Sweet Catastrophe

Experiencing such a catastrophe with my computer put me into survival mode, thinking of things to do to prevent something like this in the future, and since there are no guarantees in life, what could I do in the event that something like this happens again…

As per usual, I was browsing what they had on sale in Buy.com’s Weekly Deals, and they gave me an answer!

I’ve never been huge on laptops, I’d just never want one as my default computer, but I’ve always entertained the idea of having one for classes, trips, and hey!—When my computer is incapacitated for one reason or another

This week they’ve got an awesome little HP Pavilion Notebook for only $699, and of course, free shipping! Talk about a price cut. It’s just right for me as far as notebooks go; it has the scroll section on the touch pad (which I’d to have) and a sexy 17″ monitor =) Makes my geek-heart happy.

And of course, they’re keeping things rolling for me–they’ve got another great deal on a 500GB External, and a ridiculously awesome deal on Double Layer DVD+R! Double layer dvds hold 8.5GB as opposed to the normal 4.7GB, and they’re selling 50 (two 25packs) for under $40.

It’s almost like they’re taunting me with just how easy it would’ve been for me to save everything before my tragic file loss! My list of things to save for just keeps growing!

So when it came to it, Ryan couldn’t fix it, and the computer guy we were planning on taking it to owns his own little business and he’s out this week. So it was time for the dreaded reformat.

I had already taken off everything I just had to have, so I sat and thought about it and just told Ryan to go ahead and do it without me double-checking. I figured, if it was important enough, I got it the first time and if I looked again, I’d just be reminded of everything I was about to wipe out.

Now I’m back, enjoying the challenge of re-organizing and checking for any major losses that I need to recoup. Things look a little different; I explained to Ryan that I keep my Windows set up with Classic Menus so he set it to Performance Mode (forgive me if I’m remembering that wrong) so everything pretty much has the classic look already and it takes less RAM….or something to that effect–anyway so visually some of my fonts and graphics and stuff look a little different, but it won’t take long to get used to them.

All in all, I’m okay with it. I lost some things I’ll probably never even remember I had, and some things I know I’ll have to work to get back, and I already am, but I’m cool with a fresh start. I had a lot of stuff I was ready to wipe out anyway, so this way I had no choice.

One of my biggest annoyances has actually been with Firefox. They’ve done away with some of the plugins I frequently used (or at least hidden them in another dimension…) and also changed their setup for the search engine manager (if you have it, it probably sits in your top right corner, defaulted to Google) so I can’t add back some of the ones I used more frequently. Changes, changes.

Soon we’re gonna add another hard drive to my computer. The system and any installed programs will run off one hard drive,  all of my files and everything will be on another. This way, in about 99% of possible situations, if I get a virus I can just reformat the hard drive containing the operating system.

It’s something BJ’s in the process of doing (or maybe just finished…) for Brittany’s computer and I think it’s a perfect idea. Once Ryan’s computer guy is back in town, Ryan will be taking his in to fix a heat sensor and I’ll probably have him go ahead and look into what kind of deals we can get on that extra hard drive.

Barring that, I’m getting an external with a TeraByte…I can’t stop drooling over the idea of that!

This is the most godawful thing ever. Of course this virus is new and there aren’t any actual fixes around yet.

If you get anything on your computer regarding XP Security Center and you have not specifically downloaded XP Security Center, you may now panic and have a mental and emotional breakdown.

Of course, I’ve done well in my life. This is my first actual virus issue. It’s pissing me off that obviously it’s my fault, but in my defense, Thursday night I ran the updates for my comp, which included a number of security updates, so seeing the Security Center didn’t send up any red flags at the time.

Running any sort of antivirus, spyware, or adware programs automatically restarts the system. I can’t save any new files whatsoever. I’m talking, I can’t even right-click and save a picture! Even more lovely, it has removed the option from EVERY possible place on the computer to view hidden files. In the Control Panel, I don’t even have a Folder Options icon anymore!!

I’ve backed up what I can, but of course, I have to open EVERY folder and click each individual file to copy it–It’s the closest I can get to being sure I’m not just copying corrupt files, so of course, I can’t save everything.

Brandell recently dealt with a virus of the same family, so Ryan’s taking from him the program they used to get rid of it. If that doesn’t work, Ryan has a computer guy who should be able to take care of it and still keep my files intact.

I hope that works. I really don’t want to start from scratch, but if I have to, I’ve somewhat come to terms with it.

It’s honestly pushed me to the point of tears. What a way to spend my semi-weekend off.

I’m on Ryan’s computer right now. It’s just luck that he brought it home Thursday night to get some files from me. So excuse any typos please; there’s no spellcheck on his browser and I’m just too distracted to notice, really.

I just wanna scream. A lot.

Tonight I really finalized everything for selling my Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. There had been some complicated things I needed to do to get everything in order and I finally broke down and did it. I have no idea what motivated me, but it’s done! Now I’ve just got to wait until I’ve got a little extra cash to buy a few proper card boxes for shipping and listing fees and I’ll be on my way! Between now and then I’m gonna do a little more research on what the cards are really selling for right now so I can decide on a price. I’ve decided to sell the whole lot in one go. It’s looking like I’ll have better luck that way. I may change my mind before then though, who knows!

Of course now I’m thinking of what I’ll buy with the money I make off the cards. It should be a pretty nice payoff if everything goes well! Of course, I don’t expect to have any problems finding a new toy with Buy.com’s Weekly Deals beckoning to me.

Like this week, they’re tempting me with the Calgary 500GB External Hard Drive. I think it’s pretty well-known by now that I’m really weary of my current external. I’ve never really used it as a ‘backup.’ All of my music and a large portion of pictures and other files live solely on my fidgety external. I’ve even been told by the manufacturer that they recommend I replace it before everything goes *poof*–Scary thought! I’ve also got a smaller external that I used to backup some of my more important stuff and it’s also the sole home for some media files. (See, my love of storage spills into my love for technology too….it’s sickening ) This Calgary external has three times the storage space my current has, so I could stop worrying about putting everything on DVDs to free up room! Do you have any idea what a painstaking process that can be? And mind numbing…

My favorite part–according to the customer reviews Buy.com provides, it’s quiet! That’s the big headache with my current external; it gives off some really rough white noise that just kills me.

Bottom line price is $84.99 plus free shipping! Eek! I can afford that!

Of course, I could always spring for a little extra and get the Western Digital they have up this week. It’s, hold on, you probably wanna sit down for this one–1TB–as in Terabyte. You okay? Yeah that’s pretty much amazing! And at $199 with free shipping, it’s still cheaper than what I paid for my current. That one might be a little dangerous though. All the drool would just be asking for trouble…

I gotta stop, man. They’ve got a 7-Port USB 2.0 Hub, and oh! They’ve got another Garmin deal this week! I can’t wait to get my GPS this summer! I wonder which one they’ll have on sale when I finally reach my goal and get ready to buy? My geek cup runneth over!

Now that I’ve backed out of Milwaukee, I’ve decided I can afford to start saving up for a good GPS system for my car. Milwaukee not included, I’ve talked myself out of the most simple trips just because of the driving anxiety I experience when taking trips even as short as two hours. The bulk of it really and truly stems from my fear of getting lost. Why does it plague me so much? I haven’t the slightest idea.

I learned a lot about GPS systems back when I was shopping around for one for Ryan. Of course, learning about it all just made me want one even more. I’ve figured out all the features I have to have and the ones I can live without. I’ve seen what brands have the best reviews, and which ones don’t live up to their promises. I also know what kinds of prices are fair.

As I tend to do when I’m broke and bored, I’ve fallen into online shopping and oh how I wish I had a little money to spare right now! I’m absolutely salivating over some of the deals I’ve come across. I’m particularly smitten with the Garmin StreetPilot c550 that Buy.com has for $179!!

The Garmin StreetPilot line is at the top of my GPS wishlist. The c550 comes standard with the feature most important to me–It speaks the street names, so you don’t have to constantly stare at the screen and then squint to see the upcoming street signs to see that you’re in the right place. The timing on the StreetPilots I’ve had experience with is perfect. They give you just the right amount of heads up that a turn is coming so you know you’re in the right lane. And I love how quickly they recalculate and give you a new route if you somehow hit the wrong turn or if you need to take a detour. It makes me so comfortable to know that I won’t be lost.

I’m so over missing out on trips that could be SO much fun, only because I’m scared to make the drive. I end up with anxiety over not going, and in some cases, I’ve lost money I’ve paid in advanced. It’s a pretty irrational fear that I’ve got to work towards getting over, and this is my first step!

I have been, and will continue to keep up with the incredible weekly deals over at Buy.com while I keep saving money. I’m really excited now that I know a really great deal isn’t out of reach, as I previously thought! I should have a great GPS system by the end of the summer!!

So I got my new phone on Tuesday. Of course, I ended up choosing the most expensive phone Alltel offers… :-X Krizit says I’m gonna have to break out the hot lingerie and put out for this one…I say nahhh–He knew what he was getting into when he decided to buy me a new phone for Christmas. [<--Yeah that's right, I'm a good girlfriend, *I* made the decision to get my Christmas present way late so we could get it cheaper when our contract was almost up....with no bitching to him about it! I was patient!]

Anyway, I got the HTC PPC6800 (more commonly known as the Mogul). It’s a beautiful little smartphone. Unfortunately, I’ve never had a smartphone so I’m having to work to learn this thing. There are literally at least 3 ways to accomplish each possible task and I inevitably forget that and try to do something the hardest way. It’s taking some time, but I’ll get there.

I was really proud of my accomplishment yesterday. I can barely work the damn phone, but I can hack it! Okay….”hack” in the most mild sense of the word.

I don’t use an alarm clock, I use my phone. I just tune out the alarm clock now, but I always hear the phone, so it really irked me to find that I couldn’t use my own ringtones for the alarm. You’re only allowed to choose from a small selection–not even the whole pre-loaded ringtone catalog. Weird. Big problem there since all but one of those choices is basically a short beep and it doesn’t repeat so that does me no good! The longer alarm was a really annoying sound that’ll just piss me off, so I set out to remedy this problem.

I can connect my phone to my computer via usb, but the phone isn’t a searchable device. I had to go through EVERY folder on the phone to find where the alarm ringtones were stored. I shit you not, they were in the last possible folder to open, and they weren’t titled in any way to make it easy to discern which folder they might be in. Finding them was a task in itself, but after that, I had to play around until I figured out not only the proper format for the files, but I had to play around with an editor to find the settings that would give me good enough quality with a small enough file size–this was something I had 0 experience with, so I was beyond elated when I got it all straight! I outsmarted the smartphone!! Woo! Aren’t you impressed? Just nod.

So now I’ve just gotta figure out how to use AIM on it and sort out one more annoying problem and I think I’ll have it all straight.

Know when you get a text message and your ringtone is going off, you can hit a button to silence that, right? Well, I can’t. Or at least, I can’t find a way. I could already be in the middle of replying to the text and my tone will continue on until I stop it. Even if I hit the button that essentially puts my phone in sleep mode and turns the screen off–that stops the song, but as soon as I turn it back on, it continues where it left off!!

I’m gonna play with a different file type in a bit and see if that has anything to do with it. Otherwise, I’ll pull my hair out.

Have you seen these things yet?! The sleekness, the full-sized, back lit keyboard, the 13 inch screen….this is the first laptop I’ve ever wanted. Sure, I’ve seen laptops that would’ve been nice to have, but I’ve never seen one and thought, “ohh I want that.”

I want this one though. I’d probably save to get one, except that I’m totally a Windows girl. Alright competitors! Step it up and bring me a comparable product!!!

I’ve been clicking through tons of stuff already this week, and I came across a cable organizer that zips a bunch of your cables together. I’m actually really interested in trying these out. The entertainment center looks atrocious right now, no joke.

It’s a really simple design but it looks super easy to sort out. They provide labels as well which is something we desperately need over here. If those boys unplug my router one more time while I’m in the middle of doing something—cup check. In the most ferocious possible way. I mean it.

You can read about ‘em yourself if you’re interested.

Ryan’s got one more week to do something about the cords himself and then I’m taking over.

Have you upgraded to Office 2007 yet? No? Why not? Oh yeah, Office is ridiculously expensive.

I found a little deal a while back that I keep forgetting to share though. The Ultimate Steal is a deal from Microsoft. Current U.S. students can buy Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 for only $59.95.

The only requirements are a valid U.S. email address ending in .edu and that you be actively enrolled in at least 0.5 course load. (Their words, I’m guessing you have to be enrolled for at least half-time status.)

You purchase your license and download. A backup disc is also available for a fee, and if you ever need to re-download the software, or you have problems with your original download, they offer a variety of ways to grab it again.

The deal is valid from September 2007- April 30, 2008.

I’m signed up for a Microsoft survey program that runs in the background on my computer–after 3 months I’m supposed to be eligible for a free Microsoft product of my choosing, but I think if I wait for that, I’ll be cutting it close to the deadline for this deal, so currently, the plan is to use some of my small bit of excess financial aid this semester to get it. I really need it to be able to do all my ACED assignments at home, anyway and classes end in April.

So check it out guys! Seriously, it’s like a 90% off discount…just on the Office website, it’s $679.95 to buy new and $539.99 to upgrade… so yeah, you’re saving a little bit of money…it’s honestly one of the best deals I’ve ever found.

We hooked up the Apple TV last night–finally! It’s not something we have a lot of use for, but it’ll come in handy.

I need an HDMI cable for optimal hookup, but Ryan said something about them running at least 30 bucks….so I hopped on Amazon and found one for $2.60 Luckily, this spurned a search for an RCA splitter so that’s finally on its way! We’ve been doing a lot of switching cables this weekend between the PS2 and Wii for different games and dvds so it was really starting to bug me. Now if we can just get a good stereo cabinet, we should be able to really get all this stuff straight. The entertainment center we have just isn’t set up for all the stuff we have.

And Ryan wants to reorganize all the cords and stuff! So we’re slowly heading in the right direction.