Speedy's Cafe - General Chat about anything you like!

[Arcadia]

On 12/3/2020 at 12:41 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

On 12/3/2020 at 7:46 AM, Arcadia said:

in most cases, the death knell came when the monitor started separating from the rest of the laptop.

Good heavens!  What brand(s) were they?

Dell. Great machines on the inside, but a tendency to fall apart on the outside. I'm using an HP now, and they seem to have solved the monitor problem, but the performance is crap. *sigh* This machine was a gift so I don't want to gripe too much, but it's woefully underpowered and is more interested in strutting its bells and whistles than in doing the work I actually want it to do. I.e., it's more of a toy than an office product.

I finally figured out that the trick is to get a "business" or "pro" operating system; they generally perform better and last longer, have more of the features I actually use and less of the gimmicky ones, and are all around easier for me to understand. The "home" versions try to do your thinking for you, which I hate. No, I do NOT want to automatically store downloads in a generic folder, thank you, I want to store them in the specific folders I created for them. Stuff like that. Bleh.

I get why they do it, though ... most of my friends and family couldn't navigate their way to a specific folder if their lives depended on it. So they rely on defaults. But it drives me crazy having to work around things like that.

[Carol the Dabbler]

2 hours ago, Arcadia said:

I finally figured out that the trick is to get a "business" or "pro" operating system; they generally perform better and last longer, have more of the features I actually use and less of the gimmicky ones, and are all around easier for me to understand. The "home" versions try to do your thinking for you, which I hate. No, I do NOT want to automatically store downloads in a generic folder, thank you, I want to store them in the specific folders I created for them.

The copy of Windows that I'm using came from the place where my husband used to work, and I think it's one of those "office" versions.  They had ordered too many copies, and when the next version came out, they were just gonna throw away the old ones, so . . . .

Anyhow, it can be annoyingly user-paternalistic.  Specifically, just like your "home" version, it insists on hiding downloads where it thinks they belong instead of politely asking me where I actually *want * it.  Grrrr.

2 hours ago, Arcadia said:

Dell. Great machines on the inside, but a tendency to fall apart on the outside. I'm using an HP now, and they seem to have solved the monitor problem,

When you said (back a ways) something like "the monitor comes apart," did you mean the hinge breaks?  I'm gonna guess that you're having that problem because you actually use your laptops on top of your lap, so the hinge gets flexed frequently.  We generally use our laptops on our desks and rarely close them, and we have (*knock on wood*) had no problems of that sort.  We've had hard drives fail a couple of times, and I think one or two other random internal repairs, but we still have every computer we've ever owned, and (with the possible exception of a pre-internet notebook) they all still work.  Our laptops are three Dells, a Gateway, and an HP (most of which Hubby also rescued from the trash at work), and they all get used a fair amount.

 

[Arcadia]

On 12/9/2020 at 12:54 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

When you said (back a ways) something like "the monitor comes apart," did you mean the hinge breaks?  I'm gonna guess that you're having that problem because you actually use your laptops on top of your lap, so the hinge gets flexed frequently.  

You would be correct.

I always keep the previous laptop around, just in case. At the moment, however, I have two previous ones. Used to be you could take your computer trash to the landfill to the "hazardous waste" shed and dispose of it safely. However, the shed's been closed since Covid started, for reasons that escape me. I keep hanging onto it, hoping they'll reopen... which is not likely to be any time soon, at the rate we're going. Bleh.

[Carol the Dabbler]

My apologies if I've asked this before, but have you tried getting them repaired?

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Merry Christmas, everybody!       

[Caya]

Yeah, happy holidays to all of you! 

[besleybean]

Right back at ya'.

Have a good one, everybody.

[kimber8ada]

Merry Christmas!

[Arcadia]

Hope everyone is safe and well this holiday season. Here's to a better future!

[besleybean]

Here's hoping.

[Arcadia]

On 12/12/2020 at 8:52 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

My apologies if I've asked this before, but have you tried getting them repaired?

 

Yep, but have always been told it would "be cheaper to get a new one." Which I suspect is not precisely true, but I agree the laptop would have to be pretty new to be worth fixing. Sort of like an old car; at some point they start having so many problems it's easier, safer and less aggravating to get rid of them. This is all assuming that the new one isn't a lemon, of course. The current laptop isn't a lemon, exactly, but I would never buy another one like it. I long for another Dell. One day.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yup, Dells are worth fixing.  I think I mentioned the place in Texas that'll do it through the mail.  They've fixed a couple of ours, and they work like new.

The company is called Parts People, and here's a link to a post with more info and a link to their website -- for anyone who might need their services sometime.

[Van Buren Supernova]

Missed it guys. Merry and Happy Christmas, Holiday or anything.

2020 sucks, but here we are still have the mood to post or read the forum. Means we get off fine. Have to cherish that.

 

I was busy with life, but I really don't know what have I accomplished or what did I do or what made me busy!

Didn't even have time to don my usual Christmas make-up.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Glad to see you back again -- whoever you are! 

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

Thank you!

I am exactly what Mrs. Hudson imagines, Sherlock in antlers. It's spot-on, isn't it?

[Carol the Dabbler]

16 minutes ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

I am exactly what Mrs. Hudson imagines, Sherlock in antlers. It's spot-on, isn't it?

Uhh -- well . . . .    

Actually I was thinking either a nice piggy with a big pink snout and large nostrils, with beautiful sad eyes above that -- OR a little girl with big dark eyes in her little pink face, wearing an old-fashioned aviator helmet with the goggles pushed up.

I can see it either way, although neither version explains the antlers.    

 

[Fantasy Lover]

Small question: does anyone uses the tapatalk app to view this site? I do and it doesn't allow me to view this site anymore. I tried to log out and log back in, deleting the app and reinstalling it, log out and delete the app but nothing works! Anyone knows what's wrong? I'm had to login on the website to ask this btw.

[Carol the Dabbler]

All I know about Tapatalk is that over the years a number of people have reported problems with it, mostly that it doesn't give them access to certain features.  This is the first time I've heard of it completely failing, though.  Hopefully someone else here is still using it and can help.

I've never used Tapatalk, so I don't really understood why people use it, unless it's for phones like Blackberries that don't have browsers.  You say you had to log in today -- if you mean via your phone's browser, then you could at least theoretically use that all the time.  Do you see advantages to using Tapatalk (when it works)?

 

 

[Artemis]

I’m afraid I can’t help, I don’t use tapatalk.  Hope your issue gets resolved soon!

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

18 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

 

I can see it either way, although neither version explains the antlers.    

 

Precisely. Because Sherlock in antlers is the only explanation, obviously.

 

A bit early, to make up that I was late for Christmas, it seems hopeful at the beginning, but now it seems not too, but whatever it is, I still use my same old formula, that as long as my loved ones are healthy and well, that is a good year for me. That is what I hope for the coming year.

Eventhough I am still separated with some, I have been reunited with some others. Nothing to complain about, really. Money, yeah, not good at all, but money is money, it's a transport.

SO HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS. 

Hope is a powerful thing, let's do that.

 

Well, having said all that, come to think of it, I have one big complain; I think sport bra is not really for sport, but it is named that way because IT IS A SPORT to be able to get in and get out of it.

Don't ask me why.

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS. 

Hope is a powerful thing, let's do that.

Hear, hear!  
 

1 hour ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

I think sport bra is not really for sport, but it is named that way because IT IS A SPORT to be able to get in and get out of it.

Don't ask me why.

Don't worry, I won't!  But you have my sympathy.

 

[J.P.]

Happy New Year!

[Carol the Dabbler]

Hey, nice fireworks!  

 

[HerlockSholmes]

Happy New Year to all and let’s dump 2020 into the dustbin of history.

New Year, new start.

The Game’s Afoot!😃

[Artemis]