markhealey.org » dell

Do you want to allow this?

Mark Healey — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 14:37:50 +0000

I’m at my neighbor’s house helping her fix her recently-busted Dell Dimension running Vista Business. My neighbor is a sweet woman, who is particularly computer savvy for her near-senior age. While I’m busy trying to figure out how Vista knows I’m connected to the Internet when it’s not actually receiving a single data packet from Comcast, my neighbor asked me if Vista came with solitaire. I quickly replied, sure, it’s in Programs > Accessories > Games… just like every previous version of Windows. In fact, it’s not.

Solitaire isn’t even installed by default on the new Microsoft OS. Here’s what I just had to do:

Start > Control Panel.
Windows Needs Your Permission. Do you want to allow that? Yes.
Turn On/Off Windows Features.
Windows Needs Your Permission. Do you want to allow that? Yes.
Turn on solitaire.
Windows Needs Your Permission. Do you want to allow that? Yes.
Please wait, this could take a few minutes. (It took four.)
Restart now.

Mark Needs Your Permission. Do you want to allow laughter? Yes.

Oh, the Third Time is the Charm—SOLD

Mark Healey — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 13:22:49 +0000

eBay has done it again. Yes, they pulled my Dell listing for a second time in as many weeks! Apparently, by using the term “like new” in the title, my listing violated eBay’s keyword SPAM policy. What I can’t quite figure out is how I violated the policy when nowhere in the legal jargon does it say sellers cannot use “like new.”

So without further ado, here’s the new listing:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230087052241

If you need a great machine, or know someone who does, grab this while it’s available. It’s a beaut.

Is the 2nd time a charm?—SOLD

Mark Healey — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 02:05:17 +0000

For the second time in as many weeks, I’ve listed a Dell Latitude D620 for sale on eBay. Why have I posted it again for sale? My original listing on eBay was attacked with less than a minute to go in the auction by a “real bidder” from Nigeria who wanted my computer for his son in Michigan. Riiiigggghhhhttt. In 7 days, we’ll see what happens.

I’m hopeful for a nice winning bidder; this laptop has been good to me, and will make someone else very happy. As for my new MacBook Pro? Unbelievable.