Archive for September, 2008

How To Remove The “X’s” That Are Hindering Your Life

Sep 29th

Posted by Kenny in How To

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It seems that “NEW & IMPROVED” is shouted from the mountain tops of every product marketing campaign these days.

Microsoft product marketing is no exception. Every couple of years, we are coerced into upgrading to the “latest and greatest” bloatware.

This time around, it has been the old stand-by, Microsoft Office. On the PC, we are moving to Microsoft Office 2007. Whether it’s the pared down Home and Student Office version or the Office 2007 Ultimate Suite with a whopping 10 applications included, everyone is basically upgrading now or later. On the Mac side it’s a fresh “Mac Office 2008“.

These new versions bring with it all kinds of bells and whistles. A by product of this is that there’s a brand new file format in town. Instead of the .doc file format for Word docs, or .ppt for Powerpoint files, etc, now we have the “new and improved version” with an “X” at the end. Thus the new Microsoft Word files now get saved in .docx format. Powerpoint 2007 files are saved as .pptx.

If you have an older version of Microsoft Word, you can still open and edit the newer file formats, although you might loose some of the new functionality.  BUT, you have to download and install a free patch to make your older version of Office compatible with the new file formats — there’s one for both Mac and PC.

But of course, Microsoft isn’t all that benevolent.  They want everyone to upgrade at some point of course (cha ching cha ching, pay Bill more money for basically the same product!).  So NOT ALL older versions of Microsoft Office are allowed to use this patch to allow compatibility.

What’s the alternative to giving in and sending more cashola to Bill Gates & Co if you have an older version of Microsoft Office that cannot take the upgrade patch??

Here’s an interim solution that will do the trick and avoid the upgrade if everything else seems to be working just fine. Afterall, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right. . . Read the rest of this entry »

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It’s Official: Sony VAIO TZ Series is the HOTTEST Laptop On The Market

Sep 4th

Posted by Kenny in Computers

1 comment


How timely!


Just THIS WEEK, I ordered a brand new laptop to replace my Sony PCG-TR2A 10.3″ laptop.  I have loved the small form factor and have consistently gotten comments about how small and portable it really it.  It’s small enough that I literally take it with me all the time.

Looking at Sony’s latest line-up of Vaio notebooks caused some decision headaches for me since I was swiveling back and forth between the Sony VAIO TZ series and the SZ series laptops.  And to make matters worse, Sony introduced a Z series and SR series this month without clarifying exactly how/why they are using these two new lines to replace some of the SZ models available.

In the end, I made the choice to try the Vaio VGN- SZ760N/C which I negotiated down from $1649 to $1484 with free shipping, no tax.  Not a bad price for a Intel Core 2 Duo / 2GB / 250GB HD / DVD+-R / Wifi-N / 13″ laptop.  Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow!


In the meantime, it looks like someone was watching over me from above because today Read the rest of this entry »

Apple iPhone 3G to 4G Upgrade Receipt Preview [scan]

Sep 2nd

Posted by Kenny in Ramblings

1 comment


Are you numb from the iPhone craziness that continues to infect our gadget-centric world?
Today, I present to the world, the upgrade for the Apple iPhone 3G package to help keep you panting like never before.

In order to trump the iPhone 3G $199 price tag shock, Apple and AT&T Wireless will surely release the iPhone 4G upgrade for even less — $100. It doesn’t matter that there is no 4G coverage in your area yet for the foreseeable future, I’m sure you’ll still want to get it now, right?


And when will this be available you ask as you stand in line during the 10-business day wait for the current iPhone 3G to be delivered to local stores?

See the preview of the receipt for yourself: