But software is an entirely different matter.  I’m an absolute Scrooge in that department.

 Up until 2 weeks ago, I was using Eudora Pro, one of the original email [...]]]> Kenney says I like to be on the bleeding edge of technology, and I must admit I do like shiny new toys that might make my life easier.

But software is an entirely different matter.  I’m an absolute Scrooge in that department.

 Up until 2 weeks ago, I was using Eudora Pro, one of the original email programs developed, as my mail program.  I started using it in 1995 and have continued to, even after it quit being supported (i.e. nobody developed it anymore).   But it worked.   However, my email needs have changed and I finally, tearfully bade goodbye to it. 

Likewise, my Microsoft Office suite was 2003, and my image and website editing software was probably 4 years old – which is decrepit in my business.

But as long as software works and serves one’s purposes, then why upgrade? 

Enter the new generation of hardware with 64 bit processors.   They’re better, faster, stronger – or something like that (see this article if you’ve an engineering mind).   And, naturally, because of that, when I needed to buy a new laptop recently, I went for the shiny 64-bit system.

Turns out that fancy 64 bit is great unless your software is “ancient” like mine was. 

Now, some older software will run on a 64 bit pc, but in my recent experience it didn’t run well. 

I struggled with the drawbacks and glitches for a month or two before I finally bit the bullet and upgraded to the newest version of my web/image design software.  So much better!

It was interesting to learn that Microsoft has quit offering upgrades all together.   No more cheaper prices if you own Office 2003 (much less 2007) and want to upgrade.   Now there is one price.   That really does argue for keeping software as long as possible.

But if you do get a new 64 bit pc, there are alternatives to shelling out more bucks for software that plays nice on it:

• If you just aren’t up for spending $400+ on a Microsoft office suite, try OpenOffice.  It’s free software you can download that is a pretty good substitute for Word, Excel, etc.  And it will open Word and Excel and similar programs so it’s not like you’ll lose any of your current documents if you make the switch.
• Use Google Apps for free or get the bigger, more secure version for $50/year per user.  I use Gmail and I’ve tried the calendar, but I’m not familiar with the other features.
• Try using your old software.  It may work, but it probably won’t work as well.  For example, I edit images in Fireworks.  On the 64 bit pc, not all of Fireworks features showed up – and, of course, they happened to be the features I use most frequently.

Finally, there are sometimes good reasons to upgrade your software other than getting a new computer.   New versions may have features that turn out to be really useful.   But I have to say, for every shiny new feature I like, there is an “old” feature that is suddenly different for no apparent reason.

(Any Dreamweaver developers out there, note:  Why in the world did you move the file tab to the left when it’s been on the right since day one?  Aargh)

Addendum:  I also learned that my external hard drive had to be completely reformatted to work with the 64-bit computer.   That was quite a time-consuming lesson as you may know if you follow my occasional Facebook postings.

But with all the above said, man, this pc is fast!

Here’s a good explanation of how POP3 differs from IMAP. http://www1.umn.edu/adcs/guides/email/imapvspop.html

I also like this diagram of how email is really sent: http://support.kavi.com/khelp/kmlm/user_help/html/how_email_works.html

Finally, here are [...]]]> Email issues can be infuriating as one of my clients and I experienced this week.   Understanding email terminology and the various options will help you make better choices about what type email account you need.

Here’s a good explanation of how POP3 differs from IMAP.
http://www1.umn.edu/adcs/guides/email/imapvspop.html

I also like this diagram of how email is really sent:
http://support.kavi.com/khelp/kmlm/user_help/html/how_email_works.html

Finally, here are instructions on how to force Outlook to download mail (when using IMAP).
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/microsoft-office/force-outlook-2007-to-download-complete-imap-items/
I highly recommend doing that if you use IMAP.  If you’re like me, you get some of your bills via email and you don’t want to be dependent on the internet being up in order to do at least some business.  

There is a third option, in addition to IMAP and POP, and that’s Microsoft Exchange Server (or other brands that do the same thing).   This is what most businesses (not home-based) use.   It was designed to enable easy, secure, backed-up, communications between employees.   

For most of my clients, that would be overkill, but if you are interested, we do offer a Microsoft Exchange Server Email plan.  

Finally, a couple of things I’ve said time and again and will repeat here: 

• Do not rely on webmail, where you login via your browser, to read/send/organize email.  Mailservers are not routinely backed up unless you are on an IMAP or Exchange Server plan and even then, I don’t recommend putting all one’s eggs into someone else’s basket.
• Always have important documents sent to the most secure email account you have.  That is normally the one your ISP gives you, such as janedoe@austin.rr.com. 
• When you register a domain name or renew one, use your ISP email address as the contact email.   Do not use an email address associated with your website.  If you somehow forget to renew your domain, it’s much easier to reinstate if you have an email address on file with the registrar that isn’t dependent on the website.   In other words, if trulytexan.com expired for whatever reason and my contact email with the registrar was janedoe@trulytexan.com, I wouldn’t receive the notices that the domain had expired.

Our support page shows you how to set up Outlook to include an account that will [...]]]> Webmail is any mail (our webmail, gmail, yahoo, etc.) that you cannot access when your internet service is down.  It is not a good idea to use webmail.  It’s a very bad idea actually since webmail is not backed up.  

Our support page shows you how to set up Outlook to include an account that will retrieve mail from your mail account with us – assuming I host your site on my server in Dallas.

But it has proven very helpful over the years in making repair/replace decisions.   The general rule of thumb is that if you can get [...]]]> I took a class at UT (actually I took several since I graduated from there), but this one in particular was Cost Accounting.   Can you say Sahara desert?  That’s how dry it was.

But it has proven very helpful over the years in making repair/replace decisions.   The general rule of thumb is that if you can get your money’s worth out of an item, you should continue to invest in it.    But that’s theory.  In real life, at some point you just have to say enough.

That’s what I’m looking at with my laptop.    It’s almost 4 years old and the screen goes funky after a few minutes.  I did a format and restore and it still does it.  Toshiba says it will probably cost $425 to repair.  And even if that fixes it, then I’m still left with a 4 year old laptop that’s liable to have something else go wrong with it.  

Decisions, decisions.    Since it’s a tablet pc, I’m thinking I might get it repaired, but also get me a plain old laptop that will suffice when my desktop goes down next time.  Laptops are so cheap these days, I can get a pretty good one and get the tablet pc repaired for the cost of getting a new tablet.

Sorry – this wasn’t very educational for you probably, but it was useful for me to clarify my thoughts. 

And it reminds me to remind you – at least once a year, turn off your desktop, unplug it, open it up and blow out all the dust.  Depending on how many pets and people you have in your house, you might be surprised to see what can accumulate and make your fan work harder, etc.