petef

Hi Lisa, I realize the frustration and confusion you must be feeling over this password issue and I hope you understand why most tech forums can't directly help you with this problem. You may need to contact a local PC repair shop who can reset your password. I've seen this problem before where Vista suddenly refuses to accept a legitimate password as you are describing. Unfortunately we can't help you crack or reset the password. However, in the future, you could be doing something that might avoid you being in such bad situation. See the TIP at the link below. http://extremetechsupport.com/forum/articles-and-tutorials/2824-enable-administrator-account-vista.html ---pete---

Delete the file and try downloading again. I just DL'ed Google GMail Loader to a newly created folder from... Mark Lyon's GMail Loader (GML) - Import Your Mail into GMail I double clicked the file... gmlw.zip Then used CTRL+A to select all the files displayed. Then right-clicked the selected files and clicked.. Copy Then clicked the up-folder icon and right-clicked the white space and clicked.. paste All the unzipped files are supposedly ready to be installed, but I don't see any setup.exe or any file that sems to be an installer. I started reading the instructions.. Mark Lyon's GMail Loader (GML) - Import Your Mail into GMail and they are not written very well, so I think GML is overly complex and unsuitable for you unless you want to dedicate a lot of time trying to figure it all out. As I said, I have not actually tried it up to now and I can see now that it requires high level of expertise to perform the entire process or at least some better instructions. ---pete---

Wow, I never realized that. I know that I have a hard time reading websites with just about any color text on a black background. It seems that young people gravitate towards that color scheme. On colors, I use blue in various ways to promote my business. That's on purpose. Every little bit counts. ;) ---pete---

This seems to be what you are looking for... How to Import Archived Outlook Email Into GMail Using GML - wikiHow I haven't tried it, so let us know how it works for you if you decide to use GML. ---pete---

Hehehe, I thought the exact same thing when I first encountered it. See Seth, this is probably why people often say that Vista is fine if you just use it for a month or so. After a month or so you can get used to anything but that doesn't necessarilly mean it's better. :) In my book, if it takes more clicks or you have to read more stuff to choose an option or feature, then it's a step backwards. Long Live Windows XP! ---pete---

Wow, another great article! Thanks! Excerpt... Research investigating line length for online text has been inconclusive. Several studies found that longer line lengths (80 – 100 cpl) were read faster than short line lengths (Duchnicky and Kolers, 1983; Dyson and Kipping, 1998). Contrary to these findings, other research suggests the use of shorter line lengths. Dyson and Haselgrove (2001) found that 55 characters per line were read faster than either 100 cpl or 25 cpl conditions. Similarly, a line length of 45-60 characters was recommended by Grabinger and Osman-Jouchoux (1996) based on user preferences. Bernard, Fernandez, Hull, and Chaparro (2003) found that adults preferred medium line length (76 cpl) and children preferred shorter line lengths (45 cpl) when compared to 132 characters per line. help4me, The excerpt above is what I found most interesting. There seem NOT to be any definitive answer on the best line length to use, but I think we can use these facts to draw some conclusions if we apply our personal experience and common sense to determine which study to believe when there are conflicting results as in the excerpt above. It makes sense to me that long line lenghts enhance the reading speed becasue of the slight delay involved with moving from one line to the next and the fewer number of times you have to scroll downwards. The studies above seem to indicate that going too long or too short can have negative effects and that there is probably a happy medium somewhere in between (55 to 76 cpl) which makes sense to me becasue I know from my own experience that I experience problems with both reading speed and comprehension on very long line lengths. In addition to my own experience, one of my customers received advise from her doctor (treated for dislexia or ADD, i can't recall which) indicating that shorter line lengths would enhance her reading comprehension. This theory seems to be supported by the study above which indicates that small children prefer shorter line lengths. All this suggests that people who are less skilled at reading require shorter line lengths to maximize reading comprehension. On the other hand, people who are very skilled and focused at reading have no problems handling the longer line lengths, read more efficiently and actually prefer them. People in this category made up about 30% of the people involved in the studies but I'd venture to say they would be in an even smaller minority for the people I'm targetting my articles to at my website, but for the people commonly found at tech support Forums such as FPH Forums, the number of skilled readers is probably much higher and this is why longer line lenghts would be more appropriate for this forum. Ok with all that in mind, it says to me that depending upon who your target audiance is, it's best to choose a line length that is most appropriate. For example, general posts aimed at the regular and frequent members who are typically more experienced and skilled at reading text in the Forum format would be best suited to read long line lengths. However, if making a post aimed at people less experienced or skilled at reading and where you desire to maximize reading comprehension to the majority, then the shorter line length would be more suitable. This is a very interesting topic. Thanks for finding that article! PS: This leaves me wishing for a new feature in the vBullitin editor that would offer to reformat my post upon submission to a specific CPL value. I would choose 75 CPL for this partuicular post. :) ---pete---

Thanks, great article! It's a keeper. I'm still undecided about which is the best font to use for the FREE INFO section of my website, but the more I think about it and research this topic I think it boils down to using Verdana or Comic Sans MS due to how easy on eyes those fonts are. The final test and decision is going to be by my customers. I'm going to print out an article from my website in the three font types shown below. I'll quickly show them the 3 printouts let them choose which one to keep for them self after I leave on my service call. I think I had originally chosen the Comic Sans MS font becasue it's very easy on the eyes and also due to the casual feeling it promotes. The idea is that my customers get uptight when dealing with technical issues and I wanted them to be more relaxed when reading the technical articles I had posted on my website. http://www.htworkshop.com/public/comic_sans_vs_san_serif_vs_verdana.jpg ---pete---

No problemo Wolfey :) I welcome critiques and am thankful that you brought to my attention all the fuss over the Comic Sans font. I had no idea there existed a hated font. Hehehe. It's kind of funny, there are so many web pages dedicated to the I Hate Comic Sans issue. Most seem to be humorous in nature. So even though I personaly like the Comic Sans it might be wise to change it to one that is not controversial if I'd like to increase my chances at success. Hey, no pain, no gain. ;) Thanks, I appreciate the critque! ---pete---

Yes, that looks fine. The sample above is slanted slightly so it must be italicized. I still don't see that what all comotion is over Comic Sans font becasue I still find it easy on the eyes so I guess it boils down to personal preference. Judging by the lack of responses here I'd say it's not that big an issue. I could live with either one, Comic San or MS Sans Serif. Thanks for bringing the Comic Sans issue to my attention. Videos on this Comic Sans issue... ---pete---

Ok Everyone I need some opinions here. Which font style (upper sample or lower sample) seems easier on the eyes and would enhance reading comprehension? http://www.htworkshop.com/public/comic_sans_vs_san_serif.jpg

Ok so let me get this straight, what actually solved the problem was toggling the various setting in the BIOS to disable things like sound card, graphics card, USB controller, LAN etc and also by changing CPU setting from AUTO to something else. Then you toggled everything back to it's original setting and all remains normal. Correct? If correct, I don't have an explanation. Maybe someone else can enlighten us. About the spare HD you purchased, I recommmned that you install it internally as a second drive or convert it to an external USB drive and use Acronis True Image software to backup your entire drive C: on a scheduled basis automatically. Your OS, programs and data will then be protected against most disasters that can occur on your PC. ---pete---

Ok, so I guess I need to weigh the factors of reading comprehension versus efficiency in scrolling. Your comments are much appreciated. :) ---pete---

Thanks for the feedback. It never occured to me that the Comic Sans font had such a negative stigma associated with it but I just performed some quick research on the topic and apparently it does. I found many instances of people knocking it but hardly any of them explain why they don't like it. I had chosen the Comic Sans font because it's very easy on the eyes and I can read it well even without my reading glasses. I'll definitely look into this further. What would be a better font to use that is as very easy on the eyes and good for enhancing reading comprehension? ---pete---

Everyone, I wrote the article at the link below but there is one part that I'd like to get your opinion on. If you've been reading my posts, you may have noticed that I format my text to about 65 chars wide as opposed to allowing the text to be automatically formatted to the width of your window. What I'd like to know from you is whether you find that beneficial, or annoying and the reason why. Here's why I do it... FORMAT YOUR MESSAGE FOR BETTER READING COMPREHENSION HTH-FreeInfo_ EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS VIA EMAIL OR PUBLIC FORUMS (full article) HTH-FreeInfo_ Feedback on the entire article would be most welcome and appreciated too. ---pete---

If the CPU setting in the BIOS is set to AUTO as was the case with Swickle, could those clock settings change on their own to cause the problem he was having? ---pete---

Hi everyone, I was just wondering about our members here at FPH Forums and which programming languages they have experience with or interest in learning about. I'll start off with my own list below. LANGUAGE.............EXPERIENCE LEVEL ~~~~~~~~.........~~~~~~~~~~~~ DOS Batch............advanced DOS - dBASE IV.....intermediate DOS Quick Basic.....intermediate Visual Basic 6.0......intermediate VBA.....................advanced with Excel PERL....................beginner AutoIT v3.............beginner HTML...................intermediate ---pete---

Thanks. In my business I encourage my customers to keep their older WinXP systems going instead of buying a new computer. Most times I get their 3 to 5 year old PC running as good as or better than new by recommending the the right applications and removing all the wrong applications they have installed and by optimizing their windows setting. Then I tell them you can keep this PC running for years to come as long as you keep certain programs off this PC. Those are mainly AOL, McAfee, Norton, and also MS Office 2007. The trick to keeping the older PC running is to know which software NOT to install. ;) Long live Windows XP! ---pete---

Sorry for my rant in the previous post, but back to the main topic of Seths post. Just beware that you could be burned again by Vista if you plan to move your MS Office Outlook data from an older PC to a new Vista PC that only has Windows Mail. This is becasue Windows Mail has no provision for importing MS Office Outlook Email data from a backed up copy on CD or other media. If I''m recalling correctly, you need to have the Outlook program installed on the Vista PC in order to import the data to Vista Mail. See, it's annoyances like this where MS does such a poor job of supporting their own products and creating compatibility problems for their own customers who try to be loyal by sticking with MS products, that has led me to recommend that people find alternatives for all MS products. With Vista, I'm beginning to think that Vista Home Basic is the best version to go with and use non-MS products for any features you need that not included with the basic version. ---pete---

Seth, over the years I've come across many of the same kinds of annoyances with MS products and now with Vista it's all the same kind of thing with one annoyance or another. It seems clear to me that MS is out of touch with the wants and needs of the consumer. If Windows 7 fails to meet consumer demand as Vista has then the consumers might benefit as Ms will have no choice but to continue support and possibly development of WinXP. At this point in time that concept seems like a fantasy but with the economy as it is (increased cost of living, due to GAS prices) and the lack of finances of many business and home users to buy new computers or software, MS is in a very bad position for releasing new a OS that requires so much of an investment in new hardware, software, peripherials, and retraining. So who knows what can happen. I have no immediate plans for dumping WinXP as my main production computer. At this point in time, I keep a spare PC around for checking out Vista issues. For the most part I'm handling all my Vista related problems directly on my customer's computers. If my dream comes true MS will fail with Windows 7 and wind up releasing a new OS called Windows XP Ultimate which will be something like your quote above. :) ---pete---

Ahhhh, but the real and final test is to set it back to Auto and see if the original problem returns. I know you probably hate to do that becasue it's all working now, but that's what is need to confirm the final conclusion. :) ---pete---

If that solved it then my guess is that the CPU has degraded somewhat causing it to malfunction at the original CPU settings. I've seen this before where the computer will not startup past the BOIS screen and by lowering the clock speed of the CPU I could get it running again. Remeber, the only difference between similar model CPU chips that are rated at one speed over another is that the higher speed chips passed more tests at the higher speeds, but understand that they all came off of the same wafer in the manufacturing process. Soooooooo, perhaps your CPU chip was subjected to a power surge or excess heat which degraded it just enough to no longer work at the original CPU settings of the BOIS. Then when you changed things in the BOIS you reduced the demand of the processor and that enabled it to operate again. ---pete---

Ron, thanks for the referral on V-GREP, I downloaded it and tried it quickly and it seems to work nicely. It seems a bit limited in that it only searches a target folder and it's sub folders but still very useful. Does the pay version allow you to specify multiple drives and folders to search? What do you like about the pay version over the free one? Perhaps we should begin a new thread on this topic. ---pete---

That's great news that you got it workiing again Swickle! I'm think that eveyone here is anxiously waiting to hear how you make out in determining exactly what was the culprit. Feedback like that is GREATLY appreciated because it helps the next person who comes along with a similar problem. I consider it a valuable contribution when members report back or summarize what finally fixed their particualr problem. Looking forward to hearing from you. ---pete---

When WinXP came out the SEARCH feature that searches for a word or phrase inside the files became unreliable. This is becasue it won't search certain older versions of files that Micorsoft no longer supports. A similar thing might be occurring with Vista. I discovered this annoying issue when I converted some Win98 PCs to WinXP and afterwards customer could not locate documents using the SEARCH feature that searches for a word or phrase inside the files. I located the desired files manually and resaved them using a newer version of WORD and then the search feature worked as it should. See, these are the kinds of things that I suspect MS does on purpose to FORCE consumers to buy newer versions of MS products. I have been burned so many times by these tactics that I've learned to avoid using all MS products whenever possible. Since the SEARCH feature is no longer reliable for searcing for a word or phrase inside the files we need to find a 3rd party search utility that willl work in WinXP as well as Vista. ---pete---

I agree. My monitor is comfortably located about 31 inches from my eyeballs and when I extend my arm towards the monitor there is 8 inches of space between my finger tips and the screen. If I had to bring the the monitor 8 or 9 inches closer I'd be uncomfortable and probalby need to put on my reading glasses. Touch screens are like ball and chaining the user to the monitor. A better approach is to develop a better device to replace the mouse. I wonder if a "Touch Pad" that replaces the mouse would be any better. I hate the touch pads typically found on a laptop but that might only be because they are so small and require such precision to operate. An 8" by 10" touch pad might be totally different and much nicer to operate and that might make a good interface for the same touch screen technology. ---pete---