Anyway, finally yesterday I figured out how to fix the problem by manually editing the registry. I am happily online and Avasted, and can safely say I will never use a symantec product again.
For another big change in the software department, I installed Google Gears yesterday. This program allows you to run gmail off your desktop and back up your email on your own machine, but does not change the way you fundamentally use gmail and all your backed up messages still also remain on the server. I have been trying to find a way to slowly wean myself away from eudora for the last year, and since I have yet to find a similar desktop program that I could stand using, my means for doing this has been a slow transfer to gmail. Google Gears will make this transfer easier and more practical, so I am curious to see how it all develops, since the program is still in beta.
But by far the biggest change is, at this point, an intangible one. Yesterday we started house-hunting in earnest. We are discovering that balancing all our hopes and dreams with the practical manifestation of what is for sale in the areas we want to live is difficult, to say the least. Yesterday we looked at 8 or 9 homes from the outside, and inspected the insides of two. One we left quickly, fighting down a feeling of panic. The second one we have been talking and talking and talking and talking about. Last night we wanted to buy it. This morning we woke up second-guessing the smallness of the bedrooms and the fact that it has only one bathroom. Now, having looked at many more houses, we are kind of back to wanting it again because of the endearing quirkiness of the house itself, and the awesomeness of the kitchen.
So, we shall see what happens, but are hoping to buy our own place within a few months.
9 comments:
Wait, I thought you guys already had a house. I'm told now is a good time to buy tho, as long as you're financially stable.
And yeah...I ditched Norton years ago. I've been using AVG, and it's much, much easier to work with.
Nope. We rent our current home, and yeah, interest rates and very low. And we would make sure to buy a place we could afford...
Affording it now doesn't seem to the problem for many people, it's knowing you'll still be able to afford it 6 months from now. But if you guys are able, then now is a great time. :)
Yeah, we are lucky because Brian at least has good job security. And we all know that, if all else fails, I can just join the circus. =)
Okay, I am coming over to your blog for news now, Brian is just too busy riding bikes or skiing to keep the rest of us informed. House hunting, what a kitchen indeed! We must know the where, you should come to Goosetown!
This house is on the Iowa City edge of Coralville, though we've by no means made up our minds. Show us a lovely, affordable home in Goosetown, and you'll have some new port-drinking neighbors before you know what's what!
I'm hooked on port during these cold, dark months, and I owe it all to you & Brian!
I've switched our PC to avast! after your glowing report. What OS do you prefer? We have ol' XP1 that cannot supposedly be updated legally, but I'd like to get at least XP2 or even XP3. I've heard bad things about Vista, which we're willing to buy... but we're afraid of hardware issues. Your thoughts?
XP1 definitely has some security holes that make is somewhat risky to run. On my main computer I run XP3, and I like it because I am very familiar with it at this point. My desktop did actually come with Vista, but I erased that after trying to use it for about two days, and went back to XP. However, (I'll admit it) I am sometimes not all that flexible when it comes to my computer habits and some of the software I love is very, very old at this point so it's really not Vista's fault that it doesn't doesn't support a program I started using over ten years ago.
However, Brian's laptop came with Vista, as did my boss's new computer at work, and between getting to know the system better on those two machines and the many updates Microsoft has released for Vista, I've mostly gotten over my Vistaphobia. I'd say the number one consideration with Vista is to make sure your machine has 2GB of RAM. If you don't have that, it runs somewhat sluggishly compared to XP, and seems much more likely to freeze.
I have some tentative plans to move on to Vista, perhaps in the next year, simply because getting behind with your OS often leads to the same sorts of software compatibility issues upgrading too soon does. However, I've recently started to hear rumblings about what comes after Vista.
There are rumors that the new Windows 7 is everything Vista isn't, and that it will be released later this year, but from what I can tell these are mostly ungrounded expectations. Right now 7 is only out in Beta, and Microsoft says it will be three more years before a possible release date of mainstream software. So, I don't think it is close enough to be worth waiting for.
If I were you, I wouldn't pay for XP at this point unless you have an older computer without much RAM. Otherwise, Vista is pretty stable now and there are very few programs left with which it won't play nice. You can get buy new versions of Vista on ebay for less than $120, and in reality that is less than you would pay any repair person to recover your files if a worm gets into your computer through the known hole in XP1.
Good to know that Vista is stabilizing. I've been hearing good things about 7, but, yeah, we can't wait that long. We have enough RAM for Vista, so we may have to give it a try. Can't hang on to XP with its security issues and the fact that some of our new software won't install as it is.
Thanks for your opinions, computer friend!
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