computer problems – Oddball Update

Solving Windows 8 Sleep Issues

November 3, 2012November 3, 2012 Chief Oddball 4 Comments

I first installed Windows 8 when the RTM became available to MSDN subscribers in August, and on my home computer I had one serious problem that kept bugging the hell out of me and which I was never able to solve: Windows 8's sleep, hibernation and much-vaunted "Fast Startup" options just plain wouldn't work right.

Acclimate or Die: The Importance of Keeping Pace with New Tech

August 24, 2012August 24, 2012 Chief Oddball 2 Comments

In my younger days I spent a lot of time experimenting with a great many things in the realm of computers. New games, new software, new OS tweaks, new hardware types, new ways of doing old things. I loved being on the bleeding edge, and if something new that I tried didn’t work out, I usually fussed and fretted and pounded away at it until I made it work out.

Oddball Review: Microsoft BlueTrack Wireless Mouse

May 8, 2012May 9, 2012 Chief Oddball 1 Comment

My faithful Logitech MX400 laser mouse recently started acting up, failing to register a left-click every so often. Because this is one of those problems that becomes über annoying über rapidly, I ordered a replacement. I was going to simply get the MX500, essentially the evolution of my current mouse, because I use one at work and like it.

Windows 7 Hanging at Logon? Try Hotfix 2578159

April 18, 2012April 18, 2012 Chief Oddball 15 Comments

So tonight I fire up my desktop PC just like usual, key in my password just like usual and as a result am greeted by the “Welcome” message and animated spinner, just like usual. Except unlike usual, the “Welcome” message sits there perpetually spinning for fifteen minutes with no further response.

Internet Explorer 9, Helvetica Type 1, and You

August 13, 2011October 24, 2011 Chief Oddball 9 Comments

Back when Microsoft officially released the RTM of Internet Explorer 9, I decided to give it a try. After all, as a web designer, I have to stay on top of these things. But I also hated how slow IE8 was, and although there are very few things I still use IE for, I had heard IE9 was a pretty substantial upgrade.

The iPhone 4 Signal Loss Paroxysm

June 24, 2010October 7, 2011 Chief Oddball 1 Comment

For the last week or so, I’ve been following the news of Apple’s latest generation iPhone: the iPhone 4. Since AT&T made most of the owners of last year’s iPhone 3GS eligible for upgrade immediately, I decided to go ahead and get an iPhone 4, then sell my 3GS to make up the difference.

Facebook Frak-Up

March 27, 2010September 21, 2011 Chief Oddball 5 Comments

At times I have felt like the last person on Earth who does not have a Facebook account. Not long ago I learned that both of my parents have their own Facebook profiles, and my wife recently signed up for one at the request of a friend.

Fix Slow WebDAV Performance in Windows 7

December 18, 2009February 21, 2012 Chief Oddball 59 Comments

I have an iPhone file storage app called Air Sharing that uses a WebDAV server to let you connect to it with a PC. For some reason, a few weeks after installing Windows 7, file transfers to or from this (or any other) WebDAV server became incredibly, mind-numbingly, literally-33.6K-dialup slow.

Comedycast

September 28, 2009September 28, 2009 Chief Oddball

About two weeks ago, shortly after we returned from our trip to Michigan, disaster struck. Our Internet connection started going down every morning, sometimes for more than an hour, and suffering from flaky speeds on a seemingly random basis. Now, I realize that this is a pretty generous definition of “disaster” when you get right down to it.

ComputerWeek

August 5, 2009June 29, 2012 Chief Oddball 4 Comments

Wasn’t “ComputerWeek” once a publication full of hardware deals and stuff like that? Seems like it was, but we’re reaching back into the 1990s with that one. Regardless, I’ve certainly spent a lot of time around computers this week. Not that I don’t normally; after all, I work with them for my job, which has me sitting in front of one for at least 8-10 hours a day.

Tag: computer problems