April 2008 Issue

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Ken's Chat

I have not used my computer much at all these past few months. For a long period I was unwell and since feeling better I have devoted all of my spare time to finishing a summer house that I started at the beginning of last summer.

Over the years I have accumulated a large number of programs. Many purchased but the bulk were samples sent by publishers when I did some work for Personal Computers, a business run by an old member - Richard Starkey. Nowadays I use very few programs. Some are for recording CD's and DVD's. I have collected and listed thousands of audio tracks, which is why I purchased my Amstrad 1512 computer many years ago.

Modern technology has spoilt this hobby for me as it is so easy to record via my Sky + box. It is also very easy to download any title that I wish instead of searching the shops as I did for years.

What do I use my computer for? Very little in fact. Thinking about this I did a mini survey and discovered that most people use their computer for very little except for Email and the Internet.

I mostly use a spreadsheet which I use for several things other than as a spreadsheet. A spreadsheet can be set up for many uses such as a diary or for lists and is just as good as a database for many purposes.

Bryan's Chat

When I switched on my computer the other day Windows immediately downloaded about 10 megabytes of security updates and asked me if I wanted to install them, to which I agreed. When this was finished I was told to reboot the computer, which I did. All seemed well but one of the updates was for IE7 and I had to tell the Zone Alarm firewall again to allow IE7 to access the internet and the trusted zone.

This is just a very minor case of Windows, in modifying itself, affecting other programs and settings on a computer.

About a year ago my TFT monitor started occasionally going blank and the only way back was to reboot the computer - not just restart Windows. I eventually found that I had to download an updated driver for my graphics card which the manufacturer had to produce purely because Microsoft had decided that they were going to change Windows and everybody else was going to have to accommodate them!

Just last week a friend of mine found that his TFT Monitor suddenly blanked out. All he was able to see was the low resolution screens as the computer started up. As soon as Windows started and called for higher resolutions the screen went blank. He spoke to the retailer who put him on to the manufacturer who was very helpful and arranged for a replacement monitor to be delivered this week.

By chance I was speaking to him over the weekend and he mentioned the problem.

I asked him if he had noticed if Windows had been updating at about that time. He said that yes it had updated and it was when he next started up that he had the problem but he had not made the connection. I suggested that he checked for a later version of his graphics card driver. He did so and found that there was one dated just a few weeks ago which he downloaded and installed and that solved the problem. He then had to tell the manufacturer, rather sheepishly, that a replacement monitor was no longer necessary.