After having visited many blogs and websites recently, I can see where some people are making mistakes.

If you don’t want your blog to be popular, and don’t care how tasteless it is, then make it private, and only allow your own select group of fans/family to view it… and then ignore the rest of this post.

Otherwise… if you want your blog to be more popular, then don’t do any of the following:

9) Schizo- Blog has a topic, but you don’t stay on topic. OK, I admit it I’m as guilty as most bloggers with this. My computer blog sometimes has posts that have nothing to do with computers. But those posts are in the minority. And I aim to keep it that way. So should you.

8 ) Copycat- copying someone else’s content: also known as shooting yourself in the foot… and then shooting yourself in the other foot  . You quickly disappear off everyone’s radar, as most search engines will notice and punish appropriately. I only use copyscape to gloat over the poor suckers with too many guns and feet

7) Annoyingggg - music and/or videos that starts spontaneously. If you like the music, then make your blog private. Few people want to listen to your bad taste. I know few people would be interested in my heavy metal music.

6) Ad overload- too many adverts. Imagine you sit down to watch some TV… you find a show, but it splits the screen into 4  sections: 3 sections show bright, animated adverts, while a quarter of the screen actually displays the TV show. Would you watch the show? Probably not (maybe if its the superbowl, or world-cup soccer, or some other favorite).

5) Imitation - Copying the bigger blogs that make more money than you… This is similar to point 6), except you are trying to make money like the big boys. Remember: only the bigger blogs can get away with too many adverts… to some extent. You might find that by cutting down from 20 ads to 10, visitors are twice as likely to click on the 10 ads. People will only put up with ads if they really love the content (ie your blog is popular)

4) Anybody home? - Not updating your blog. Try to update at least once per week.

3) I wish nobody was home - You feel guilty about not updating your blog every week… but you don’t know what to write about… so you update your blog by apologising for not updating your blog. You know what they say: its better to keep your mouth shut, and have people think you’re an idiot… rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

2) Who am I? - Your blog doesn’t have a clear topic… you just write whatever comes into your head. You might find this hard to believe, but there are thousands of blogs like this out there, and millions of people trying to avoid them. Pick a hobby… anything! If you don’t have a hobby or anything you really feel strongly about, then please close down your blog (You’ll be doing the internet a favour).

1) Slowww- you have so many ads and trinkets (widgets), that your blog take 60 seconds to load. animations, calendars, large pictures. Cut out the clocks, calendars, world maps, FireFax download icons, and anything else that isn’t relevant. Almost nobody wants to know the weather/time in Upper Kumbukta West! Also try a cache plugin like “wp super cache” it can speed up a website significantly.

Posted by Computer Help as Hints, Humor, Rant, Technical, Tutorial at 1:21 PM EDT

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I used to like reading the news from ninemsn.com.au

But lately, ninemsn has become increasingly annoying to use.

What I find most irritating, is how pages will refresh:

You are happily reading a story… maybe half way through, and suddenly the page will refresh and be re-displayed from the top… so I then have to scroll down to find where I was reading.

Of course the spontaneous video popups, a huge number of ads, and the portal “look and feel” makes the site increasingly difficult to use.

So I thought I’d try the first few sites that google gave me when I search Australia for “online news”.

I got:

• abc.net.au
• news.com.au
• skynews.com.au

At first glance, they have a similar layout.

But then Sky spontaneously started playing a video.

I have had situations where I’ve quickly opened 4 news stories (in separate tabs)… and after a few seconds, I get a barrage of different voices and music… and I need to stop all the videos/sound.

Sorry sky: you’re out!

news.com.au has the same annoying refresh problem as ninemsn… ok, news.com.au is out

That means that ABC news wins. And they have no commercial ads! … ok they do self-promote a bit, but its not unbearable.

I guess I’m showing my age, but the ABC news site is not overrun with gossip and sensationalised videos and articles, so I can read the interesting bits (and not just indulge in voyeuristic entertainment)

Posted by Computer Help as Rant at 1:13 PM EDT

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I found this link, and had a good laugh: vista performance and tuning

If you can manage to read through the whole 14 page document (and maybe even follow some of the links), you will find the process is far from Quick, and far from Easy.

I skimmed through most of it, as many parts seem to follow tip that have been available for quite a while (even I have a condensed set of tips: Tuning Vista). But I don’t pretend its quick or easy.

The part that caught my eye was the brief discussion on UAC:

While we recommend that the majority of your users run with standard user (non-administrator) privileges, there are times when it is necessary to deploy a subset of users with administrative privileges. In such circumstances, the User Account Control (UAC) Consent Prompt can slow access to administrative operations and has led some organizations to look at turning UAC off entirely.

A better alternative is to change the behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators to elevate without the prompting. This option, which can be set via Group Policy, allows the administrator to perform an operation that requires elevation without consent but still provides the other benefits afforded by UAC, such as Internet Explorer Protected Mode

For more information read “Understanding and Configuring User Account Control in Windows Vista” at the Windows Vista TechCenter.

So I thought: Hey great! I’d like to know how to elevate without prompting.

Well, I really struggled to understand the damn thing… so how is an unsophisticated vista user supposed to be able to read, absorb, and that decipher what needs to be done to elevate without prompting?

If you are interested in elevating without prompting a better solution is: Tune UAC

Microsoft: I think you really need to release a vista tweakui. Believe me, Vista needs it much more than XP ever did!

Posted by Computer Help as Rant, Technical at 1:02 PM EDT

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This relates to a prior post: http://www.computer-aid.com.au/blog/2008/05/16/on-hold-to-acer-for-125-minutes/

After trying a few more times, it seems that acer has palmed off many spare parts enquiries to highpoint australia.

And contacting highpont is what is proving the most difficult.

I’m just after a replacement LHS hinge for an acer aspire 3634lmi laptop screen.

But, it seems whenever I call highpoint, I get put on hold for just over 2 hours, and then I get disconnected.

I’m starting to wonder if there is a serious problem with this company.

Highpoint Australia seems to be consistently unable to answer routine telephone enquiries. I can understand a small company might struggle, at times, to cope with high demand, but a company as large as highpoint should at least be able to answer phone calls (if I get told: “sorry we can’t help”, then at least I know where I stand).

I then jumped onto their website, and I got an email contact form… amazingly, they replied within 15 minutes… whats going on here?

Anyway, they want to charge $129 to pickup, fix, and deliver the laptop.

From what I’ve been reading on the web, it seems like once highpoint have your equipment, you can be looking at a long wait before getting it back… So I’ll decline and push for just getting the part (if possible)

Posted by Computer Help as Rant at 1:08 PM EDT

5 Comments »

Is it just the way I write?

Am I a grumpy old so-and-so?

I believe I write objectively about my experiences, both good and bad, and I believe I should be free to express my opinion. If I’ve had bad experience with a company, then I say so. 

Anyway, for the second time in 2 years, I’ve been threatened with legal action.

Some guy calls me, saying he’s looking at my blog…

Me: “ok”

Guy: “i’m reading your post about Bxxxxxxx”

Me: “ok”

Guy: “guess where I’m from”

Me: “don’t know”

Guy: “Bxxxxxxx”

Me: “ok”

He then tells me he wants the post pulled immediately, or he will be talking to his legal representative.

I say I’ll look into it.

Anyway, I remove the references to Bxxxxxxx from the post (he didn’t say which post, so I made an educated guess).

The next day, I thought I’d better make sure the call wasn’t a crank call, and that it actually came from Bxxxxxxx.

So I email Bxxxxxxx, saying that the blog changes were only temporary until I get confirmation about who, what, etc.

Well, the reply was a legal ultimatum, saying things like: “posts regarding Bxxxxxxx in the blog section of your website amount to defamation” and “We are therefore giving you 24 hours to remove all posts relating to Bxxxxxxx”.

Um, the words don’t seem to make much sense to me… if I had a post that said nice things about Bxxxxxxx… then would that also be regarded as defamation? According to the wording of the email: yes!

And do the posts have to be removed? I don’t think so; so I decided to censor the relevant parts instead.

It seems like the email wording was composed by a lawyer who doesn’t know much about the internet… I was almost tempted to let the legal action proceed… just to see if the lawyer(s) behind this would shoot themselves in the foot. Unfortunately, I could not see my case as being as winnable as the 2clix/whirlpool case.

Well, as some of you already know, I believe that all litigious companies deserve the same fate: Bankruptcy. I think the time spent in obtaining legal advice would be much better spent improving the quality of a companies services and products. The word “microsoft” springs to mind with situations like this…

Posted by Computer Help as Business, Rant at 1:12 AM EST

4 Comments »

With my line of work, (due to the amount of travelling I now do), I’ve noticed many smoky vehicles.

Maybe I’m just getting grumpy in my middle age, but it really bugs me to see an old 4X4 diesel at the lights, right in front of me, with smoke coming out the back.

And then, when the lights go green, the 4X4 takes off, spewing out a huge cloud of diesel smoke.

It feels like every time I go somewhere, I know I’ll see at least one smoky beast.

Well, I’ve decided to do something about it.

It might not have any effect (you just never know with government departments), but I’m going to start reporting the smokers (particularly the big 4X4 and trucks) at: smoky vehicles queensland

The main reason for this is health.

The fine particulates emitted by bad diesel engines are very VERY dangerous.

Yes, I know, “modern” small-capacity diesel engines are a lot cleaner, but there are still so many bad diesels out there, its frightening.

I reckon the Government needs to introduce a compulsory annual emission test for all vehicles. Your vehicle won’t get registered unless it passes the test.

Not only will it clean the air, but it will also improve fuel economy (which means more money in the pockets of the people that actually do the driving).

Posted by Computer Help as Rant at 1:29 PM EDT

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Seems like there is a lot of legal bluff flying around at the moment.

I just read a very interesting article in Whirlpool,  (ok, I’m a bit slow on this news as well) where a very shoddy-seeming company decided to sue the founder of whirlpool.

I must say, after reading the posts, I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with 2clix.

It seems to me that the owner(s) of 2clix treat it as a pure money-making exercise, with very little interest in actually providing a product that works as advertised.

Once they saw that their income was under threat, they retaliated legally. I suspect they know little about computers (and even less about the internet), otherwise they wouldn’t have risked legal action.

Regardless of the outcome of the court action, I’d say 2clix is ultimately doomed (and I’d say it was bound to happen sooner or later anyway). The amount of bad publicity from the legal action has virtually sealed their fate, and many would say they deserve this fate.

Interestingly, it appears that they are trying to “expand” (or should I say escape?) into the UK… well, you cannot hide on the internet…

Deep down, though, I feel angry. Angry that the owners of 2clix have probably made a bucketload of $ from a bad product, and are probably living the high life, while honest people like me, have to work hard for every dollar.

It seems like the liars and the cheats are rewarded, while the honest people of the world get trodden-on.

I can almost feel what it would be like to own 2clix: you keep putting off the negative feedback, you give the company a positive vibe, and you milk it for all its worth… but you know that it will eventually end. And when it does, you just get in your merc/bmw, and drive away, since the law cannot touch your (sizeable) personal assets.

Grrr.

Update: It appears that 2clix have dropped the court action… yet a google search finds a few articles where it appears that 2clix has “changed name” / “formed a partnership with a 3rd party” in order to provide an improved product… Am I the only one to be skeptical?

Its probably worth keeping an eye on: http://www.p1software.com.au (otherwise known as Platinum One)… the sales pitch sound the same.

Posted by Computer Help as Rant at 10:58 AM EDT

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OK, I’m a few weeks late, but I’ve just realised that microsoft has effectively killed Autopatcher (autopatcher.com) in its current form.

I’ve found Autopatcher to be absolutely fantastic, when I need to reinstall XP (or do a fresh install), as it has saved me many gigabytes of downloads over the years.

Luckily, Antonis Kaladis is now looking at a way to resurrect autopatcher, so that microsoft cannot threaten autopatcher.

I just find it absurd that MS would move to prevent people from downloading Autopatcher, as it actually helps keep people “addicted” to windows… without it, Linux becomes an increasingly tempting alternative.

Even if a new autopatcher doesn’t materialise, the current Autopatcher has around 3 years worth of updates (and other useful extras), so I’ll be keeping and using my copy for a long time to come!

Posted by Computer Help as Hints, Rant, Technical at 12:06 AM EDT

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A customer wanted to move his email from his laptop to a new acer PC that he purchased recently.

After a few questions, I discovered that he didn’t care about his old emails, but he did want the address book moved over (he didn’t want to re-enter about 100 addresses).

This is where I have a few rants against microsoft (no I didn’t say this to the customer, but this is what goes through my mind)…

• Why does outlook have an address book AND a contact list? Its the same thing, with exactly the same information… Why call it by 2 different names and confuse the hell out of technically unsophisticated people?
• Why is it so difficult to transfer emails and address books from outlook to outlook express (and vice versa)? They should have been called two completely different names, as they operate completely differently.

Anyway to move an outlook address book to OE (in the microsoft convoluted way), you need to first run OE on the computer that has outlook (yes, I know its weird), select file -> import -> other address book… select microsoft exchange personal address book… then click import.

This will “magically” import the outlook address book into OE.

Now, from OE, you do: file -> export -> address book -> text file (comma separated values) … click export, then choose a destination (a usb drive is a good choice).

Take the USB drive to the new PC, run OE, select: file -> import -> other address book -> text file (comma separated values) -> import… then select the file you saved on the usb drive… next, then there you have it.

Posted by Computer Help as Rant, Technical at 1:20 PM EDT

2 Comments »

Just got a letter from AWA, asking me if I was interested in joining them as a franchisee.

Hmmm, let me see:

I need to pay them a minimum of $60,000 (of which $30,000 is training costs)

I’ll be locked in to being a franchisee for 5 years (of which the first 3 will probably be spent paying off the initial $60K).

I’ll probably get paid less than what I’m currently getting (but look on the bright side: I’ll probably be busier!).

If they operate anything like Jims Computer Services, or one of the many other computer franchise companies, then they will probably expect you to pay a fee for each potential customer, regardless of whether the customer actually books you.

So from the word go, you are under financial pressure, sales pressure (sound like you must be a good salesman to convert (pressure) each potential customer into a paying one), and must also be good with people and computers.

Its a well known fact that a competent computer technician, who is also good with people, is as common as an honest politician. I’d like to think I’m the exception to this rule, but I know I can improve my people skills (slightly )

My understanding of this field is that its probably not capable of supporting a traditional franchise structure, and it will become less-so in the future (with the cost of PCs dropping all the time). It will probably be like having a TV-repair franchise (how many of those do you know of?)

I’m finding even my own way of “expanding” is barely viable (I pay a contractor to fix a computer, I give him the majority of the customers fee, and from what I get, I pay GST and advertising costs, and I usually break even, or lose money). I don’t ask for upfront fees (but I also don’t provide much training). Any money I get is directly related to how busy the contractor is. Its a win-win situation, in that we are both motivated to do our best.

I have spoken to some ex-jims computer people, and it seems that after they sign up, they realise that the agreement is mostly in favour of the franchisor, so they struggle through the “lock-in” period, then they go it alone, by taking all their customers with them.

A lock-in period of 5 years seems very high. And I’m sure that if you try to sell the franchise before the 5 years, you will only get a small fraction of your $60,000 back.

Seems like a lose - win situation to me (franchisee loses, franchisor wins).

Whats sad, is that people will get into this, work their butts off, and at the end, will have very little to show for it.

Sure, by working for yourself, you have the freedom to work as much or as little as you like, but the financial reality is that you will work like crazy, since its not real freedom: you become a slave to “money”.

Anyway, thats enough ranting for now

Posted by Computer Help as Business, Rant at 12:15 AM EDT

5 Comments »

In June 2006, I purchased a satnav unit (navman icn320). It was a great price, and it came with the option of a free upgrade to the 2006 maps when they became available (in september 2006).

I thought: thats great, I’ll buy it, as it will make my travels safer.

As I used it, it worked really well, but I started finding the outdated map frustrating… I good example is a nearby road (warroo drive). It was once split into 2 parts, but the 2 parts were joined before I moved to qld (ie Warroo drive must have been joined before 2005).

So I put up with it, and in september, I send away a form, requesting a map upgrade, together with a copy of my receipt.

A month later, I phoned navman, and I’m told sorry, you cannot get map upgrades for the icn320… its no longer a current product… its not for sale anymore.

OK, I explain that one of the reasons I bought it was because it was advertised with a “free upgrade to the 2006 maps”, so you had better deliver on your advertised promises.

So then I get: “Oh in that case, let me check”.

Then I’m then told: yes, you can get upgrades, but they will only be ready in November, and we also don’t have your details on file anywhere… could you send them again…

OK, I get their email address, so I can send it via email.

I email again at the end of November, and I’m told there has been a delay, and the maps will only be ready in december. Oh, and could you please send the scan of the receipt again?

Ok, I send the receipt, application form, etc again, then in Jan I email again, asking about the maps.

I get yet another apology… sorry for the inconvenience, and am told the map will be shipped to me in Feb.

Nothing in Feb, so I fire off another email, and this time I get a more meaningful reply:

map updates were sent to me in Jan and again in Feb… I should have received them. I then get a commitment to send the map via express post… I think: good

Well, work gets very busy, so about 2 weeks later, I’m about to call navman, and I receive an express post letter with the map upgrade. Hooray!!! (Although 2 weeks for en express post letter from NSW to QLD seems a tad slow…)

its a navman icn330 map chip, so I hope it works with an icn320…

Well, it does work (to my relief), and it has 1 or 2 extra features, which is nice.

I then look to see what new roads it has… Hold on. Warroo drive is still split into 2 parts… plus about 15 other places I know were wrong in the 2005 maps, are still wrong in the 2006 maps.

Is this a navman problem, or a whereis problem?

I check the info menus on the navman, and it shows that the maps were generated around mid 2006… so it could be Whereis / Sensis (I like to call them Sensless ).

Yep, I go to the whereis website, and it still shows warroo drive as being split in 2… Grrr

Just to get a second opinion, I take a look at the Street Directory website. It has NO errors… as far as I can see, it is fully up to date… even recent road alterations (from 1 month ago) are there.

Since I’m from Melbourne, I’ve grown up with the local melbourne street map (called melway)… recently, they have branched out to create the Sydway, Brisway, etc… and they also provide the maps behind street directory… They really seem to be on the ball!

I must say, after this whole saga, I’d be prepared to spend an extra $100 on a satnav that uses the brisway/sydway/melway maps, rather than the crappy whereis maps.

Sensis really need to get their act together… if/when the melway people can come out with satnav maps, I reckon Sensis will be scrambling to catch up.

Posted by Computer Help as Hints, Rant, Technical at 12:55 PM EDT

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