IT’S NOT MARMITE, IT’S WINDOWS 8!

Posted on November 29, 2012 by davidm

That’s what reviewers are calling Windows 8 – The Marmite Experience. You love it or hate it.

Trouble is, a lot of people will have no choice in the matter if they’re buying a new computer with Windows on it.

Here is my story of setting up my first brand new computer with Windows 8.

A long-time client of mine decided he needed a new computer, his trusty 7 year old desktop having finally stopped working. It would have cost more to try to bring it back to life than it would to simply get a new one.

We priced out a few options and settled on a Dell Inspiron model. It arrived a few days later. With Windows 8 on it.

I took the computer out of its box, plugged everything in, and pushed the power button. And when it booted up, here’s what we saw.

I think I designed something like this in Grade 3.

Nothing resembles any previous version of Windows. No icons, no Start button, none of the usual things on the screen. Microsoft calls these coloured blocks on the screen “tiles”.

So how to begin using this thing?

“Let’s get my e-mail going”, my friend suggests. Okay, that’s a good place to begin. There’s even a “tile” on the screen that says “Mail”.

All right. Now, my client has always used Outlook or Outlook Express for his email. What happens when we click on the Mail tile is that we’re taken to an online (Internet) screen that wants us to “sign in” or “create a new account”. He’s already got an account, why does he have to make a new one? He doesn’t have to. All we want to do is set up Outlook and get on with e-mailing like he’s used to.

A little problem here: where is Outlook? We know it’s on the computer’s hard drive somewhere – we ordered it with Office already installed. But there doesn’t seem to be any way to locate the program. No list of programs, no Start button to find programs, no way to search for it.

I notice a tile on the screen that say’s Desktop. Hooray! I click on it and get something that resembles Windows XP or Windows 7.

But still no Start button. Just where will I have to go to start up Outlook?

Now I’m starting to get really unhappy. Keep in mind that I’d already been playing with this new operating system for a week. I was getting bored having to work around this new User Interface just to do my work. Easter egg hunts happen once a year, not every time you turn on your computer. But that’s what you will discover with Windows 8. Or, rather, not discover.

I had to look up on Google just how to find and start up the old familiar programs. Without having the Windows 8 screen right in front of you, it’s too hard to describe how we got it happening, but after some looking, we got Outlook running and set up his e-mail.

But that experience with Outlook is indicative of everything you try to do with Windows 8. Nothing is where it was.

I won’t go through every program we tried to get going. The main conclusion is that we had to ignore everything that was on that big colourful childrens’ tile screen – except the Desktop tile, of course. Every tile that says Mail, Music, Video, Pictures will take you to the Microsoft Store where you have to sign up for a special account and use an “APP” that you’ve never seen or heard of before. These tiles don’t start up the programs you’re used to like Windows Media Player, Photo Gallery, Outlook – just a bunch of stuff that should be running on a cell phone.

The good news is that you can completely disable this new Windows 8 Start screen. There are a few little programs, some free, that let you boot up your computer so it looks just like Windows XP or 7.

That’s what we did. We used a program called Classic Shell that gives you back your regular-looking desktop and your Start button. I don’t know how many people are going to be able to do without such a program.

Windows 8 is for touch screens, plain and simple. In my opinion, it has no place on a regular desktop or laptop computer. At least, not as long as Microsoft forces it’s new way of doing things on its customers.

My clients are practical people. Most use their computers for e-mail, surfing the Net, and word processing. All these things are still possible with Windows 8, but not as easy as it once was. It just takes a bit of tweaking, and then Windows 8 will behave very much like Windows 7. But it does take a bit of tweaking.

If all this scares you a bit, and you are in the market for a new computer soon, there are still some systems available with Windows 7. For the next few months, even new computers that come with Windows 8 will be able to have Windows 7 installed on them. The hardware will still be compatible for a while.

Or, you can get a Mac if you want. Linux if you dare.

The final verdict on Windows 8: some people will never acquire the taste for Marmite.

PC Online Scams – When "Windows" comes calling

Posted on November 28, 2012 by davidm

I’m now used to clients getting “cold called” by computer scammers. Today I got a call myself from one of these guys.

They said they were from “Microsoft Windows” and were calling about my computer problem.
What problem?

But I knew what I was dealing with here. That’s because I’ve had to clean up after them a number of times.

Typically what has happened to several of my clients is that they get a phone call. The caller usually sounds typically “North American”, without any discernable accent.
They say they are calling from “Windows” or even Microsoft, though Microsoft will never call you.
It’s about the problem with your computer. Often the delivery is so professional sounding, that people will go along with them.
The next thing is that they want you to go to a website where you click “Yes” a couple of times. What you are doing is giving them remote access to your computer. You can watch your mouse pointer move all over your screen by itself! Well, it’s someone else doing it.
Now they run a little program that shows a multitude of problems with your computer. Frightening, yes?

It’s a scam. These “problems” are almost sure to be false.
It’s very much like the old vacuum salesman’s trick of throwing dirt on you carpet and, Presto!, offering the solution – a brand new vacuum cleaner that he’s got right here.

There is usually nothing to clean up on your computer, nothing wrong with it at all.

But how professional and caring the guy on the phone is! Now he will offer to keep your computer problem-free if only you subscribe to an annual subscription fee. Usually around $300.00.
And then he will want your credit card information. Sad to say, a couple of my clients have done this and then had to go through the hassle of contacting their bank and cancelling their cards. Unfortunately, once the transaction is done, it’s done. You’ve paid. The bank will not help you retrieve your money.

And not only do these guys have your money (and credit card number), but who knows what else they’ve planted on your computer while they had control of it. Spyware, malware – these are things that can report back to them any of your internet activities, or even lift passwords and banking information.
This is the making of “identity theft”.

You don’t want any of this.

If you get a call from someone who says they’re from “Windows” or Microsoft, the simple thing to do is hang up. There is nothing to be gained by engaging them.

By the way, Microsoft, the real Microsoft, will never call you out of the blue. Never.

Over the last year, I’ve had a chance to research this particular scam, and it almost invariably originates from India. If pressed, the scammers will say they’re company’s name is PC-Care, or Online PC Care, or PC Online – you see the pattern.
They will even give out a phone number to call them back. These are usually bogus numbers, with area codes in the U.S. Unless you have good computer hacking skills, you will have a nigh on impossible chance of tracking down where on the planet they are. But the consensus is, they are from India.

I must admit I had fun with the guy who called me today. I told him I knew exactly what we was going to ask me to do, in what order, and how much he was going to charge me for it. I also told him what his company was really called, and that I was reporting this call to the RCMP. That usually does it, but this one had gumption and started yelling (there was an accent, now) that I knew nothing about his business. I hung up.

So watch out for these kinds of phone calls. Don’t engage them, don’t follow any of their instructions, and for heaven’s sake don’t let them take control of your computer. The giving out of credit card numbers I will credit you for being smart enough to avoid.

I can and have helped people clean up after this experience with scammers, but it’s not the way I’d prefer to make a buck. I would sooner not have you vulnerable to this mischief in the first place.

Be careful out there.

A Word About Windows 8

Posted on November 8, 2012 by davidm

Hi Everyone,

This is just a quick note to clients and friends about Windows 8, the new operating system from Microsoft.

Windows 8 has been out for just one week and the reaction to it is mixed, to say the least.

Windows 8 is totally different looking from anything you’ve seen before. If you’re familiar with the iPad or other “touchscreen” tablet devices, you’ll be right at home.

(your new Windows 8 desktop screen – where to begin?)

But if you are like the vast majority of my clients, you will be baffled simply trying to get your favourite programs to work.

Here’s a typical article about the trouble with Windows 8:

http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/76479.html

I’ve been playing with Windows 8 for the last week and I’m having a tough time myself.

So my short message today is: If you are thinking of buying a new computer soon, you may want to get one with Windows 7 while you can.

Windows 8 is that different

I set up my first Windows 8 computer for a client tomorrow. I’ll be posting my experience on the Reluctant Computers website:

You may want to check it out.

And if you have any questions or need some help, just get in touch.

Thanks for reading,

David

and, at the risk of jumping the gun: