2011.  I surely should have noticed it before now!

But guess I didn't.  Apparently this was part of the crapware included with my computer, as HP is listed as one of EasyBits partners. I can't understand why I just now noticed it. I thought I had uninstalled all the junk when I first first got this laptop, but I sure missed that one. I probably thought it was a game if I indeed noticed it at all, and I do like games.

So I am thinking I should pay more attention to what's included on a new computer. There should be a big fat warning somewhere before this program executes, but nothing indicated what it was going to do before it started.

But this is also a warning! If you get a new computer with Magic Desktop by EasyBits Software, do NOT open this on your main profile.  It will totally change everything on your Desktop, disabling Task Manager among other things. I didn't check to see what else it did, because I just wanted it gone and my Task Manager back.

So unless you are setting up a computer for  your very young kids, UNINSTALL THIS program!  I can see where it would be good for really young children (under the age of six) but otherwise, get rid of it ASAP!

My GPS

GPS is a marvelous thing..when it works.

Yesterday I went to a family reunion. I had never been to the way out in the country place where it was held, so relied on my GPS to get me there.

Except it didn’t get me there. it telling me to turn right, but there was no road to turn right. I kept driving and then it told me to turn left on some road, but all these roads had no name, I went round and round in circles, up and down roads, and some of them were little more that gravel trails.

I knew that place had to be somewhere in the area, but I just couldn’t find it. I called one of my family members that I knew was there, but the call went to voice mail as her service didn’t work out here in the boonies. Finally I used another marvelous thing, my cell phone (It isn’t a real smart phone, but my service worked, thank goodness!) and called home to get my son to check on a map to see where I needed to go.

He managed to find it on a map and told me how to get there.  I finally reached my destination and had a great visit with family members, some I hadn’t seen in 40 years.

If the GPS hadn’t messed with me I could have had almost two more hours to visit!

Today I decided to try to find out why that GPS almost got thrown out the window.  Turns out the road I needed to be on has two names. I first turned on the road with the first name (an FM road) and evidently when it was telling me to turn right, this is where the second name of the road takes over from the first name (FM road). I still don't understand why it was telling me to turn when I was already on the road, but

So I am not sure who is at fault for the snafu with the GPS, but I learned I will just depend on a real map the next time I need to go out into the country!

Installing Windows 8 Again..Part 2

I have set up Windows 8 as though it is my main computer and installed all of my must have programs.

When Windows 8 was ‘setting up’, for some reason the time zone didn’t keep the correct settings, but I didn’t notice that until I tried to install the Nook app from Barnes and Noble. It installed ok, but my eBooks didn’t download. I uninstalled the app re-installed the app, rebooted, nope those books didn’t download. Finally I entered into a chat with a customer service rep on B and N.

He had me download Nook Study and install it, and then the fun started. My computer time was incorrect and it wouldn’t work.  OK, checked the time and it was set for Pacific time. Hmm, how did that happen? I know I set right to begin with, Central time. I changed it and the app still wouldn’t work, time is 120 minutes wrong. So I checked again and it was Pacific time. I changed it again and this time clicked the tab for Internet Time and clicked Update now.



The correct time finally saved and now the Nook Study app opened. Apparently this app is for college students and now it wanted my school name. Since I left college eons ago, I closed the app and opened the Nook app. It connected and all my books downloaded.

Now I am wondering about two things. Why didn’t Windows 8 keep my correct time zone and why did Nook need the correct time zone?  If I moved to Alaska, could I still use my Nook app? What if I was there on vacation and bought a book, would it download? I suppose the time on Barnes and Noble’s website is linked to my billing address and in a way that makes sense, but the whole idea of being able to take your Nook/laptop/iPad with you and read anywhere is one of the things that makes these readers so great.

Still wondering!

Setting Up Windows 8..Again!

I installed Windows 8 on a Compaq computer the same day it was released in October 2012. I tweaked and tweaked and finally had it running pretty much the way I wanted, or as much as possible as it was to do.

When the Windows 8.1 preview was released, I got it through the App store and away it went. But I did a major booboo, I didn’t backup Windows 8 first. So now I am setting it all up again.

I pretty much have it back the way I want it, but am making a few changes from the first install. To begin with, I am installing Macrium Reflect and as soon as I have it the way I want it, I will make my backup.

Why I didn’t make that backup is beyond me.  I have backups of three other computers, but not this one!

Oh well, I am documenting everything and will have a much more complete install record, so maybe it isn’t all bad. I made so many screenshots I probably will never need, but they will come in handy! And along the way, I have learned a bit more about Windows 8.

I Don't Like Windows 8

I don’t like  Window 8 and I don't like Windows 8.1 much better, based on the preview for Windows 8.1. My computer is NOT a tablet, and it’s pretty obvious Windows 8 was made for a tablet.

It is the ugly, in your face made for a tablet Start screen that I just can’t learn to love.

I’ve tried. I’ve tweaked and tweaked, setting Windows 8 and now Windows 8.1, to by pass that ugly Start screen, even learned to use that pitiful Start menu, but…I still hate it.

I want to keep my computers totally separate from a tablet. On my computer I don’t want to connect to an ‘App Store’, I don’t want to play a game with Xbox and I don’t want to store all my stuff in SkyDrive. so I don’t need all of these items. But I can’t even be sure it isn’t happening, at least the SkyDrive thing.

A trivial thing, it doesn’t come with my favorite game, Spider Solitaire. There is a free one in the app store, but it isn’t the same.

I told someone recently that change happens and we have to adjust. I guess I should take my own advice, but as long as I can get Windows 7 I will use it.  After that I may have to use a more recent version of Windows. Maybe some third party program will enable me to totally block that horrible Start page with all of those in your face tiles. I can only hope!

And just a note, that email program totally sucks!

As for Spider Solitaire, I waste too much time with it, so maybe that isn’t so bad after all.

Windows Live Mail 2012

Some folks want to read their email on their computers using Windows Live Mail

Windows Live Mail (hence forth known as WLM) can be configured in many ways like the old Outlook Express. The settings are very similar in lots of ways, but the location where WLM folders and mail is quite different.

On my Windows 7 computer with WLM the location is as follows:

C:\Users\Martha\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail
You do have to be able to to view AppData. Then find the location in AppData for your Windows Live Mail. (Of course, you have to use your name instead of mine in the path.)

A much easier way to find your WLM folders is to just change the location. While in WLM, click that tiny down arrow in the upper left corner, click Options and then click Mail.



The old almost like Outlook Express Options will open. Select Advanced:





Click Store folder , click Change and select a folder (Make a new one for this) and then select where you want to save your mail.



Once you click OK,  you will see a box with a message showing the new location.

You must shut down for change to happen



While I only use WLM for mostly throw-a-way accounts, it is handy to be able to view the messages in WLM’s folders.  You can click on a message in a folder and it will open in the default email program.