PC Memoirs

In July 2010, the number of Windows 7 users surpassed that of Windows Vista. The newest operating system from Microsoft has quickly overtaken its predecessor (in less than a year), but it will need much more time to overtake Windows XP, which is still the most popular system. Windows 7’s market share stands at 14.5% compared to Vista’s 14.3%. What I find amazing is that Windows XP, which is now 9 years old, still leads the way with 61.9%! That means that more than half of all Windows users prefer the old system, and this includes many business users.

I must admit, Windows XP is my favorite system too, because it’s so stable and it still looks good after almost 10 years. I use Windows XP on my old laptop, and Windows 7 on my new PC. I never bought or downloaded any version of Windows Vista, simply because I have seen many flaws in that operating system during client visits. Windows Vista’s market share peaked at 18.8% in 2009, shortly before Windows 7 came to the market.

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One of my friends complained that something’s wrong with her laptop, so I offered to help. The laptop screen was totally dark and I could barely see anything. It looked bad at first, but there was hope, because if you see something, this means you probably don’t have to replace the whole screen. I suspected a faulty inverter or backlight. But how do you know which one to replace? 

The first thing I did was to connect the laptop to an external monitor. If the picture is normal, you can eliminate any graphic card issues. As expected, the picture was there, bright and shiny. This meant that the problem was definitely in the laptop screen.

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It’s been more than a year since I published the list of best Antivirus software 2009. Now it’s time to update that list.

I have collected information from several Web sites, and considered expert as well as user reviews and added some of my own findings. Now I have a new list of programs that are most effective in preventing and cleaning virus infections. You should also know that I considered the price of the software while making my selection. Again, you won’t see any Symantec products, simply because I have had too much bad experience with Norton Antivirus and Internet Security programs.

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I am a Paypal user, and I like Paypal. It provides all that I need as a casual eBay buyer and seller, I am able to send and accept money from all over the world and it protects me from fraud. I especially like the fact that Paypal offers buyer protection, because once I paid over $750 for a laptop that never arrived, and Paypal was kind enough to return (almost) all of my money. I’m quite happy with Paypal.

Having said all this, I know that some people hate Paypal and want to stay away. Many had a really bad experience and left the service, promising never to return. I read many negative comments about Paypal on the Internet, and the complaints were numerous: from bad customer service, to the fact that you can’t access your money instantly, weak buyer protection - there are simply too many to list. So, I tried to find out what other companies offer similar or even better service.

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