PC’s can be afflicted in the same manner.  You continually get the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).  You place a call to Tech Support and most likely the call goes to a call center in India.  The person you speak with is barely understandable.  He has you try several things, usually power on, power off, etc.  Then he will tell you you must clean the hard drive and reload Windowswhether it be Vista or XP.  This is a lot of work and will take more than 1 hour.  After that, you must reinstall of the applications you have installed since purchase.  Of course, you are off the phone by now.  A few days go by and you have the same experience.  You probably get a different call taker but it doesn’t matter, they are reading from the same script.

This process is repeated several times.  Never does the technician offer to take the PC back.  They don’t make money on returns.  Finally you run out of patience and escalate.  After going through several levels, you finally make such a nuisance of yourself they direct you to return the unit and replace it.  Of course, there is some risk you may get another lemon but not likely.

I have been in computers over 50 years and in PC’s since their inception.  I retired from IBM and if there is one thing I know how to do, it is to escalate.  I simply refuse to reload Windows if I know it is not the problem.  I will not talk with someone if I can’t understand them.  I ask for someone with a better understanding of the English language.  It works.  You don’t have to tolerate mediocrity.  Many companies have moved their support services off shore or worse, replaced them with email support.  When I deal with these people, I threaten to call the Better Business Bureau, the TV consumer advocate or even the Texas State Attorney General.  I have called the president of Ford Motor Company as well as the President of General Motors in order to get an issue resolved.  It has never failed me.  If you decide to go this route, document dates, times, persons you to whom you have spoken.  The best advice I can give you is not to be emotional.  That does not help the situation.  Be like Joe Friday on Dragnet.  “Just the facts”.  If you don’t prevail, make sure they know you will vote with your wallet and never buy anything from them again.

Good luck to you.

Millions around the world are using the XBox 360.  It continues to be in front of sales with new games and features.  A lot of these people have had a disk damaged or destroyed or else it just went bad.  They are asking whether it is possible to copy xbox 360 games using a CD/DVD burner.It is possible and here is how it can be done.

Almost everyone has burned a CD on their computer before. Nowadays the program you need to burn CDs is automatically included with nearly every computer system you purchase.

As you probably know, most copy type of software does not work for copying xbox 360 games. They are made with unique copyright guards in place that block most programs from being able to make copies.

However,several companies have built programs that can bypass the guards on video game discs. You can then copy any game simply by using the cd burner on your computer.

The programs are very simple to use and will work on any PC that has a burner.

First, you insert the xbox 360 game into the computer and the copy software will make an “image” of the disc on your hard drive. Then you insert a blank disc and the software will copy the game for you.

The best best of these video game copying programs can copy not only xbox 360 games, but also Nintendo Wii games, playstation games and any other game that comes on a disc.

The software is a snap to use once you understand the ins and outs of using it. The better packages will have video tutorials and full instructions on how to get started. It takes about 10 minutes to get going.

After you install the program, you should make copies of all the xbox 360 games you have. This gives you a working backup copy in case anything ever happens to the original. Once the popularity of these programs reach a certain level, doubtless the game producers will start yelling about copyright infringement as they have for other software packages.  Most of the more prominent companies have made provisions for you to make backup copies of their packages in case of failure.  The game companies have not taken this step.  In my opinion, the concept of “fair use” should permit you to make a copy.  This does not mean you can make several copies and give or sell them to your friends,  That is and should be against the law.

Interested in cheap desktop computers?

I defragged my hard drive a couple of weeks ago and swept the pc for spyware yesterday.  I know it is clean but I wonder if I am running so much, I may have to heed my advice and get more RAM.

How to find cheap desktop computers..

Looking for cheap desktop computers?

Microsoft has gotten fat and sloppy over the past decade.  They’ve allowed Windows to get so bloated that it uses more computer real estate (memory) than one could have conceived a few years back.  It’s become unwieldy and slow to respond.

There has been a lot of press over the fiasco that’s called Vista.  So many people have resisted switching to Vista they’ve forced Microsoft to extend the available of Windows XP.  Hardware manufacturers were preloading their newly manufactured computers with Vista.  They have not exactly been flying off the shelves.  Actually, sales to a degree  the retailers demanded and got machines preloaded with Windows XP.  I have always considered my self an early adopter.  By that, I mean I switched to new products early in their life cycle.  With all that I have learned about Vista I initially said I would wait until service pack 1 became available.  It is now available and indications are that it shows some improvement but not enough to get me to change.

I find my self questioning where or why they came up with the name Windows 7  for the next version to follow.  The name they used in the press releases has been Windows 7. It is also the code name being used for the next version.  That would make the Windows family tree look something like this:  Windows 3; Windows 3.1; Windows 3.5; Windows 95; Windows 98; Windows ME (Remember that fiasco?); Windows 2000; Windows XP; Vista and now Windows 7.   Is that logical?    That is not progression.  That is wandering.

The next version of Windows has to be successful for Microsoft after the resounding dud that is Vista.  It must be significantly faster. It must  also require significantly less resources.  Microsoft must provide OEM manufacturers with access to the code for it to arrive on release date with the requisite drivers for existing peripheral devices such as printers, scanners, routers, switches and the countless other devices that we will want to attach.  Vista still is unable to work with some the market that is legacy.  Another necessity is that it must make its presence felt quickly and it must work.  If the development cycle extends as did Windows 98 or XP, Microsoft will be dealing with an exodus of users.  Where will these former users be headed?  In my opinion, the majority of them will be going to the Big Mac and I am not talking about MacDonalds.  There will be some of them going to Linux but again, my opinion is they will be calling Mr. Jobs and taking a bite of his Apple.

Apple’s software systems have the reputation for working on delivery.  It also is quicker.  Have you noticed the Mac is powered by a processor slower than the Intel processor?  And have you also seen they get the job accomplished quicker than an Intel processor?

Apple made a brilliant strategic decision when they came out with Bootcamp software.  In case you are not familiar with Bootcamp, when you run Bootcamp on your Mac you are able to run Windows programs.  Not only did they come out with it.  They gave it away!

Here is some advice for Microsoft.  Get it done and get it right.  If you don’t, I am afraid you will be going down the tubes.  One last piece of advice:  When you find yourself going down the tubes, clasp your hands together over your head.  This will reduce the tendency to skin your elbows.

Even Microsoft can’t beat our cheap desktop computers.