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Note that we now have an index of several years of the Prez Letters with topics listed. It's in the table of contents - check it out.
Recently a computer was brought to me that had severe problems with its hard drive which basically necessitated reloading from the manufacturer-supplied disk image.
Since the user was relatively unsophisticated, it was decided that the reload would be such that the user would have minimum interaction with the operating system and that the computer would be set up to be essentially as self-maintaining as possible.
So the computer was set up in the following manner:
Why go though all of the rigmarole?
Consider the objective: A backup every night that has the day's transactions. A backup that can be taken apart by the Acronis program such that the data and file structure can be moved to the "C" drive. This is Acronis' main capability that sets it apart - the ability to go into its own condensed files and present individual files or directories without relying on total partition restores. Picking out a single file from a months-old incremental file is a great advantage.
It should be noted that the above programs generally do not cause perceptible slowdown in the context of the usage of the computer. You are unaware that they are running and in general do not slow the computer perceptibly.
Then there is the installation of Crossloop.
Crossloop permits support of the computer from afar; literally, anywhere in the world. Crossloop is a desktop remote viewer. When someone needs advice, you can be invited onto the computer and solve the problem. Crossloop should be on every computer.
Windows Update and Microsoft Update work well on Microsoft software.
What about non-Microsoft software?
The answer is Secunia - a program that will scan your computer for about 25,000 programs being current and reporting that to you. Secunia should be run once a month on every computer in your possession. Since Secunia likes to stick around in the interim, it is best to go to MSCONFIG and stop Secunia from running until you need it again.
As a matter of convenience, installing a copy of PrintScreen2000 is a great aid. With just two keystrokes you can print a copy of what is on the screen and cut the printout to just the essential portion.
CCLEANER is used to cull worthless files and temporary files from the Microsoft product. Great for cleaning up the chaff!
And don't forget to run the Decrapifier at least once on your computer to get rid of the myriads of programs that the manufacturers put on because they are paid to do so.
While you are at it, review the hints in the February '09 SPAUG website on how to clean up the internals of XP that other programs do not address.
There is one last topic that should be considered: As you upgrade your computer (has to be a desktop) and you go from a 17" monitor to a 24" monitor for the readability and good pricing, don't dump your old monitor, but merely make the new monitor your main monitor and make the old one your secondary upon which you put things that you would like to see all the time but are not going to have to modify much.
For instance, while most of my editing and browsing is accomplished on the 24" screen, the "old" screen is usually showing MailWasher's view of the incoming mail progress. As the email arrives, I see at a glance the quantity, whether it is 'colored' spam that has made it past the ISP's filters (which are very good), or whether it is from an entity from which I am anticipating a response.
As a separate issue, I use MailWasher to allow me to preview mail items that need arbitrage at a human level - an invaluable function that I refuse to give up. With all of the "social engineering" going on, having preview capabilities is the only way to control spam and that old monitor is too valuable for this purpose to just recycle it.
To keep that old monitor useful and thus add to your viewing pleasure, all you need is a dual-head video card for about $60 which includes all software, cables, and adapters. What is really sexy about the setup is that when some email comes in that is too small to read, I grab the left monitor contents with the mouse and slide the whole panel's view over to the bigger monitor and then deal with the larger screen for the duration. Then I slide the results back to the smaller monitor where I don't need the acuity any more. A great use for that "old" obsolete monitor!
Robert Mitchell took several pictures with a 7 Mpixel camera (this and following), as well as of the audience participation, on a camcorder. John Sleeman and Maury Green also recorded the presentation. These several records will be combined and be viewable, we hope, in time for the next meeting. If this is sucessful, we hope that all subsequent meetings may be available online.
This was our first meeting videotaped, eventually to be made available on this website.
Minutes on page 4, PrintScreen Jan 2010
