Computers and Cars

Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, 'If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash........Twice a day.

2.. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single 'This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation' warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask 'Are you sure?' before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the 'Start' button to turn the engine off.

PS - I'd like to add that when all else fails, you could call 'customer service' in some foreign country and be instructed in some foreign language how to fix your car yourself!

Nano Computers

Here is an interesting discussion on nano computers.

"First suggested by Richard Feynman in 1959, the idea of nanotechnology, constructing at the atomic level, is now a major research topic worldwide. Theoreticians have already come up with designs for simple mechanical structures like bearings, hinges, gears and pumps, each made from a few collections of atoms. These currently exist only as computer simulations, and the race is on to fabricate the designs and prove that they can work."

How To Make Your Computer Run Faster

Most geeks make this more difficult than it needs to be. Perhaps to bill hours, they talk about all kinds of stuff-- downloading programs, running regedits, updating permissions, and changing keys. Whatever marginal gains can be accomplished are outweighed by the damage you can do to your system if you make a mistake.

Here is a simple step-by-step that will make your system go faster.

1. Unplug your modem for 15 seconds at the outlet and then plug it in again.
2. Remove spyware by running free programs such as Ad-Aware and Spybot.
2. From Start -> Programs -> Accessories --> System Tools, run the following programs in this order:

Disk Cleanup
Scan Disk
Disk Defragmenter

4. Reboot.

Your PC should be faster.

CompUSA in Liquidation

The CompUSA that has been closed now for a few months still has on its doors "We Got it. We Get It."

Evidently, not so.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/07/rip-compusa-1984-2008/

COMPUSA Imploding

Two COMPUSA stores are in the process of shutting down in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. They have never been my first choice for computer gadgetry. I usually prefer Best Buy or Fry's. While it's a stiff retailing market, some people attribute COMPUSA's implosion to uncompetitive pricing and poor customer service.

Read more.