Microsoft Genuine Pain in the Ass

So I updated my XP Pro system and now I'm being told that I've got a bad copy of Windows.

There's a Microsoft Genuine Advantage update which apparently queries to see if this is valid and if it isn't prompts you to purchase the software. From Microsoft. At whatever price they want to sell it. Hmmm, maybe Microsoft is learning from the Oil Companies? Or maybe it's the other way around.

Anyway, so I don't pirate software, I have a legal copy of XP. And I want to re-activate. So I call Microsoft and discuss this with them and they want me to go through the 9 day long phone holding process. Otherwise, I can sign an agreement that they can come into my computer and have access to all my files. Uh, no.

Not gonna happen.

Notebook City

What the heck, I haven't posted here in a million years. Give or take.

I got a new Sempron Mobile CPU notebook the other day. My Intel Celery Mobile is old as dirt and I can't take any chances with a dead notebook. Here's what I noticed:

• Screen is shiny (and shiny is good)
• Except when you're on battery, the screen should be dim, and the shiny screen reflects EVERYTHING
• The new crop of notebooks are pretty slick, small and lightweight as you'd expect
• The battery life SUCKS!

I'm going to tweak it some and see just how much time I can get out of a single charge. Right now it's about 50 minutes.

That just ain't gonna cut it.