Starting tomorrow, I will have insurance for the first time in years. And, knowing that I would now have insurance, the first thing I did was make an appointment with my doctor for Monday. It will definitely feel great to be able to go to the doctor for a checkup and to get preventative type appointments instead of just when something is wrong. Hopefully I will be able to prevent things from going wrong in the future!
Having lived as both uninsured and insured, I realize that health insurance isn't a right, isn't guaranteed, and is a personal choice whether or not to purchase. I have had medical attention when I needed it, either by paying a reduced fee through my clinic, having a trust at a local hospital that helped me - funded by those who had worked hard, earned high, and chose to help, or repayment over a long period of time. It can be done. My personal choices had led to not having insurance at times - but the key here is that they were my personal choices - my choice of careers, of employers, of how to spend my own money. That's what the US has always been about...
So on Monday I exercise my choice to go my own doctor, also of my choosing, to work on a healthier future - MY future. While I still have those choices.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Windows 7 Starter: A Few Observations
New netbooks seem to come with either WinXP or Win7 Starter edition - "starter" being the key word. There are a lot of Win7 features that aren't available on this edition. Most I haven't noticed yet (since I've never used Win7 full edition before) but 3 are glaringly obvious.
First I can't change my desktop wallpaper from the default, which is black. Nor can I change the startup screen, although I kinda like it so that's not a problem. But I like having an inspirational desktop that I change regularly. While not exactly a problem, there are workarounds. One is that I could use the slideshow "gadget" and just have an inspirational picture. Then there are some apps that I read about yesterday. I opted to try the 2nd option first but it didn't work; I didn't get the new menu on the desktop when I right-clicked. Today I will uninstall that program and try the other one.
The other thing I don't like about Windows7 Starter is that everything is pastel. There is a limited selection of themes available; however, while I don't need the highest-contrast themes to be able to see what I need, the pastel is difficult to make out for me. I could go back to the Windows Classic theme but frankly, I want something different with this different o/s. By typing [themes] (without the brackets) into the "search programs and files" box, I get a window where I can select from the half-dozen themes allotted to starter edition users. Clicking on advanced gives me some limited color choices, and that's what I'm "messing with" to see if I can make things more visible for myself.
Of course, there's always the upgrade option that's included. For a special price I can upgrade to the Home edition of Win7, and apparently that's rather simple and quick to do using the Windows Anytime Upgrader. I may or may not do this at some point (read: I may or may not be able to afford this at some point), but it's nice knowing the option is there, quick, and easy if I can't manage the workarounds for the first 2 lacking features.
The 3rd is the lack of an email client, ie, OE, which I have used for years without a problem. I'm rather fanatic about how I archive my emails, and have an elaborate folder system that I've always used. Win7 offers Windows Live Email which is a lot different to use as far as archiving. I couldn't just set up folders, for example, as each account has its own folders. For example, I get low-carb-related emails from several email accounts, but I want all of them to be stored in a single "Low Carb" folder. Impossible with WLE. Ugh. So here's what I did:
First I set all of my email accounts to forward to a single address which I called Incoming. Then I set up my Incoming account, and added all of the folders (Low Carb, Friends, Family, LBD, Pets, Tech, etc.) to that one account. YAY! Problem solved! Um, not quite. I found out when I wanted to send an email that I still had to set up the other accounts so that I could send from them. But since I don't send from all of them, I only needed to set up 3 in WLE, and I unticked the "Include this account when receiving mail or synchronizing" box. I can still check it manually to make sure nothing slipped past the forwarding, but I only have to sync one email account, and then I can archive my mails to my heart's content.
I will post again when I have anything to add. Thanks for reading :).
First I can't change my desktop wallpaper from the default, which is black. Nor can I change the startup screen, although I kinda like it so that's not a problem. But I like having an inspirational desktop that I change regularly. While not exactly a problem, there are workarounds. One is that I could use the slideshow "gadget" and just have an inspirational picture. Then there are some apps that I read about yesterday. I opted to try the 2nd option first but it didn't work; I didn't get the new menu on the desktop when I right-clicked. Today I will uninstall that program and try the other one.
The other thing I don't like about Windows7 Starter is that everything is pastel. There is a limited selection of themes available; however, while I don't need the highest-contrast themes to be able to see what I need, the pastel is difficult to make out for me. I could go back to the Windows Classic theme but frankly, I want something different with this different o/s. By typing [themes] (without the brackets) into the "search programs and files" box, I get a window where I can select from the half-dozen themes allotted to starter edition users. Clicking on advanced gives me some limited color choices, and that's what I'm "messing with" to see if I can make things more visible for myself.
Of course, there's always the upgrade option that's included. For a special price I can upgrade to the Home edition of Win7, and apparently that's rather simple and quick to do using the Windows Anytime Upgrader. I may or may not do this at some point (read: I may or may not be able to afford this at some point), but it's nice knowing the option is there, quick, and easy if I can't manage the workarounds for the first 2 lacking features.
The 3rd is the lack of an email client, ie, OE, which I have used for years without a problem. I'm rather fanatic about how I archive my emails, and have an elaborate folder system that I've always used. Win7 offers Windows Live Email which is a lot different to use as far as archiving. I couldn't just set up folders, for example, as each account has its own folders. For example, I get low-carb-related emails from several email accounts, but I want all of them to be stored in a single "Low Carb" folder. Impossible with WLE. Ugh. So here's what I did:
First I set all of my email accounts to forward to a single address which I called Incoming. Then I set up my Incoming account, and added all of the folders (Low Carb, Friends, Family, LBD, Pets, Tech, etc.) to that one account. YAY! Problem solved! Um, not quite. I found out when I wanted to send an email that I still had to set up the other accounts so that I could send from them. But since I don't send from all of them, I only needed to set up 3 in WLE, and I unticked the "Include this account when receiving mail or synchronizing" box. I can still check it manually to make sure nothing slipped past the forwarding, but I only have to sync one email account, and then I can archive my mails to my heart's content.
I will post again when I have anything to add. Thanks for reading :).
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
#Netbook : 5 Days Later ( #acer #aspire)
In short, I couldn't be more pleased with this little machine! I'm used to the keyboard, although it took me a few days to be able to hit the backspace key without looking down, but this thing is quick, I can see very clearly even with my bad eyesight (I can't read newspapers or regular print books but I can see this, even with normal font sizes!), and it's tough, running all day every day. I haven't even used my desktop since I've had the netbook although I will have to start doing so shortly since most of my files are still on it.
I haven't upgraded the RAM to 2GB, still running on the 1GB that came with it, and still no problems even though I'm running, during business hours: Rising Sun a/v, Glary Utilities, Skype (using the video at times), Open Office, Windows Live Mail, notepad, and the Flock browser with several open tabs. In addition I often run Irfanview and Windows Media Player, sometimes at the same time. No loss of performance or speed at all.
I continue to get at least 9 hours on a full charge, even running the apps listed above.
The sound through the headset (just a <$20 cheapie) is phenomenal. I still haven't listened to music with my good headset but I know I will be blown away.
And, of course, it goes with me nearly wherever I go. I use a USB internet getter-onner-thingy that I have through my cell phone company, and it takes to that like a duck to water. No problems running the 'net and all of those apps - including the one for the USB internet getter-onner-thingy app - or loss of speed or crashing or anything else.
And I'm learning that there are workarounds for many of the features that Windows 7 Starter Edition lacks, so I may not even upgrade that...although I probably will just because :).
Lastly this wee little camera and mic do a great job for video conference OR for recording video! I might have to start a video blog, even!
When I discover a problem, or something that I don't like about this computer, I will be sure to post another blog entry about it. But don't hold your breath!
I haven't upgraded the RAM to 2GB, still running on the 1GB that came with it, and still no problems even though I'm running, during business hours: Rising Sun a/v, Glary Utilities, Skype (using the video at times), Open Office, Windows Live Mail, notepad, and the Flock browser with several open tabs. In addition I often run Irfanview and Windows Media Player, sometimes at the same time. No loss of performance or speed at all.
I continue to get at least 9 hours on a full charge, even running the apps listed above.
The sound through the headset (just a <$20 cheapie) is phenomenal. I still haven't listened to music with my good headset but I know I will be blown away.
And, of course, it goes with me nearly wherever I go. I use a USB internet getter-onner-thingy that I have through my cell phone company, and it takes to that like a duck to water. No problems running the 'net and all of those apps - including the one for the USB internet getter-onner-thingy app - or loss of speed or crashing or anything else.
And I'm learning that there are workarounds for many of the features that Windows 7 Starter Edition lacks, so I may not even upgrade that...although I probably will just because :).
Lastly this wee little camera and mic do a great job for video conference OR for recording video! I might have to start a video blog, even!
When I discover a problem, or something that I don't like about this computer, I will be sure to post another blog entry about it. But don't hold your breath!
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