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February 26, 2007:

Microsoft has finally introduced its much touted new operating system, Vista, should you make the change?

The system has a lot of cool new features, such as video editing but switching to the new operating system is a big change that you should consider carefully. Here are some of the things you should consider:

THERE ARE SEVERAL VERSIONS OF VISTA: The versions range from Vista Home Basic to Vista Enterprise for corporations and range in price from about $ 99 to $ 400. Vista Home Premium is probably the best version for the average consumer, it costs about $ 160 and it allows Windows XP or 2000 users to upgrade their PC's. You can check out the full lineup at www.microsoft.com/vista.

PRICES VARY BY RETAILER: Shop around for the best price. Amazon.com, Circuit City, Staples and many others are offering all kinds of extras and rebates to get you hooked. If your computer is more than five years old you might want to just consider buying a new computer with Vista already installed. Most older computers do not have the hardware and memory necessary for the new operating system.

INSTALLING VISTA CAN BE DIFFICULT: Installing an operating system is like giving your computer a heart transplant. It's a tricky operation and those who want to upgrade an older computer should backup every piece of data on that computer before tackling this project.

VISTA MAY NOT WORK WITH OLDER PERIPHERALS: Printers, scanners and other PC accessories bought more than six months ago may have trouble communicating with Vista PC's. You will probably need to download a new driver from the manufacturer's website to get some of these peripherals to work. The problem is is that some drivers may not have been written yet and in the case of older peripherals they might never be written.

NEW SOFTWARE IS TYPICALLY BUGGY: Though there has been a lot of testing of this new system by Microsoft, it is inevitable that some problems will occur. It might be a good idea for most users to wait a few months until the bugs are all worked out.

VISTA HAS A LEARNING CURVE: This operating system works differently than older versions of Windows and will take time for even experienced users to used to it.

NOT EVERYBODY NEEDS VISTA: If your computer does everything you want it to do, you probably don't need to upgrade your system. Microsoft plans to continue to support the older versions of Windows.

If you decide to make the change let us know what you think of Vista: the good, the bad and the ugly.

January 9, 2007:

Are you new to instant messaging? Here are some terms you might need to know:

CMIIW - Correct me if I'm wrong
DEGT - Don't even go there
GAL - Get a life
GFI - Go for it
IDTS - I don't think so
IMHO - In my humble opinion
IMNSHO - In my not-so-humble opinion
IRMC - I rest my case
IYNWIM - If you know what I mean
JJA - Just joking again
SMHID - Scratching my head in disbelief
SSINF - So stupid it's not funny
TTYL - Talk to you later
UGTBK - You got to be kidding
UNTR - U know that's right
YYSSLIBTO - Yeah, yeah, sure, sure, like I believe that one
-6%! - Not very clever

Are there others that you are using? Let us know the latest IM lingo.

Posted December 21, 2006:

Christmas is coming and many teenagers are expecting some video games under the tree. The only problem may be that your parents have seen the National Institute on Media and the Family's recent 11th annual video game report card.

The group has urged parents to take a stronger role in safeguarding their children from games that glamorize sex and violence. Here is a list of the games that they are recommending parents not buy for their teenagers:

Gangs of London
The Sopranos
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Reservoir Dogs
Mortal Kombat: Unchained
Scarface: The World Is Yours
The Godfather: Mob Wars
Saints Row
Dead Rising
Just Cause

If you are looking to get one of these games hope your parents didn't read the video game report card. All of these games were M-Rated, intended for those aged 17 and over.

Posted November 21, 2006:

If you have an iPod, you should check out iFrogz.com. They have cases, skins, and covers. You can personalize your own case by color, design, stickers, everything. Very cool and won't make a huge dent in your wallet.

Posted November 15, 2006:

Creative Labs is the most prominent warrier in the MP3 iHegemony struggle. It's secret? Do what Apple does, then do more. The new Zen V Plus series ($129 to $229, www.creative.com) is half the height of the Nano (though a bit thicker) and has the same size screen.

It fits into the change pocket of your jeans, has a bright OLED display, can play video and has built-in FM radio and voice recording. Available with one to four gigabytes, it comes in white or black and gives Steve Jobs the shakes.

Check it out, let us know what you think.

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