Remember userid & password (not recommended if you share this computer)
XP, Vista or Wondows 7?
It's been some time since I had anything new to pass along, but there hasn't been much to talk about except a few viruses and how much most folks dislike Vista. For the past few months I've been testing the Release Candidate (like Beta) of Windows 7. In my humble opinion I would have to say that it's far better than Vista and just a bit of an improvement over XP. Think of it as Vista Lite or XP SP4 (neither exist). I believe the main obstacle facing Microsoft is that Windows XP has been integrated so deeply into homes and businesses for the last 8 years that it will be hard for The Boys from Redmond to force users out of XP and into Windows 7. Eventually it will happen, just as it did with Windows 98, right after MS got it to run to near perfection. New software will be written that won't work on XP. That might take some time. There are still many PC's that use Office 2000, not to mention 2002 (Office XP) and Office 2003. These office suites do everything most businesses and individuals need. The real difference will probably be in multimedia and web applications, and that will motivate change. Still... I can't justify spending more money for a new operating system and office suite when what I have does everything I need it to do. XP with Service Pack 3 runs great on the latest hardware, and upgrades cost a lot less than a new system. For the adventurous or cost conscious user, and those seeking a more secure environment, you might consider Linux. The latest versions look very much like Windows, and almost all versions, and the software they run, are FREE. Linux doesn't lend itself to viruses, it's much more secure, and businesses should really consider Linux just for the licensing cost savings. If we were able to teach everyone how to use Windows we can teach them to use Linux. The divide narrows every day. Hey... it's your money, you decide. What's nice is that it costs nothing to try. Interested... let me know.
New Dialup Procedures
Believe it or not, Port Internet still has a lot of dialup customers or email customers who can dial in when their cable or DSL goes down. Remember Hurricane Gloria? The only thing that was still working after she blew across the island were POTS lines. POTS stands for "plain old telephone service". In order to be ready in case another Hurricane hits, and to improve the service as well, Port Internet has redesigned it's dialup infrastructure. The old system still works (most of the time), but we wanted to offer you better service so we added more access numbers.
Before dialing in be sure to change your email program settings. The most common email client is Outlook Express so I'll use it as the example. Other programs
have similar settings. In outlook Express go to Tools -> Accounts -> Mail & click on Properties, then click on the Servers tab. Look for "My server requires authentication" and put a check mark in the box. Save.
Now you're ready to modify your current Dialup connection. Again, we'll use the most common (and still the best) operating system... Windows XP as an example. To change the number you use to dial in with you need to go into the Control panel -> Network Connections, right click on your current Port Internet dialup connection and click on Properties. You'll then see where you can make the change. Unless you need a number outside of the Port Jefferson area you should use 791-5019 (I'll post more numbers later on). In order to connect you need to put in your FULL email address as the username and then your password. I'm sure a few of you have forgotten your password so contact me if you need me to look it up. That's all it takes. On September 1, 2009 we will retire our modem servers so you are advised to make the change as soon as possible. As always, call or email me if you have any questions.
