e-Vents

[ Monday ]

 

Microsoft Vista Problems...Ongoing

Vista, the latest operating system (OS) from Microsoft, which took five years to develop, still has significant bugs. One of the most annoying, if you ignore the BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) reminiscent of Windows 98, is the crashing of Media Center Edition embedded in the Vista Home Premium OS package.

Vista seems to work just fine out of the box, when installed or pre-installed on a bare system. But start to add applications, and that is when the problems begin. Connect your peripherals, and users will most likely discover that driver upgrades are required...usually, however, new hardware needs to be purchased.

The MCE problem has been occurring for a few years now, and Microsoft attempted to address the crashing of the "ehshell.exe" in the XP Service Pack 3 release. This does nothing, however, to address the problem in Vista.

Online forums are full of complaints from exasperated Vista users, and for the MCE package, it is an additional inconvenience. TV cards and video capture cards, along with easy access to videos and photos on your PC, all can use the MCE program for television channels, recording video, etc. In XP, it was a separate program tha could be repaired by uninstalling and reinstalling it. In Vista, it is part of the OS program. No one wants to have to perform a reinstall, as it wipes your drive.

Microsoft...if you're listening...fix this broken OS, or at least give users one less reason to complain. It is, afterall, football season, and many would like to use the DVR function of MCE to record those games when away from the PC.



MM [10:37]

[ Saturday ]

 

Mr. Paulson...Bail ME Out !

With seemingly all of the focus aimed at Wall Street and the financial markets, what happens to the average investor whose retirement accounts (cumulatively) have lost trillions of dollars in the past few weeks?

Mr. Paulson, how about sending me a check for $500,000 to compensate me for my losses?

I could then feel a little more confident about my retirement years, and the college fund for my kids. It might give me the confidence to spend money on discretionary items, hire the additional employees I need for my small business corporation, and pump money back into the economy which in turn helps local government collect tax revenues and provide basic services.

Instead, taxpayers like me are watching as the federal government throws money at a broken system...one that has bilked trillions of dollars from individual investors and pension funds through unregulated hedge funds, lax SEC enforcement, and FOH (Friends of Hank) deals allowing those who guided these investment banks and financial institutions into the ground to escape with millions of dollars in exit bonuses. And while you're at it, why not correct the problems which led to the housing debacle...the government's CRA program which led to mortgage approvals for otherwise unqualified borrowers, and the false demand which proved to be a house of cards.

MM [07:33]

[ Wednesday ]

 

Deflation - Lower Gas Prices and Energy Surcharges?

Will rapidly dropping oil price futures lead to rapidly dropping gasoline and diesel prices? And will your electric utility providers, along with airlines, UPS, FedEx and others eliminate their fuel surcharges? Ask them, or demand with your pocketbook that they comply.

MM [10:24]