Petty Vents

[roadfix]

Ok, now I got it! It's still early here on the left coast and I haven't had my cup of coffee yet.....LOL...

 

[Andy M.]

Venting

Wait a minute Andy, you guys only have one working computer in the house?

Okay, I know that my home isn't normal (we have at least five working computers), but still...

One laptop (currently NOT working), one iPad and 2 iPhones. It's probably more than we can afford.

 

[GotGarlic]

Any magnetic media, including external hard drives and flash drives, can fail at any time. I've heard too many stories over the years from people who suffered a computer hard drive failure only to find out that their backup media was corrupted or otherwise unavailable. So I've been using the online service Backblaze for the last several years to back up to the cloud.

Read more about it, and other options, here: http://lifehacker.com/five-best-online-backup-services-1006345049

 

[Addie]

Wait a minute Andy, you guys only have one working computer in the house?

Okay, I know that my home isn't normal (we have at least five working computers), but still...

Sounds like Spike. He found a brand new colored laser printer in the trash behind the store that his boss owns and he set it up and it is working just fine. He also has about three or more computers that other folks didn't want. He fixes them up and when someone's 'puter goes out, he has one they can borrow.

 

[taxlady]

Is there a way to boot your laptop from an external hard drive or CD/DVD? Is it possible to set that up for another time? I'm not familiar with Mac OS. I know you would be able to do it with Linux.

I got curious and found that, yes, you can boot from an external hard drive, an optical disk, or even a USB key. The USB key or whatever has to have a bootable OS.

I don't know if you have the software you need installed on your external hard drive. If you don't and it's Excel, then you could work on your files in a portable version of Open Office or Libre Office (The portable versions can be on a USB key or the external HD). They will save in Excel formats.

 

[GotGarlic]

I got curious and found that, yes, you can boot from an external hard drive, an optical disk, or even a USB key. The USB key or whatever has to have a bootable OS.

I don't know if you have the software you need installed on your external hard drive. If you don't and it's Excel, then you could work on your files in a portable version of Open Office or Libre Office (The portable versions can be on a USB key or the external HD). They will save in Excel formats.

If you have a Gmail account, you can also use the apps in Google Drive that work with Office file formats.

 

[taxlady]

If you have a Gmail account, you can also use the apps in Google Drive that work with Office file formats.

True. I thought of that before and forgot to mention it.

Oh, and that could probably be done from the iPad or phone. I can do it with my Android phone. The problem would be getting the files from the external HD to Google Drive.

 

[GotGarlic]

True. I thought of that before and forgot to mention it.

Oh, and that could probably be done from the iPad or phone. I can do it with my Android phone. The problem would be getting the files from the external HD to Google Drive.

That's when you phone a friend Or maybe someone at the Apple Store can help.

 

[Andy M.]

While I appreciate your looking into this on my behalf, I can only imagine I'd fail and screw something up. I think my best option is to wait for the repair.

Thanks

 

[Souschef]

I worked with a guy whose last name was Dioszegi. On the outside of his office he taped mailing labels with all the different spellings of his name

 

[Addie]

My sister's last married name was Guimond. The most usual pronouncement of it was "gooeemond." The correct way was Gi mond, hard G. The spellings of the name was incredible. When her husband died, the stone mason called her every day to check the spelling for a week. My maiden name is Keyes and a lot of people would pronounce it like the Spanish Reyes.

And a lot of people think my name is a nickname for Adelaide. And when I correct them, they still insist on calling me Adelaide. That is when I stop responding to them.

 

[Caslon]

Everyone with a boring last name like Smith has it all over some others.

 

[Andy M.]

I talked to the repair facility just now. I'm leaving shortly to deliver the laptop for repair.

 

[GotGarlic]

I hope it's a simple fix, Andy.

 

[Andy M.]

Just got back. $200 for the new hard drive plus they will load a more current OS. The tech thought he'd be able to recover the data from my HD so i don't have to rely on my backup.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

That's good news.

 

[taxlady]

Andy, glad to read that your laptop is salvageable. How long do you plan to keep it? You might want to ask them to make you a bootable DVD for emergencies.

 

[Addie]

I am so tired of folks asking me "how can you stand to live to close to the airport?" I live at the service end. I can walk to the end of my street, find myself standing on airport property and never hear an airplane.

Over the years we have fought back at Massport and won a lot of battles. Our building along with hundreds of others such as all our schools have been soundproofed by Massport. And only for severe wind conditions do planes fly over East Boston.

I will admit that private planes fly over. And they are so high, you can barely hear them. So now I need to find a polite answer to anyone else asking me "How can you stand living so close to the airport?"

 

[cinisajoy]

Addie,
I have lived close to a major airport twice.
The answer is you get to where you don't hear it.
I actually lived right off the flight line.
The only time it got really noisy was during air shows.

 

[MarcD]

I wouldn't get much done if I lived that close to an airport......I like watching the planes. Some of the larger planes fly right over my house and I usually head to the back porch for a look when I hear one........they fly low and slow. MedFlight is another frequent flyer in my area with a major trauma center nearby.

If I vented I could keep this thread going for a long time......I better hadn't get started.....