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Dragged into the 2010s The last time I got a new computer (as opposed to the team) was 2009, so getting dragged into 64-bit land as 2012 dawned brought with it quite a big jump for me.
Here’s a wee list of things to note for others who might be upgrading, based on the things I had to do.
I managed to salvage my old hard drive, which made life a lot easier. I could shift files over to the new one, and use the old one for a dual-boot set-up.
Day 1
Get clips for the second (old) hard drive, which the retailer forgot to give to me.
Think about what to install. The scanner software was first, since it was a recent purchase and I remembered where the installation discs were.
I needed Firefox and McAfee on there quick-smart. Then I set about getting the rest in there. FontLab, WordPerfect, SFTP programs, other bits and pieces.
Delete the Arial family, or, at least, render it lost in the registry.
Get the printer drivers, which weren’t easy to find from the legit Epson site. I had to go to another country’s to find one for a 2003-era printer.
Install the Oracle VirtualBox as there are some programs I need from the 32-bit days.
Make sure the fonts from the old system are on the new one.
Whole bunch of Windows Updates. I let Internet Explorer 9 on, thinking the bug from March 2011 would be fixed. I was wrong (why do I continue to have faith in these people?). I remove Internet Explorer 9, and in the process it messes up Firefox. Firefox now has to run in Windows XP compatibility mode.
Day 2
Ubuntu 11 failed to install using Wubi. Reset the computer several times.
Downloaded Linux Mint 12 to see if that would work. It doesn’t.
Still making sure the fonts are the same on all systems.
Another trial of IE9, after reading some so-called fixes. None of the fixes work. IE9 just doesn’t display. Obviously Microsoft never tested it before launching it.
Watched the Windows 7 introductory videos. Clever. Learned a few more tricks. They are worth watching.
Day 3
Adobe Acrobat won’t print—I can’t install the old v. 7 that I had. This is a bug going back to 2008. So I had to get Tracker Software’s PDF viewer.
Word 97 might be useful for copying and pasting. They never made a better one after that. WordPerfect peaked decades ago, but it’s still more usable than Word.
I realized I was missing the drivers for the motherboard and downloaded the whole set. Make sure you have all the drivers.
Finally get the fonts the same on each computer at the office.
Amazed at the speed as I find I am waiting less for the computer to catch up with my moves.
Oh, that’s right. Tell Google Ads Preferences Manager to naff off. Then put in a whole bunch of cookies to block.
Tested an alpha for Firefox, just because I can.
Downloaded Ubuntu 10.
Day 4
Ubuntu 10 loads properly. Hooray! Lesson: never get the latest as it will be full of bugs. But it won’t pick up my screen resolution, so other than a brief play, it’s back into Windows-land.
Figure out where your Firefox bookmarks are on your old system, copy the file into the new directory, and rename it with today’s date. Then get Firefox to import them.
I am told of a fix for my Firefox 9 by one of the Mozilla techs after giving some v. 12 feedback, so I no longer need to run it in compatibility mode. Instant karma, within 24 hours.
Weekend now. I might just have to see how this computer performs for entertainment.
Like the mean judge in ice-skating You spend all this money and one thing still prevents you from getting a high score.
Big file That’s right. I am so awesome that my hard drive has over 43 petabytes of space. Either that or Windows is crap at counting hard drive space.
Building ‘Windows 8’, video no. 1
This looks like Metro (WP7) which is awesome.
Interesting stuff. Reminds me of Windows 3·1. No, seriously: the Program Manager had all the icons that dominated the screen. Now there are tiles that dominate the screen. I don’t mind it, as it’s quite cleverly laid out, and it doesn’t look to hard to adapt to.
MikuMikuDance in action My friend Chelfyn Baxter on his very easy-to-follow guide on real-time motion capture for VJs. Amazing where home computing is.
I never wrote that The weirdest things happen with Firefox and Windows Vista. In the above case, I never made that Tweet. When I reload the page after a browser crash, it isn’t there. Oh, and I am back to daily Firefox crashes. The more they “improve” these programs, the more they crash.
Macs and their glitches From a Facebook friend’s page. I come across this bug regularly on Apple Macintoshes. And I chronicle them just as I do with my Windows problems. The difference is when I do, those Mac diehards who go, ‘Get a Mac,’ all clam up. Then they pretend that I only ever complain about Windows.
Chaps, Macs are as unreliable as the next computer. In 1993, I would have agreed that the Mac OS was far superior to Windows. Today, I find them all much of a muchness. However, given the smaller number of Mac users, you just don’t hear about the glitches as often. Doesn’t mean that they’re not there.
