I got an e-mail from Microsoft the other day

Telling me to activate my Windows Media Center (the program that is necessary to watch TV or DVDs on your computer) for Windows 8 with my key before the deadline of January 31st. This appears to be a mass mailing to remind people that of the deadline to activate the free keys that were given out to those running Windows 8 during the promotional period. I've already activated mine, but didn't remember if I had or not, and the instructions in the mailing don't work for doing so, at least if you have already. So if you come across it, and have activated your Windows Media Center, feel free to ignore the e-mail. You can type 'activation' in the Search box on Windows 8, choose Windows Activation, and if it is already activated, it will tell you that Windows 8 with Media Center is activated. Hope that helps some people out there.

PS I've also got an offer through our workplace and Microsoft to get Office 2013 Professional Plus for $9.95, much like I did with Office 10. So I'll probably go ahead and do that, too.

A little tired and sore, but home

I did not fall up or down my mother's steps. That was a plus. I spent a remarkably good visit with my mom, stepdad, grandmother, the two dogs, and a somewhat shy cat. I didn't sleep well last night, being in a different place than normal, and I didn't have my semi-usual mid-afternoon nap either yesterday or today, in the hopes of getting back into the swing of things when I go back to work tomorrow. I'll probably go to bed a bit early tonight because I have to get up early for that, maybe around 10 pm.

I discovered that as is usually the case, whenever I go out of town my power flickers off and my aquarium pump and microwave need to be reset. I'm not sure why it happened, but I took care of that so the poor fish would have some circulation before sitting down to eat or unpacking. Now it is happily cascading in a proper waterfall.

The walking with a cane thing is working pretty well, although sometimes I forget to put the can down first before my bad foot.

My computer is acting weird. My printer keeps saying it is warming up and acting like it's going to print or scan, and Windows 8 is making some sort of happy chirping sound right before it happens. Who knows.

Alright, I think I'll go unpack. I've already chucked off my clothes, which smell of cigarettes, and traded them for a nightshirt (I do wish my mother didn't smoke; it's not good for her, of course, either). And then I'll get together the stuff for work tomorrow. I'm giving my co-worker back the walker she loaned me. And I'll pack the boot and Tylenol just in case. I did have only one major issue on the trip to Stanford--we went into a Rite Aid and my back suddenly started hurting horribly; I could not sit down fast enough, just from standing and walking around for about 20 minutes. This, despite being in my regular shoe and not the boot. I hope that doesn't happen tomorrow. But once I sat down for a few minutes, all apparently was forgiven, so if it does, I'll just try that and see how it goes. Thank goodness I no longer work in the gas station where so much of the work was standing. I'd still not be back. Yay for sedentary jobs. :)

I have found one other bug about the Windows 8 upgrade

When I set my time in the tiled interface's settings, it shows the time as three hours later than it really is, even with Eastern time chosen. But if I choose Pacific, it worked. Unfortunately, it then translated all of my times from Google Calendar into the calendar app as three hours earlier than they are supposed to be. So I went in the old fashioned way (through the desktop) and set it that way, and now everything is working. Still, it's an odd bug.

While I was looking for instances of that on the Internet I found the following:

Windows 8 killed my PC

Windows 8's growing pains could deliver a major blow to Microsoft's already dwindling market value. The company has bet the farm on the success of its new operating system as well as its new Surface tablet and Windows-branded smartphones. But with a lukewarm reception by users and sporadic issues with system migration, it's possible that Microsoft may soon have to make a lot of awkward, value-destroying apologies about Windows 8.

It has been just three weeks since the launch of Windows 8 and the new operating system has claimed at least two victims: 1) Steven Sinofsky, the head of the Windows division at Microsoft and 2) the, Z580, my relatively new Lenovo laptop.

Cyrus Sanati's laptop was just three months old, and couldn't handle the new operating system. He makes some very good points--and he's not a lowly blogger like I am. He's writing for CNN: Money. I will say Microsoft support tried to contact me by Twitter, but in the forums I saw a lot of blaming the users' systems and in some cases users who let Microsoft remote in and the system was now unusable. I don't think they're addressing the user experience in a way they could. Now I have a functional computer, with a few glitches, so I won't complain too much. But I lost of lot of programs, too. Thank goodness I got Office on, at least. But I'm running Office 10. What if it were an older version? And it's the gitches that make things a little more ominous. I mean, if you buy a computer or device with Windows 8 on it, then you avoid the whole install problem, but if the system is still buggy, than why buy one? I'll stick with Android for my mobile devices, thank you. And keep an eye out for odd things on my computer and see if with the updates I can get installers to work that aren't now.

My headache's back

But maybe that's from too much caffeine. I don't know. It's not a migraine, although I'm a little light-sensitive. I don't feel super wide awake. I've been drinking water for awhile today, but had quite a bit of soda earlier.

I have been on the phone in some capacity about 70% of my day. Two people have come to my home, one being Brandon with the soda. The rest of my time has been spent on game notes or on the computer in some fashion. I've watched several clips from 'The Big Bang Theory', for example. I'm almost halfway finished with the notes. Also, I got my product key for the free Windows Media Center to accompany Windows 8 and installed that. I also did a very thorough baby-wipe bath, including my poor 'good' foot, which has been carrying so much of my weight. I'm not sure it will ever be soft and happy again. I'm actually going to have to invest in a pumice stone. I think I'll wait to wash my hair till tomorrow, though.

It's rainy and icky outside, with a possibility of some small amount of snow overnight. Fortunately both the days I have to go out this week are supposed to be in the 50s and sunny. I'm not sure exactly what I'll do when it gets icy and snowy--still plug my way on my hands and knees up those stairs, I guess.

Come to think of it, I'm kind of aching. Maybe the headache is weather-related. I've had it since before the cold front came through. Hope I'm not getting anything; I have been sniffling all day, blowing my nose, and thought it was my allergies, but I have been around someone who had a bad cold not too long ago.

Plus, I'm tired. I think I'm going to go back into the bedroom and listen to some soft music. Maybe that will help my headache. If I don't post anymore tonight, I hope you have a good night.

Reviewing Windows 8

I said I would review Windows 8 when I'd had a little time to explore it.

Pros:
1. It does seem to run faster.
2. Has a built in anti-virus/firewall (I just used the firewall on Windows 7) and other tools that help with performance.
3. The tiled UI does put everything at your fingertips (moreso if you're on a mobile device, I'm sure).
4. The tiled UI has applications that are easy to install and can be useful.
5. In the previews I saw, they said Internet Explorer from the tiled UI and the desktop did not mesh or keep things synced between the two. I don't know if that's the case, as I run Chrome. Chrome does so regardless of which interface you run it from.
6. If you are having trouble finding something on the desktop, you can go to the tiled UI and search or search using the charms, straight from the desktop, and it'll pop right up. You can then pin it to either (or both) the desktop task bar and the tiles.
7. The desktop pretty much is the same as Windows 7, with the exception of the start button, so for people more accustomed to that, it still is there and works the same. In fact, launching some things from the tiled UI brings up the desktop automatically, so they are linked.
8. Really nice if you're on a mobile device. Tiles, although rather ugly, are easy to see and touch, I'm sure.
9. Microsoft is running a special right now. Windows 8 is only $39.99 until January 31st (the main reason I upgraded). Also, Windows Media Center (which you need for watching TV or DVDs on your system) is free, again until January 31st, so long as your'e running Windows 8.

Cons:
1. Many people will tell you that compared to updating other versions of Windows, this is a breeze. They lie. I installed an upgrade from XP to Windows 7 without problem, only that it required an external hard drive. Granted, this was easier--to a point. But many people, many, including myself, have had trouble with Windows 8 getting all the way to the end, then restoring back to Windows 7 without giving a chance to really troubleshoot, and giving an error that says 'page fault in non-paged area'. I think this involves mostly third-party software or settings, although hardware could be at fault, according to some of the troubleshooting tips found on the forums. But the only thing that worked for me was installing without saving my settings and just my files. That worked like a breeze, but meant that I lost all my installed programs, some of which I was able to install, and some of which I just lost entirely.
2. People will tell you that if it runs under Windows 7, it will run under Windows 8. Not necessarily. I had a set of National Geographic DVDs that would not install back onto the machine.
3. No start button on the desktop. Okay, it's not too bad, but going to the tiled UI instead of just staying in the desktop and getting what I need is a pain if I'm not needing to.
4. The tiles, like I say, are pretty ugly. If you're using a mouse, clicking on the tiles are not too bad, but bringing up the charms or anything else involving the corners can be tricky. Also, you need a wheeled mouse to easily scroll through tiles on a desktop computer or laptop without a touchscreen.

In summary, this probably works great on touchscreens. But on a desktop it's a little unwieldy. Still, there are reasons to upgrade a desktop, according to the experts, such as the faster speed and extra tools. Still, I think the average user running Windows 7 will be more irritated by the changes than pleased. Unless you're a tech geek who has to have the latest, you may want to wait. On the other hand, if you are interested, then keep in mind the special pricing ends January 31st, so get going.

I hope that helps you. This is, of course, based on my experience. Your results may vary. :)

PS I will say Microsoft's support department on Twitter (@MicrosoftHelps) did reply to my plea for ideas with a suggestion. Unfortunately, I didn't see it till later. So I didn't try a clean boot. It might help prevent you from losing your programs.

Building up some stamina

I was up for seven hours earlier today; I've been up nearly six now and hope to go to bed about 11:30 or midnight. That's three days of staying up for goodly amounts of time. I am having some trouble with using the walker for fairly short trips, like down the hall and into the bathroom and bedroom without getting winded. I think my allergies are bothering me despite taking Claritin this morning.

I just spoke to YKWIA for two and a half hours on the phone. My poor phone is down to 25% of battery. But it was nice to chat. We both had a lovely Thanksgiving. I have to admit, I am more relaxed than usual during the holiday.

I was planning on working on the game notes tonight, but it's gotten late, so I may for just a little bit and save some for tomorrow, since there's nothing else on my agenda. I have checked and I have everything re-installed so that I can do so.

I've been playing with Windows 8 and getting the programs I need pinned to the right menus so I can go right into them either from the tiled interface or the desktop. I can already tell that if we ever need to upgrade YKWIA's computer, Windows 8 is enough of a radical change that there are going to be issues. I love YKWIA, but he doesn't like change much. He's still using an old copy of Office XP because it doesn't have the tabs and ribbon. Just taking the Start button away may be enough to make his head spin, but hey, I'm sure he'll do fine once he gets used to it. Hopefully that won't have to be for a long time. I will say it would be much easier to use on a touchscreen, but I'm not going to get one of those any time soon, and I already have my Android tablet, which I adore and which I am so thankful to have had during my recovery. I use it several times a day, and while the computer was busy updating, was able to look up several things on the tablet.

Now that we've almost reached the end of the holiday, I hope things went well for all of you in the US who celebrate it. The one regret I have is that I totally forgot about the Macy's parade; I'm usually on my way to my mom's during it. I could have watched it today. It's nice that it gave some cheer to those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

I have

run over the smallest toe on my left foot (the 'good' one) with the wheelchair. As YKWIA puts it, I am a danger to myself, but not others. Fortunately it's just a little sore, I think. This is what I get for driving the chair with my left foot (it's easier than doing it all by hand--works great when you're backing up, not so much when going forward, given that it winds up near the wheel). :)

One casualty of the upgrade is my collection of National Geographic DVDs with all of the issues from the 1800s to 2008 on them. The installer will not work. :( Otherwise, things seem to be. I'm going to stop working on the computer for awhile. I've been up for seven hours and I'm seriously considering a nap.

Success!

I am, indeed, running Windows 8, although at some cost. I disconnected the USB devices, except for the mouse and keyboard. Then I specifically asked the installer to keep my files, but not my settings. I don't have a lot of favourites or anything. However, it didn't keep the programs installed, so I may have to try to recover some of my games, although in truth I've only been playing Civilization IV, and I have the DVD for that, so that shouldn't be an issue. I have some neat ones from GameHouse from years ago that may or may not play on this anyway, we'll see.

I have discovered the best way to find something like, oh, putting the mouse back to left-handed (I'm not, but it saves wear and tear on my carpal tunnel to use the number pad on the right and the mouse on the left), and I'm pretty ambidextrous, by just searching in the main interface, and then it brings up the desktop with the right thing. After I've had a chance to play with the system, I'll try to review it. But for now, my frustration level has gone down.

I slept through the night, mostly

waking up just briefly a couple of times to reposition. It's warm in the apartment, but still in the 40s, so I'm not running the air conditioner, even though later it's supposed to be in the mid-60s. But I feel well. I've taken a baby-wipe bath and changed clothes. I've had a couple of fake-sausage, cheese, and egg biscuits from Morningstar Farms. I'm in a skirt today. I'm getting a little low on clothes but didn't want to bother anyone over the holiday. I'll call on Monday. I think I can stretch it till then.

The sky is a beautiful blue. It really is a tremendous Thanksgiving. How often do we get this weather near the end of November? Tomorrow's supposed to be cooler, and then I think we go down some more. But today should be glorious.

One of my co-workers is bringing me food from her family dinner later. She actually invited me to her family's celebration, but I declined. I didn't want to be an imposition and I'm kind of shy around people I don't know. But the food is appreciated. One of my other co-workers offered to bring some as well, but of course I already had some coming. They are both very sweet.

Most everyone I know is doing something today with family. My friends are going to celebrations out of town. And of course, I couldn't go to visit my family. So it's particularly nice that my friends at work are thinking of me. I really appreciate it.

On the agenda today is to work on the game notes and research the problem I'm having with the Windows 8 installation. Hope you have a good holiday, should you celebrate it. Hopefully it won't be too stressful. And hopefully you're actually off from work for today.

Tried again

This time I was in front of the screen for an hour and a half (I've been working on this a total of 3-4 hours), and actually saw the error. It is 'page fault in nonpaged area' and according to the web forums is pretty darn common but no really consistent solution seems to be popping out at me. I am tempted to contact Microsoft and see if I can get a refund. Troubleshooting a troublesome operating system is not my idea of a happy Thanksgiving, and some people have sought tech support and then the system wouldn't restore their old system, so they were left with a useless computer. Thank you, no.

Okay, Microsoft is pissing me off

I paid for and downloaded the Windows 8 upgrade. I then tried to install it. Although the compatibility was supposed to be fine, it got all the way to the end, said there had been an error (but didn't explain what) and then restored (thankfully) my Windows 7 operating system.

So I went to Microsoft, and signed up for an MSN ID so that I could get live tech support, signed in, and it kept looping me right out of the support area and back to square one.

So basically, I just paid $39.99 (plus tax) for something that doesn't work and can't get the help I need from the manufacturer, because their system is apparently screwy. This does not give me faith in Windows 8. Oh, well, I'll keep looking for a solution.

I'm thinking of upgrading to Windows 8

despite the fact that I don't like the ugly tiled interface (but you can still get to the regular desktop, which I usually personalise with slideshows), and I can live without the start button as long as things come up when I go to that part of the screen. Microsoft is offering Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99 if you download it electronically ($69.99 if you get a DVD). Windows Media Center Pack is not included if you want movie DVDs to play on your system, but they're offering that for free during the same promotional period, from October 26th-January 31st. So for $39.99 I could get the new operating system. I'm doing some research on the web, but if you have already upgraded I'd like to know your experience and if it was positive or negative, or what new features you think make it worthwhile. Feel free to comment below or send me an e-mail with the link to the left. Thanks!