A few months ago I bought a brand new laptop. This is better than Christmas morning for a computer nerd. Right away, I took it out of its box, plugged it in, and turned it on. I walked through the Windows setup wizard, uninstalled programs I didn’t want, and installed the programs I did want.

Ahh, this is the moment where most people can breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy their new laptop. Not me. Nope, instead I time how long it takes to boot up. From the time the manufacturers logo disappears to the time windows prompts me to login: 55 seconds.

I rush over to our parts cabinet, grab a new 7200rpm laptop drive (the one shipped with my laptop was only 5400rpm). I grab my new laptop, and start unscrewing…yes, it’s only a couple of hours old and I’m taking it apart. Hey, I’m a professional.

I copy the 4-hour old drive (which is a little over a day in dog-years) onto the new drive, slap it in the new computer, boot up a few times to make sure Windows likes it then grab the stopwatch: 33 Seconds. A 40% improvement on speed.

This improvement doesn’t just improve the time it takes to load windows, but all other program. As well as little tasks like replying to email, checking the weather, and balancing your checkbook in Quicken.

Oh, and btw, this upgrade helps any computer that's more than a year old just because a new drive is ALWAYS faster than an old one.

People always ask us when they get a new computer which of the Microsoft Operating Systems they should choose. Most people seem to want XP. I like Vista personally.

Linked below is a quick and dirty review of Windows 7. He makes some good points for sticking with XP. Like "If Microsoft isn't letting go of XP, why should I?"

Check out the article here.

If anyone has played with Windows 7 yet, or have some input on why they didn't like Vista, let us know.

This blog is clearly, and completely about the iPhone. So let me preface this blog by saying: I don't own one, and I personally don't have the slightest desire to use one.

Now that's off my chest, here we go...

Someone asked me last night what the latest exciting new technology that is on the horizon. I admitted that right now is a fairly boring time to be in technology because there are not any huge technology break-throughs happening right now.

In the mid-ninties there were new products coming out left and right: computers at home, scanners, color printers, and endless other products we take for granted (the mouse and desktop speakers).

In the late nineties, it was all about the internet.

Early 2000s, video games really took off, and high-speed internet ruled the landscape.

A few years ago wifi and finally internet on the cell phones capitvated the scene. (Enter, stage right: blackberry)

Now what we have, is one single device that does all the above: The iPhone.

Here are the 3 things the iPhone did for the technology world:

1. Useful Integration: Never before had we seen a useful device that had GPS, Camera, Touch Screen, wifi, cellular communication, PDA, endless amounts of bells and whistles that actually did something.


2. Raised the bar: All other cell phones will now have to include all the above, just to compete. (With the exception of the disposable pay-as-you-go phones marketed to organized crime)


3. User-centric: From the ground up, this was built for the user in mind. We dreamed of being able to surf the web on our cell phone in 1999, but we had no need for it. The need has never been stronger and people are gladly paying for it.

Many critics in 1999 thought email on a cell phone was just unnecessary, which BlackBerry quickly proved wrong (CrackBerry!). What they didn't do was make the web browsing experience as good as the email experience. THAT is why the iPhone was a movement. They didn't forget anything.

Technology will continue to be a progression of those 3 attributes above. Do you doubt the necessity of your refrigerator being on the internet, wait for someone to apply those principles, and you wont imagine life without it.

In the past couple of years, I've learned that some software really costs 4 or 5 times more than the price on the box. You see, what the price tag doesn't account for is the time it takes to perform some of the basic tasks that come with purchasing software. Those tasks include installing, updating, importing data, and registering.

Two of the biggest offenders in this category are QuickBooks and Adobe Products (namely Acrobat Professional). Both of these products can easily be installed for the first time by an average user. There would be no data to import, updates would go fairly smoothly, and registration would probably be a snap. So far, so good.

The customer uses these applications without many problems for a year or more, UNTIL...they get hit with a virus, need a new hard drive, or maybe just upgraded their computer.

Now what they have is the task of setting up their software all over again. Sound easy? Think again.

Installing new and running updates, no problem. Importing data, not that hard. Registering the software, PAINFUL!

First they will make you call their registration support number. That person will ask for all the usual information and then ask you for the registration codes. Then they will ask you for the information you filled out on the registration form months (maybe years) ago! If you don't remember any of these items, then they go to plan B, faxing your receipt.

Now, who has this receipt handy for their QuickBooks 2005 purchase? Anyone? Anyone? (Bueller...?)

Exactly, so instead of faxing your receipt, you resort to communicating with more passion in your voice. This actually helps. The more upset you get with them, the more they are willing to help. Technically they're not allowed to hang up on you, so you do have the freedom to make this move. I've actually been on the phone with Adobe for 4 hours at one sitting, because they wouldn't hang up, nor would they issue me a new registration code. After 4 hours, they gave in.

Intuit is notorious for FORCING me to do one of 2 things: Scream from the very first "Hello" prompt, or lie. The latter tends to get you out the door faster, but sometimes the ex-FBI-turned-Registration-Code-Validator-Guy catches on, which then takes you back to option 1, audible force.

When a client hires us to walk through this registration process (and sometimes with the current version), it doubles the cost that they paid for the software. If they don't have us do it, then it equates to 2+ hours of THEIR time focused on something other than making money. Either way, Intuit and Adobe communicates to their customers that Legal software is more important than happy customers.