Posted 03/21/2008 at 08:48:37pm

This is one of the best sites I've come across, full of reviews, links and a great forum: http://www.videohelp.com/ . You can find just about any free and non-free app there is when it comes to CD's or DVD's, along with download links and users' comments. They have hardware, software and media reviews, how-to guides - you name it. I've learned just about everything I know, particularly when it comes to DVD's, on this site. Johnny C-Note says "check 'em out!" . . .

Posted 03/18/2008 at 10:52:28pm

After the restart, during part 2 of the update, it hung at 100%. I let it sit for over 30 minutes just to play it safe, then got on my laptop to see if there were any hints on MS.com, since it said "do not turn off". After a bit of searching, I failed to find anything addressing this issue (big surprise!), so I hit the reset button. With great trepidation, I watched the screen, listened to the hard drive at work, and eventually it resumed from where it left off. WHEW! It's running fine now, and even says "Service Pack 1" under system info. Needless to say, my experience may not be common, and individual results may vary. But if anyone runs into this same problem, this is how I dealt with it successfully. Good Luck . . .

Posted 02/27/2008 at 05:24:00pm

Several years I made the switch to Zone Alarm Security Suite after being a long time Symantec user. It worked great. Then I built a new computer and installed 64-bit Vista Home Premium. When I purchased and downloaded Zone Alarm Security Suite, I was rudely awakened by the fact that they'd neglected to state on their site that it's NOT compatible with 64-bit XP or Vista, and that they have no plans of releasing a version that is. So much for due diligence. I wrote them to express my disappointment with their decision, and didn't receive so much as a simple acknowledgement. At least I got a refund. Now I'm back to using Symantec, no thanks to Trend Micro. I wonder how many other customers have been written off. If Symantec and many other companies have been able to produce versions of their software compatible with 64-bit OS's, what's Trend Micro's problem?

Posted 02/18/2008 at 07:22:12pm

I used to sell computers and on more than a few occasions members of the local Mac club would show up to preach the virtues of their chosen computer. They seemed to be offended that someone would chose anything other than an Apple product, frequently using childish phrases like "WinDoze", etc. They never grasped the obvious point that it was not their decision to make. I would have been happy to sell either a PC or Mac. It made absolutely NO difference to me because I wasn't the person using it. My main concern was the customer's satisfaction with his or her purchase, because I wanted to avoid it being returned after a few days, resulting in a lost commission for me. One chief aspect of Mac advertising is that it's easier to use, implying that a Mac owner needs less knowledge about computers than a PC user. This does not reflect entirely favorably upon the Mac user. I doubt this point has ever occurred to these "Mac cultists" who used to pester customers and sales staff at the store where I worked, nor has it appeared to have been considered by Apple's marketing department. It is curious that certain Mac users appear to feel threatened by the mere notion that someone would use anything other than what THEY want people to use. I might add that after I left the computer store, I moved on to a tech support position for a large ISP. The Mac users whom I helped appeared to have just as many problems as anyone else. I have to wonder just how "easy" a Mac really is to use . . .

Posted 01/31/2008 at 01:16:02pm

. . . why they didn't think of this years ago . . .