Dear Dish on Mac
Dear Dish,I've been hearing a lot of noise about Mac computers these days. Apparently, so I've heard, Mac owners seem to be just a little bit more evolved than common society - on average smarter, more creative, more clever, etc. Is this true?
Also, where do you stand on this Mac vs. PC debate? I'm experiencing technological anxiety and I think my hair is starting to fall out.
Sincerely,
A Techno-phobe.
A Techno-phobe.
P.S. - If I set up a password on my PC laptop and then forgot what the password is, how would I go about remedying this?
P.P.S. - My iPod isn't working. Apparently -12 degrees is enough to do it in. Eeep.
Dear Techno-phobe:
Dr. Robert, Dish's key technological consultant, was kind enough to provide a guest response to the question below. Sincere thanks to Dr. Robert for always providing the most up-to-date, practical technological information. Dish's comments on Dr. Robert's response are in italics.
******
Doctor Robert signing in for this query. Scanning my database, I find the following //comments concerning the ongoing Mac vs. PC debate.
Pros of a PC - Cheaper.
Pros of a Mac - More user friendly and they have the same name as great makeup (ladies, get yo' Mac on!) [Dish thoroughly supports this claim. Mac make-up is fabulous. She highly recommends the Woodwinked eyeshadow.]
I have been asked why someone should buy a Mac and I must agree that the interface is more user friendly as well as the fact that it comes with some powerhouse applications that allow your creative side flourish! If you are a noob to the creative world of the Internetz, then walk on and finish that Excel spreadsheet Jones! But if thou wish to be mesmerized by the sheer awesomeness of a webcam installed into a computer, or the ability to create music without needing to be a musician, forge onwards to get a Mac! The Mac also has a feature of being able to put more and more components into it so you can tell your friends you have a Big Mac. [Dish personally prefers Quarterpounders, but that wouldn't result in a witty play on words.]
In the end, if you know stuff about computers, then you should get a Mac. But if you just check your email and like to download music, then you can use your junky old PC.
Now, onto some more technical questions:
- I am unsure of where you set up your password. From what I can think of, there are two places you can set the password - in the BIOS or in the Operating System. The BIOS is what runs on your computer when it boots up before it hits the splash screen for your operating system. Unfortunately, if you put a password there and have forgotten it, the only way to reset it is to cry and send it to Doctor Robert. Or log onto the Internet to find out how to do it with your particular laptop. Sure, I know you're going to say "But how can I get onto the Internet if my laptop is locked out?" This is the same predicament Doctor Robert came into when Rogers Internet cut his access off and they said he had to perform a virus scan but I said "How can I update my virus defs if I can't connect to the Internetz?" They said they were foolish and put the Internet back on so I could continue my work in taking over the world....writing my responses to the Dish. Now if your password was set up in Windows, there is also a way to get by that. It's called Google. Use it wisely. I suggest the following search phrase "resetting password windows" Huh, look at that. I got 2,050,000 hits. That's a lot of passwords being reset. Why don't they just give everyone a key to insert into your laptop? No one ever loses their keys. But they lose their memory.
- If your iPod isn't working, there are quite a few things that can be wrong with it. However, I'm assuming you have something to say about the cold weather affecting it. Unfortunately, Doctor Robert ran into this problem when he was up North last year and left his iPod in his vehicle overnight and the -40 weather sapped his battery life to the point where it said the thing had an error and it couldn't boot up. Twelve hours later, Doctor Robert had enough with listening to French AM radio stations [Dish is not opposed to French radio stations, especially the one that seems to play "Wind of Change" at least once per hour]. If he would have known the following tip, it would have saved him: Hold down on the MENU and the middle button for about 5 seconds or until the iPod shows the Apple symbol. This reboots your iPod. Doctor Robert's iPod has been acting up in the past few days also and is also wondering if it's the cold affecting it. All I have to say is that you should invest in some warm socks to put your iPod in and keep it warm. It's your baby. Do you leave your baby in your pocket with nothing warm to wear? I think not! If you do, I am coming after you with a negligence in iPod care. Here is a link to buy some iPod socks to keep it looking good to the other iPods and to keep it warm. [Dish has always stored everything in a mitten -- camera, cellphone, sunglasses, etc. She thinks iPod stole her idea, altered it slightly (socks instead of mittens) and is now making a stolen fortune.]
*******Pros of a PC - Cheaper.
Pros of a Mac - More user friendly and they have the same name as great makeup (ladies, get yo' Mac on!) [Dish thoroughly supports this claim. Mac make-up is fabulous. She highly recommends the Woodwinked eyeshadow.]
I have been asked why someone should buy a Mac and I must agree that the interface is more user friendly as well as the fact that it comes with some powerhouse applications that allow your creative side flourish! If you are a noob to the creative world of the Internetz, then walk on and finish that Excel spreadsheet Jones! But if thou wish to be mesmerized by the sheer awesomeness of a webcam installed into a computer, or the ability to create music without needing to be a musician, forge onwards to get a Mac! The Mac also has a feature of being able to put more and more components into it so you can tell your friends you have a Big Mac. [Dish personally prefers Quarterpounders, but that wouldn't result in a witty play on words.]
In the end, if you know stuff about computers, then you should get a Mac. But if you just check your email and like to download music, then you can use your junky old PC.
Now, onto some more technical questions:
- I am unsure of where you set up your password. From what I can think of, there are two places you can set the password - in the BIOS or in the Operating System. The BIOS is what runs on your computer when it boots up before it hits the splash screen for your operating system. Unfortunately, if you put a password there and have forgotten it, the only way to reset it is to cry and send it to Doctor Robert. Or log onto the Internet to find out how to do it with your particular laptop. Sure, I know you're going to say "But how can I get onto the Internet if my laptop is locked out?" This is the same predicament Doctor Robert came into when Rogers Internet cut his access off and they said he had to perform a virus scan but I said "How can I update my virus defs if I can't connect to the Internetz?" They said they were foolish and put the Internet back on so I could continue my work in taking over the world....writing my responses to the Dish. Now if your password was set up in Windows, there is also a way to get by that. It's called Google. Use it wisely. I suggest the following search phrase "resetting password windows" Huh, look at that. I got 2,050,000 hits. That's a lot of passwords being reset. Why don't they just give everyone a key to insert into your laptop? No one ever loses their keys. But they lose their memory.
- If your iPod isn't working, there are quite a few things that can be wrong with it. However, I'm assuming you have something to say about the cold weather affecting it. Unfortunately, Doctor Robert ran into this problem when he was up North last year and left his iPod in his vehicle overnight and the -40 weather sapped his battery life to the point where it said the thing had an error and it couldn't boot up. Twelve hours later, Doctor Robert had enough with listening to French AM radio stations [Dish is not opposed to French radio stations, especially the one that seems to play "Wind of Change" at least once per hour]. If he would have known the following tip, it would have saved him: Hold down on the MENU and the middle button for about 5 seconds or until the iPod shows the Apple symbol. This reboots your iPod. Doctor Robert's iPod has been acting up in the past few days also and is also wondering if it's the cold affecting it. All I have to say is that you should invest in some warm socks to put your iPod in and keep it warm. It's your baby. Do you leave your baby in your pocket with nothing warm to wear? I think not! If you do, I am coming after you with a negligence in iPod care. Here is a link to buy some iPod socks to keep it looking good to the other iPods and to keep it warm. [Dish has always stored everything in a mitten -- camera, cellphone, sunglasses, etc. She thinks iPod stole her idea, altered it slightly (socks instead of mittens) and is now making a stolen fortune.]
Hope this helps! Thanks again Dr. Robert, or should we just call you Dr. Bob?
Dish
posted by Dish @ 10:00 AM
7 Comments:
If I wanted to be called Doctor Bob, I would have said so.
Touché. ;o)
resetting a windows admin password is not a great task for a techno-phobe, the free solutions require quite a bit of technical know how, and have the possibility of messing things up further.
If someone is interested I can begin to point them in the right direction on this, but if they don't have a good grasp of their computer and how it works I recommend taking it in to get it fixed.
I also recommend MAC's to n00b's and email checkers/ web surfers, as well as hardcore computer g33k5.
MAC's have a way of "just working"
where you don't have to have such an in depth knowledge of how the computer works to get it to do what you want.
Much harder for viruses to get on, so you don't have to keep worrying 'bout a virus checker.
In the long run you will spend less time getting your computer fixed with a MAC and more time using it, which in my mind more than makes up for the additional cost.
MAC's also look nice.
I have both a macbook and a mini to my name and I love them both.
Doctor Bobert, if that is your real name, are you really a doctor? And if so, what type of doctor are you? Are you qualified to replace Dish as an advice columnist?
Buy a mac, you won't regret it! Worth the extra few dollars!
That Doctor Bobert comment better be a typo.
I think it was a combination of Robert and Bob, which you were ambigiuous about which you wanted to go by. Luckily, you were not ambiguous about your sage computer advice.
Common people can't buy advice like this - score another high quality column from the Dish Advice Corporation.
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