I wasn't sure if I would be able to access my stepfather's computer during my stay... I hadn't had a chance to ask his permission before I arrived. However, having phoned to let the family know that the dogettes and the moggy were well (and that I, incidentally, had arrived without mishap), I asked about computer use and was given the go-ahead...
...but oh, what an experience! I forgot that I have a nice, new computer, as yet unencumbered with more than basic programs. I find that I don't really need a lot of software, and it seems a shame to clutter up the hard drive. As a result, my computer is amazingly fast at loading web pages, and I rarely have to wait for more than a few seconds for anything...
...my stepfather's computer, on the other hand, is a much older machine. And since my stepfather is not very technically minded, he seems to create shortcuts on the desktop instead of opening files... I found at least five shortcuts to the internet on his desktop, for example.
So, having finally managed to get in and log on to the dashboard for my blog, I had to wait for ten minutes for the comments moderation screen to show. I have since phoned back to ask if I should try and clean things up a bit...
...I just hope I don't delete something vital... like the operating system or something!!
There's no need to do lots of spring cleaning on a computer if you only use it occasionally. Bypass that cluttered hard drive with a desktop CD! Whilst Micro$oft won't let you boot up their operating system from a CD, others will. Try Ubuntu Linux (www.ubuntu.com) - you can download a CD image for free or order a CD at minimal cost. Then just pop the CD in the drive, make sure the computer is booting from CD (just a few keystrokes in the BIOS if it isn't already) and away you go at top speed. Ubuntu won't touch the hard disk, and you can read and write files to a memory stick-type drive if you have one, with no need to install anything.
ReplyDeleteUbuntu is open source software, so it's free, all updates are free, and you can copy it as many times as you want (no I don't work for them, I just use it). And according to Fr Tim, open-source software accords better with Catholic social teaching than non-free software. What better recommendation could there possibly be?
That sounds like it might send my stepfatherstraight to the funny farm... he really is not technically minded...
ReplyDelete;-)
Ask him if you can clean up his registry manually.
ReplyDelete