Microsoft sucks. Everyone knows that. Although I admit Windows XP was a step in the right direction, it is far from perfect. Windows 98 however, so so damn out of date, it’s hardly worth the trouble now. Being a tech guy I often get people asking me to fix their computers. I was approached by a janitor at one of the schools I am working at now about fixing his Internet. So yesterday I drove over there to check things out. My inital diagnosis is something having to do with DNS. They could dial up (blech!), get an IP, but they couldn’t go anywhere online. I was able to ping my router from their house though, so I knew they were online, it’s just the addresses weren’t resolving. My efforts made little headway. In fact I worked from about 8 until 12 on it almost non-stop. I could not get it to resolve anything. Finally, I gave up.

Today, I started fresh and actually got lucky on something. I found the Windows 98 drivers for my USB drive. That let me save all their important files before wiping the system clean. After that came the long process of installing Windows 98 back on to the system (as much as it hurt, I could not bring myself to pirate Windows XP and put it on there). Things booted up, some of the hardware wasn’t recognized though. With the help of a Gentoo LiveCD I was able to identify most of the hardware and install drivers. Now all I need to do is throw their word processing software on there and find sound card drivers. I’m also going to try to talk them into “the browser, reloaded” FireFox. I think one of their major problems before was spyware and adware. They did have an ad removal program, but I think it was too late. That and there was probably about 5 years of random programs that had been installed and uninstalled improperly leaving those “residue files.”

In any event, the machine is all fresh now and hopefully they are satisfied with my job when I return the machine to them. It’ll be nice to have a little extra money at Warped Tour. I also haven’t had the time to add videos to my database like I wanted because of all this computer work. If I’d had it my way, I would’ve completed my first spindle of 50 and moved on to the second.

My future Grand AmLately, I’ve been somewhat tight on cash because I’m very close to buying a car. Today I checked out two more cars. The first was a black 2001 Grand AM SE1 which I liked very much. It’s not decked out, but it is nicely equiped with a 3.4L V6, Alloy Wheels, Rear Spoiler, and a CD Player. I also got a call from the local dealer I had visited a couple weeks ago. The IntrigueThey just got in a 2000 Olds Intrigue. It’s also got a V6, Alloy Wheels, Rear Spoiler, and a CD Player. But it has almost twice the mileage.

Both are in my price range, although the Grand Am is a bit more of a stretch for me. I truely like the Grand Am better than the Intrigue. The only thing that is lingering in my mind is the insurance and final prices of both. With the Grand Am, I’d end up borrowing about $700 from my parents (which I could fairly easily pay back). The Intrigue is much lower and I could put a nice down payment on it and only have to take out about $6500 on a loan. The insurance would also be lower on the Intrigue. I’ve got a tough decision to make, so if you’ve got any suggestions, post them in the comments. Please don’t post things like “both cars suck” or “get this car instead.” One or the other please.