Category Archives: computers

accidental upgrade

08 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by in computers, devices, geekiness

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Oops, I did it again. Well sort of. Maybe. Before I went away to the Basque Country I was having some “issues” with Sterling, mostly to do with things bogging down and running slow, including frustrating totally unresponsive moments, requiring me to reboot, sometimes 2-3 times. So I started thinking about upgrading, then saw that Sterling is only 3 years old. I mean, shouldn’t these things last longer?? Mind you, The Greyhound was also 3 years old when I replaced him with Sterling. But Peter inherited The Greyhound, so that was okay, and he worked with him for another three years, glitches and all, until he died a sudden death in July, requiring the emergency purchase of Silver. But it also meant Peter lost everything, something that strikes a note of terror inside me, even though I do make backups frequently(ish).

This is all to say that, if Peter hadn’t already bought a new laptop, then at this point I would be happy to pass Sterling on to him, as he doesn’t spend as much time on his computer as I do. He also has much less content stored, etc. And then I would feel justified upgrading. But now I’m not sure what to do, especially as I actually purchased this new fabulous beast the other day as “insurance” while it was on sale at 15% off. It’s still in the box, so I can return it any time… but do I want to?

It’s weird because I have no qualms about updating my iPhones every three years or so. Then again I usually have someone who wants my old ones. But what to do with Sterling? I mean, he mostly works well. And perhaps if I stripped him back to factory settings, removing all my shit, he would be much friskier. Having said that, he has been behaving much better since I got home (figures).

How often do you upgrade your laptop?

Below you can see the specs …

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silver

13 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by in computers, gadgets, geekiness

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Not the way I thought Friday was going to turn out. And nope, this isn’t mine. Got a message from Peter in the morning saying that his laptop (the venerable Greyhound that he inherited from me a few years ago) seemed to have died. So he brought the beast over and we tried to resuscitate, but to no avail. And so there was nothing left to do but go shopping!

Luckily the summer sales are on now and so, after a bit of comparison shopping at FNAC and Corte Inglés, Peter settled on this guy and we spent the afternoon/evening at my place getting it set up. As nothing was retrievable from the Greyhound it meant starting from scratch, and losing some photos, but Peter doesn’t have as much crap on his computer as I do, so it was relatively easy. And fun! I love doing this stuff (and Peter doesn’t) and even after he left I stayed up doing a bit more fine-tuning. Now it’s all ready for Peter to take home.

Checking back, I got the Greyhound in July 2012, and my present laptop Sterling in September 2015. So I hope there are still a few good years left for Sterling. How long do your laptops usually last? Also, what can I do with the old dead ones?

heic? wtf?

12 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by in casa azahar, cats, computers, iphone

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So HEIC is the name Apple chose for its new HEIF standard for photos. HEIF stands for High Efficiency Image Format, a more streamlined way to store image files. Using advanced, modern compression methods it allows digital photographs to be created in smaller files sizes, while retaining higher image quality than its JPEG alternative. Which sounds great EXCEPT that nobody else is using this format other than Apple, so it won’t download on my computer, blah blah…

After locating an app that would convert HEIC to JPEG, a friend told me that it was actually possible to turn off the HEIC option on the phone, so I have now done that. I mean, I now have 256 GBs and am sure I’ll never get up to using even half of that, so I’m not really interested in saving space. Anyhow, Morcilla looks just as pretty in JPEG, wouldn’t you agree?

reconnected… and it feels so good…

26 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by in computers, internet

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I had put in my request at Movistar for a new internet hook-up last week, once I found out that Moving Day would be the following Monday, but I didn’t expect that they would cut off my present service on Friday night (!!!). So I popped back over to the Movistar store on Saturday to find out what was going on and they said I would get my new connection within 14 days (!!!!!). Two weeks without internet at home?? Just getting through the weekend only using my iPhone was hard enough. I mean, it’s fine for just browsing and tweeting and instagramming, but not really ideal for answering emails and, well, running my business. So I was thrilled when Movistar called me yesterday morning and said they would be over the next day (today!) to hook me up.

Luckily there was an existing fibre-optic line so it wasn’t too complicated. And the technician even did a nice job of trying to hide the fine cords from Morcilla’s view. Time to fill up those shelves!

tools of the trade

18 Saturday Jun 2016

Posted by in blogging, computers, home, work

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mk330

When I bought Sterling – less than a year ago – I also splashed out on a new HP wireless keyboard and mouse. Well, the keyboard started sticking not long after, though it still actually worked, so I just put up with it. Then the mouse stopped scrolling, which I tried to live with but it was just too frustrating. So for awhile I had two mice on the desk… one that scrolled (but was also “sticky” so not good for general use) and the HP one. Then yesterday I thought – what the hell am I doing? – and went out and bought this baby. Which already feels better than the HP one ever did. But I mean honestly, I know I use my keyboard a lot, but I also have a light touch, so what’s with products that seemingly self-destruct after a short time? At least for now it’s actually a pleasure to be typing (and scrolling) again.