TECHNOLOGY: Working Parts

Well I finally got the printer working because I was able to spend some time on uninstalling all the software from both computers and reinstalling from scratch.  Even that wasn’t easy; it insisted that it needed a file called hpzm309.dll which didn’t exist anywhere–even on the installation CD.  I somehow convinced it that it doesn’t need it.  In the meantime, I found another printer kicking around in the shop–a brand new freebie (so not a great one) that came with a digital camera purchase.

I haven’t solved the DVD/Windows Media Player problem yet.  It was working just fine until the presentation on A Clockwork Orange Wednesday night.  It works fine still with all other videos from the file, so I’m wondering if the DVD itself somehow is causing the problem; maybe the resolution of the monitor?  There seems to be a workaround in the Microsoft KB, but it doesn’t work for me.  Oh well, I love these computer problems because they do involve focus and I’m an obsessive by nature.

I’m really tempted to buy yet another computer.  It’s available through my husband’s company–the cast-offs when they upgrade–and for $132, it’s got a 1.8 Gig Pentium CPU, a 20 Gig hard drive, 512 Meg memory, network, sound and audio cards, though no O/S.  If it uses the same memory form as one or the other of my lower-grade setups, I may go for it.

Did break down and buy a laptop cooler, and it seems to be working well.  It keeps the laptop from getting too hot and sluggish and in the summer at least, it will keep my lap the same.  Right now, I sort of like the heat on these cold winter nights.  In the shop, it’s cold enough to prevent any problems, though I do have the laptop sitting atop two frame corner samples that lift it neatly about two inches off the desk.

In the meantime, I’m looking for a reasonably priced camcorder.  Doesn’t need to be top quality, but good enough to work with for artistic purposes.  I’ve seen one that is oh-so-readily-easy to buy at the CVS photo counter, but it’s still $99, and a no-name product.  Usually I get all my parts from Tiger Direct and have been a faithful customer for years both because of their prices and service as well as the availability of product and information on the site. Their cheapest doesn’t seem to do what I’d like, though, and the next step up is a bit more than I want to spend.  We’ll see if I’m still affected by impulse buying and come home with the camera along with the drugs from my next pharmacy visit.

So that’s the news here in the technological side of susan.  If you were bored out of your skull, you’ll have to wait a bit until after the holidays when I get into furniture recovering, drapery making, and knitting.  The literary and writing facets of my personality are, of course, always on tap.