I spend a lot of time on the computer and use a number of different pieces of software. Some of them, like my Opera browser, are customized quite a bit. Using a piece of software is using a tool. You get used to it. Everything is in a certain place and you reach for it without thinking. That usually ends with a new computer. Nothing is quite where it used to be. You forget to load some software or bring some settings over. You go to do something and then have to stop and load that software or find those settings. It took a few days but now I'm settled into the new machine. I was able to move all my email and browser settings over for Opera which makes me a very happy camper. I took the oportunity to upgrade a few pieces of software. I had a copy of Photoshop 7 so I moved up from 6. I'm giving OpenOffice another chance. I tried it about 3 three years ago. It seems to be working well now. All my Word and Excel files loaded fine into OpenOffice.

It was harder than it needed to be. To make sure all went well I backed up all my data files, email, and appropriate settings on about 28 CDs. But, when I went to restore, my backup program wouldn't restore. I looked into their customer support but it required a bunch of information abour service packs and logs. In a moment of inspiration I decided to go where I had never gone before and went down to Radio Shack and bought a crossover network cable ($11) and plugged my old machine directly into my new machine. It took about 1/2 hour of rummaging through menus and remembering to make folders shared. (I remembered from watching system admins at Boeing about 10 years ago!) I was able to move all my files over the network cable. In the process I had my old and new monitors side by side. I didn't realize how dim my CRT had become. It was definitely a time for a new system.

The biggest surprise was the monitor. This is my first flat panel display. It sure takes up a lot less space! My 19" CRT was actually 18" on the diagonal. (14 1/2" x 10 3/4") The flat panel is an actual 19" so it's actually a little larger. (14 3/4 x 11 7/8) I had two choices in 19" flat panels and I chose the slightly more expensive (an additional $50) Ultrasharp.

One thing that caught my eye when I ordered it was that it could be rotated 90 degrees to vertical. I thought that might have some use. When I was working at Boeing I remember word processors with vertical monitors which made sense working on a vertical page. Little did I suspect.

I got everything set up and turned the monitor to vertical. I don't think it's going to be horizontal much. Everything fits so much better in a vertical monitor. You see more of the web pages. With a 1024x1280 (or would that now be 1280 x 1024) display all the web pages display fine vertically. It got me thinking about monitors shape and orientation. I've noticed a trend to the high aspect ratio screens in some of the new laptops. It didn't seem right. If watching movies is what you do with your computer then that makes sense but a lot of what we do on a computer is vertical such as looking at web pages and word processors. It's great being able to see the entire page in a word processor. The first monitors for home computers were TV sets and that seems to have set the standard for dedicated monitors ever since. Bad choice. Even worse when they mimic the new high aspect ratio horizontal TVs. But everyone seems to go along with it since that's what we're used to. If I want to watch a movie I can easily rotate my monitor back to horizontal. It also easily moves up and down as well as rotates left to right and fore and aft. It's a whole new experience. I highly recommend it.

This is a preview of a coming attraction. That cardboard box is a 26.6"x16.9"x9.2" mockup of the HP B9180 I hope to order in the next couple of weeks if they are available by then. Please, please! The future printer and the current computer are birthday presents from Zoe and Gerry. I'm honored and ecstatic.