Windows Snipping tool-Another way to copy

With my new computer I'm trying to find ways to use the programs that come with Windows 7. Last night I used something I hadn't even thought about. I wanted to copy a song list off itunes music store, but couldn't figure out how. So I went to my Windows 7 book, which mention the Windows Snipping Tool.

This is a little program that allows you to copy a page or part of a page, & then do one of a number of things. You can e-mail it, or paste it in another program. Or in my case, I sent the page to documents, after which I was able to print the page.

This worked great, because when i tried to print directly from itunes, it was way too large & cut off part of the page. How it works is you use your cursor to draw a line around what content you want to copy. then you print it. Actually that didn't work so well. But there are multiple options. The rectangular snip didn't work for me, but the window snip was perfect. It captured the full page at the right size, was readable, & I will probably use it again. I would be interested in how an e-mail would work, or how i would use this tool to paste it into, say a Word document.

For all the talk about Mac, I think this is a nice little helper, & I am already thinking of something else I could use it for. There are other programs I should use, but maybe I don't know about them yet. It's just nice to know there is something that helps we non-geeks in using our computers to a greater degree.

The problem with streaming video

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The new way to watch video is supposed to be online. Not DVD rentals. While it sounds good, it really doesn't work that well depending on your hardware & the streaming service you use.

I use Netflix. While streaming seems to be the way the site does it in Canada, in the USA the amount of movies is very limited. I'm not really interested in 10 year old movies I barely remember, or straight to video productions. This seems to be what they offer to us. Or you watch 30 year old or more films. Some which are classics (Bonnie & Clyde, Lawrence of Arabia), but still. Those will show up on TCM or somewhere else.

And yet this is supposed to be the wave of the future. Again: What if you don't have good enough hardware? Am I supposed to spend extra money on a Roku box just to watch movies? Ain't gonna happen. I have watched some on my computer. Fine. But why watch on a small monitor instead of a full size tv?

In some cases technology seems to be going backwards while appearing to go forward. I just want to watch something. I shouldn't have to go through hoops.

When a website sells smaller qty's than store

You want to think that it's convenient to go in a store & see the item you want to buy rather than buy online without seeing it. Not always the case. I went in a store that just opened up in my local mall that sells specialty teas. Get this: loose leaf in large quantities. They, of course, try to sell you special containers & fancy tea kettles & services.


Now I go on their website & low & behold, I can buy the tea in reasonable quantities. You know, like 20 cups. Different types are at different prices like white tea costing more than black tea & herbals costing yet a different price (gotta love that). But I can handle say $6 for some type of tea as opposed to the physical store selling a pound for $20-30.


This is because people will buy on the spur of the moment when in the store. Especially now that we're getting close to the holidays (fancy Christmas gift). Who is going to think "I wonder what their website has"? Me, I say, "no I ain't paying that for tea when i can go to Target & pay $3 for 20 bags of Bigelow or Tazo", which I did.

Sony Walkman discontinued on ipod's birthday

I was shocked, shocked I tell you to read that Sony is killing off the Walkman! They still make it? And they're doing it on the 9th anniversary of the ipod's birth. How ironic. And get this. I just went in my bedroom & I still have it. It's sitting on a shelf on a tv cart, & hasn't been turned on in years. I just pushed some dust aside, found the on switch, clicked it & the radio still works!! How long have the batteries been in that thing?

So say what you will about not progressing. I mean it's a cassette player with a radio in a mp3 world. But after years it still works. That's amazing. Of course it was going to go under eventually. How many cassettes would get eaten up, plus the pain of rewinding just so you could take the tape out, flip it over to listen to the other side. Not to mention how do you find a specific song.

So yeah, it's surprising that it lasted this long. But then again, I still have a VCR. Yes I have a DVD player, but not a DVR. At least not yet. The Walkman changed the way people listened to music, but it was never perfect. You could only listen to one tape (an album's worth) at a time. My ipod is an 8GB nano, & I have probably 10 full cd's on it. And some time in the future it will be replaced by something that hasn't been created yet.

Will high tech ever come to household chores?

Today I did two things that everyone has to do sometimes. I vacuumed my house & did the laundry. And while I sit here at my computer I have a thought. It's 2010. Why am I still cleaning the carpets & my clothes the same way my mother & grandmother did? Yes, I could splurge & buy a Roomba & maybe a super speed washer/dryer, but the technology is basically the same.

Yeah, the Roomba is a fun idea. Program it, & get out of the way. Let it run around the house picking up dirt. Of course, I don't know how good this thing actually is. Do I have to use a regular vacuum to pick up what it didn't? How about the washer/dryer. Why hasn't that been redesigned. Like something that can wash with little water (maybe steam or a non-water based detergent product), & then a fast drying application. Why the same system as 50 years ago?

Cooking has changed (microwaves anyone?), cars (hybrids, electrics), mail (e-mail), but these two everyday or , at least once a week, haven't & I wonder if they ever will. Where is the genius who will really change our lives for the better?

Are $200 headphones that much better than $30 ones?

When I got my ipod it came with the standard cheap Apple earbuds. the sound wasn't that great (although I'm no audiophile), plus I have one ear with a bigger opening than the other meaning flat earbuds like Apple's don't like to stay in.

So I spent months looking online for better buds. I looked at a lot of sites at a lot of reviews of a lot of earbuds. On ear, in ear, headphones (sorry, but those just look dumb). I checked out all the different brands & all different price points from $10 to $100. I really didn't want to spend more than $50, but I looked.

I wanted ones with legitimate bass, & realistic sound. I ended up getting some $30 Sony in-ear buds. I've had them for several months, & was using them this afternoon to listen to some classical music. These are nice. Are they as good as really expensive ones? I have no idea. but then again, I said I wasn't an audiophile. Heck, I have a $50 home theater from Walmart, so what do I know?

The point is, you can charge anything & claim your product is superior because of this or that. Most people can't tell the difference, because it's not their job to look for tiny little flaws. I can't go into Target or Best Buy & tell the difference between the $800 & $2000 big screen either. But because of the money involved, I will study & investigate through Cnet, Consumer Reports, & any other media that reviews products.  It was months of looking before I bought my new computer.

The biggest problem imho is there is just too many choices, even within the same brand. I don't like having to spend months just deciding what earphones, speakers, or tv to buy. but that's the reality so I deal with it. As does everybody else. But how much money is wasted by companies making so many different models that all do the same thing?

Why touchscreen voting failed

Sometime this week I will vote in the general election. What's that you say?  The election isn't until November 2. Yes, but like a majority of Californians, I am a permanent vote-by-mail voter.

The June primary saw 57% vote by mail. Over 6 million are registered as permanent voters this way. Why has this happened? Because of all the nonsense that has gone on since the 2000 election. Touchscreens were thrown out of California & other states because of problems. Like clicking on one candidates name, & it picking the one next to it. The ability to hack the machines. Glitches like one in Ohio this year, where the machines simply stopped working.

And, of course, the CEO of Diebold, which has since changed it's name, saying he wanted to deliver states to George Bush. Ooops. So in this case, technology failed badly. So back to paper ballots. Although many foreign countries are using these discredited machines. Internet voting will never happen for the same reason. They use it in Switzerland, where they get passwords through the mail. Estonia uses a half-assed system. A national identity card with a chip that gets you to the online ballot. but you can only use it on the official advanced voting day. Otherwise you have to go to a polling station on election day. That's kind of odd.

I would like to see a more modern system, but obviously we tried, but it didn't work. Computers can have glitches. the makers of these devices clearly didn't watch closely enough to make sure they were totally secure, & hackers are always out there, along with dishonest people.

Smart Meters & the internet

Several months ago PG&E installed a smart meter at my place. This has been a big controversy in California with customers complaining of their bills skyrocketing after the meters were installed. It appears that in some cases, the meters were inaccurately counting heavy usage where there wasn't any. Also they seem to interfere with things like radios & baby monitors.

I'm happy to say that mine hasn't done any of that. my bill hasn't changed at all. Plus I get to log on to my account & see what my usage is. This is good. Of course they say see when you use the most & change your ways. Well, what I see is what I would expect.

What I mean is that the two times that my usage escalates quite a lot is exactly when I already knew it would. Sunday afternoons & Wednesday afternoons. Why? Because those are the two times during the week that I do laundry. That's right. When I run the washing machine & the dryer. And yes. The chart online shows heavier usage on Sunday. That's because I have more to dry. Meaning on Sunday I run the dryer 2 times to dry everything while on Wednesday I have less, therefore I only run the dryer once.

And the other time it's high is after 6PM. Hmmm. Dinner anyone? But only at the beginning of the week, because that's when I use the oven. Since I get home after 7 on work days, I only use the microwave, & that shows.

Now other people can use this chart to actually change the way they do things, so that's good. It doesn't effect me too much. Now when winter comes & I start using my furnace, then maybe I can try something different. But for now I have to say that i am glad the smart meter hasn't killed me with jacked up prices.

Music & the Internet

I have lately been thinking about putting some classical music on my ipod. I want to have a alrge selection of different types of music. Yes, i am a rock fan first, but unlike the youth of today, I have no problem listening to other types of music. There are actually classical pieces I like.

The problem is finding stuff online. Yes, i could just go to itunes. But here's the problem. Huge number of albums, with an excessive playlist. Do I really need a download with 50 or 100 different pieces, most which I have never heard of? Remember, we are talking about probably 3-4 hours worth of music. Yes, the price of some of these collections is small ($7 in the case of "50 greatest classical", or whatever it's called).

So I go online. There are many websites devoted to classical downloads. But the selection is limited & you get the same problem as with itunes. Another way is to go to YouTube, & listen to some pieces. Then you get to decide what you like. Then you can go to itunes & buy the pieces. Of course, this costs more than buying one of the albums for sale there. but again, do I need 4 hours of music, maybe by lesser performers. I want the music being performed by the best artists, because they interpret the classical music the best.

I guess I can go to a used cd store (there are 2 big ones 20 minutes from my home), & see what they have, but the internet should do a better job.

Digital confusion

I was in a big box store today looking at, well, a number of things. I originally went there to look at cd's (you remember those don't you?), but they have cut their selection in half. So I started looking at stereos with ipod docks. What I do is plug mine into my sound system. But it's a hassle, because I have to take out the ear buds & plug in the cable for the speakers. I don't like having to do this. This is because my stereo is old enough that it doesn't have a dock. But spending $150 is not something I want to do just now.

So the person is telling me , yeah you can do this, but don't keep the ipod in or it will continually charge, eventually wearing out the battery. Which is not only a bad idea, but Apple makes it worse by not letting you change the battery yourself. (Why do they insist on locking the case? Every other battery using device lets you replace the battery. Sigh).

Then I start looking at digital cameras. This is because the holidays are coming up, & all though my family takes lots of photos, I never get any. I am not going to bring my 20 year old Nikon SLR to a family gathering. Yes, it's a nice camera, but it's also a pain to carry around.

But digital cameras are a problem. So many choices & varieties. 10 mp, 12 mp. Some use AA batteries, some use rechargeable batteries. Some have 3X zoom, some 4X. Some have HD capability, some don't. And they don't come with any memory, so you have to buy a memory card for them, & of course, you have to find out just what kind fits in that particular camera. Why is this necessary? It's like printers not coming with the cable needed to connect to the computer. Just common sense.

The digital world is great, but some of the devices are a problem because different manufacturers are responsible for different things that make the device work. I guess people are getting used to this, but they shouldn't have to.

New anti-virus initiative

A british firm wants to start a new way to fight computer viruses. The head of the company used to work for McAfee. The problem is, of course, that anti-virus software reacts after finding a virus on your machine, rather than stopping all from attaching to begin with. The reason is that new viruses & malware are created every day (60,000 a day according to a BBC article).

The idea is to install a program that logs when something is put on your computer, & tell you when the virus was fixed. I'm confused. Isn't this what they do anyway? Well, other than the fact that you have to run the program yourself. I guess because anti-virus software will go after a known virus, rather than finding a new one , & creating a fix for it. I guess that's an improvement, but it still isn't as fast as I would like.

What I actually think should happen is what I said earlier: block viruses from ever getting on the machine. I used to have a spyware blocker on my old computer, but never put it on my new machine, because it only blocked spyware on IE. I use Firefox, so what's the point? Now I use Malwarebytes & have no issues. But again, what will it take to create something like that for viruses, & shouldn't it be built in on every computer?

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years because this problem is getting bigger, & the bad guys are not getting caught.

What is a download?

There are a lot of websites that offer free downloads of media. What is amazing is the the number of sites that misuse the term. I have found several sites, including Twittv (which should know better), that seemed confused by the term.

Download implies that you are copying a file to your hard drive. This means that you can access the content without needing to be online at the time. But TWIT & other sites I have been on mean something different. Namely click download & the file starts playing. It doesn't go on your computer. it is simply streaming audio, usually with Quicktime as the media player. Again, this means to play it you have to be online, using a browser. That is not a download. I don't need to be online to play music that's in my itunes library.

So I'm confused. Are these sites deliberately misusing the term to get listeners, or are they unaware of the proper terminology? Maybe the thought is that non-techies don't understand the meaning of streaming, but if that's the case, a short description belongs on the site, & TWIT shouldn't at all, since it is a tech site.

With the number of people using computers & smartphones today to access media, correct terminology is neccessary so as not to turn people off. I don't want to have to go to multiple sites to find something just because the wrong word is being used to describe what the site does or offers.

The terror of captcha's

I was trying to submit this blog to Bing, but came across that internet terror known as a captcha. This is that silly little box with a word in an almost unrecognizable form that you have to put in a box & submit before the site will accept your site or whatever. The problem is, of course what I said. Sometimes you can't figure out what the word is.

Yes, I understand that they are trying to keep bots from submitting stuff, but if you make the captcha unreadable, then you have thrown out legitimate sites. I had to submit this blog 3 times before Bing allowed it. Why? Because I couldn't figure out all the letters. That's a problem. Because I want this blog searchable on all engines, not just Google. That increases the chances of someone coming across it.

Right now this is only being read by a few people. None more than once. I want that to change.

Internet Explorer use below 50%

According to StatCounter, IE's market share fell in September to 49.87%, almost a 10% drop from last year. This despite the fact that most businesses insist on using it. My company not only uses IE, they use IE6, which now has only 5% share. But then again, my company uses a combination of XP & Windows 2000!

Unfortunately, if you have a Windows machine, you will have IE on it because it is built in. I actually have IE8 & when IE9 comes out I will update, because it will be more secure, & you need it for Windows Update. But I do use Firefox 99% of the time. And it's share has finally gone up to 31.5%, with Google Chrome up to 11.54%.

Chrome's figures are remarkable. It's only been out what? Two years, maybe? I'm guessing it will eventually compete with Firefox for 2nd place, although I am not that big a fan of it. Yeah, it's faster, but not as configurable as Firefox, & I'm not sure it works as well, or shows sites as well, which is also Opera's main problem. That's why that browser, which created most of the stuff that Firefox has as add-ons, has a tiny share (2%).

Yet there are still websites written for IE, that cause me to use it because the site doesn't load properly in FF. Hopefully that will change. FF4 will be coming soon, with a Chrome like UI, & apparently a lot faster. Then the real browser war will begin when IE9 releases.

Why I don't listen to the radio

I used to listen to the radio a lot. But after many decades I just got tired of all the commercials. Plus, why is every station in a commercial at the same time? That's silly. Plus, even in an area as big as the bay area, seemingly the 50 or so stations are playing only probably 3 or 4 different formats. So the only time I listen to any station is on my days off. And then it's before I get up, & I listen to Stephanie Miller's syndicated liberal political/comedy show.

Right now, while I'm writing this, I'm listening to internet radio on itunes. Big R Radio's the Wave. Yes, an 80's new wave station. Yeah, I'm 57, but I love that stuff. Try finding it on over the air radio. Or Jazz or Classical. Or anything that isn't the same 20 songs played endlessly. And unlike satellite radio, where you have to spend lots of money for the equipment to listen to it, all you need for internet radio is a connection & a computer or a portable device with internet access & sound. Much preferable.

Now most of the time I don't even do that. Usually I just listen to my ipod. Then I know I will like everything. But then you just here the same songs. (OK-they're playing My Sharona now. Heck I hear that at work, but you get my point). I do need more songs on my ipod.

Where are computers going?

I ask this because nobody talks about computers anymore. At least not in the traditional sense. Reading tech blogs & listening to podcasts like This Week in Tech & Tech News Today. It's all about smartphones & tv devices like the Roku & Boxee & Apple TV & the upcoming Google TV, which BTW, has no deals with any network. Yeah, I'll rush out to get that.

I feel like I'm behind the times because my high tech buy this year was a new desktop. Apparently I'm the only one who has bought one. Can't understand why every computer maker hasn't gone out of business. But, of course, this is just how the tech media treats it. They only want to talk about these small portable devices.

Yes a lot of people bought ipads, & every other company is going to bring out their version before Christmas. But if you actually want to use it for work, you need a computer, not a tablet. Not an iphone or Android device. Too small. Try writing & reading something that small for several hours. Ain't gonna happen.

Heck, I want a DVR, but because of the economy, & more to the point, my personal economy, it's not gonna happen. So I watch my shows on a 25" tube tv, & watch Letterman online a week after the fact (Dear CBS-Why?). A digital camera? Maybe. The little prepaid cell phone I have has a camera, but it doesn't have a zoom, so picture taking is limited. And my Nikon SLR that I haven't used in years is just too big to carry around. Funny how digitals look like the old snap photo cameras of decades ago. New tech that looks like tech from 50 years ago. Isn't that funny?

My ipod? Haven't downloaded any music in quite a while. Just putting my own cd's on it. Pay for the junk produced now? No thanks.

Facebook? I went on there to promote this blog. Yeah, a few people are reading it, but I'm not gonna brag about one guy in South Africa or whoever in Canada read it last week. So I just keep looking at what's going on, & doing what I can.

Old tech fail or Why is my Mcdonald's backwards?

I'm not sure this was a mistake or someone thought this was a good idea. They tore down the McDonald's 2 blocks from my house so they could build a new "better" one. First of all, it doesn't look any bigger, but here's the thing. Did the contractor look at the blueprints upside down?

What do I mean? It's on a major crosstown boulevard, but the entrance is in the back. Huh? The drive-thru is in the front, parallel to Blossom Hill Road. The outside patio is on the right, with a small one door entrance. In the back is a parking lot with the main entrance.

Mind you, there's a high school 2-3 blocks away. Think they might walk there? Plus, it didn't need a separate parking lot because it's in a shopping center with a very large lot supporting a CVS, & several restaurants.

So what's the tech? Why they designed it this way. Again, it's no bigger than the one they tore down. The old one had a kid's playground, this one doesn't. The old one didn't have a drive-thru, this one does, so I guess that's an improvement. But why spend the money if you are not improving? Yeah, people had jobs for a while to build it, but they're gone now.

Any time you do something, it needs to be moving forward. The Jack in the Box a block away is small (remodeled but that's all), but it has a kiosk inside, so you can place an order without having to wait for the next order taker to get to you. That's actually kind of cool. But most fast food restaurants don't do anything to move things along. Or most restaurants period. The most high tech thing is the little buzzers some places give you to tell you when your order is ready.

I don't think it's a backlash against technology. I just don't think the designers think about it. There needs to be a new system to create more convenience for people, but someone will always be against it, or not even think of it.

Online grocery lists

So I decided "instead of just jotting down what i need, why don't I find a site that makes more professional looking lists?" So that's what i did. There were several on the first page of results alone. I looked at several different ones, didn't like how some of them looked. A couple had pre-set templates, which were way too small, with too many items, & others would let you check items.


That's what I eventually went with. Scroll down the list of items until you found what you needed, & make a checkmark. OK. Items separated by type (breakfast,frozen,meat,etc.). Looks fine so far. But when you print it up, it's in really small type, hard to read. So I (thinking logically) zoomed in a couple of times to make it larger, then printed again. Guess what? Same size!

The internet can be good for some things, but apparently printing grocery lists isn't one of them. I don't understand the concept of not making it readable. I guess i could just create my own list using Word, where i could control the font size, but shouldn't these websites be doing this? I guess most people just write it down. I just wanted something that looked better, & where I wouldn't overlook something (which happened last week causing me to have to go back to the same store the next day).

Maybe Steve will create the ilist for the ipad to use at the all new igrocery (LOL), but that doesn't help me. 

Dish loses channels like Directv last year

This is nothing new. Last year I had to suffer the loss of Versus, meaning I missed the end of the IndyCar season, & the entire NHL season. It was the same nonsense as Dish is getting now. And for the same reason. In this case Fox is trying to get a 50% increase in fees from Dish to carry their channels, which include NatGeo, FX, & 19 regional sports channels.

This will continue to happen. Every year this happens. Last year it was Directv, before that it was Cablevision or was it Time Warner? Remember New Yorkers getting ABC part way into the Oscars? Meanwhile Fox is telling subscribers to switch to Directv or cable. Remember, the NFL is on the over the air network & that will be next. They will go after Directv next, when that contract is up. Switching providers is not the answer. Fox is the problem.