It’s always the case isn’t it…after a hard and grueling day where anything that can go wrong actually does…I came back from work last Saturday night, anticipating doing some playing (uh, work) on my Dell laptop. Plugged it into the AC Mains, powered it on, and left to get myself changed. Hmmm, I didn’t hear the Windows 7 startup sound and went into the room to look. Oops, what’s this, nothing showing on the display. No problem, I thought, maybe just a hiccup. Powered it off, waited a bit and tried again. No luck, not even the Dell logo was displayed. Tried a few more times, nada. Yikes! Something was definitely wrong.

Fortunately my desktop was up and running. Went to the Dell Support website and searched for the toll-free numbers. Dialed it and ugh, I get this automated message—“Our support offices are closed at the moment, please call back from Mondays to Fridays, 9am to 9pm…” I would have hyper-ventilated if not for my trusty desktop (luckily I haven’t forsaken her) I’m glad my American friends told me to chill and breathe because hey, these things happen.

Come Monday I call Dell Support and spoke to one of their staff. I was asked to give a few details and after asking me to do a little troubleshooting the guy said it looked like my video or graphics had died. Wonder of wonders, he said a tech guy would call me the following day and arrange to fix my laptop on-site, WOW! I was dreading the idea of having to send it back for repairs. On Tuesday the Dell guy came. Mr. Lew was very friendly and professional. He put in a new motherboard for me and in less than an hour my Studio 15 was up and running—yay!

I’m giving two thumbs up for Dell—thanks again for the great support!

Related posts

• Thinking happy thoughts (4)
• My Dell laptop has arrived! (4)
• The ABC’s of Me (D-E) (3)
• Tempus fugit (1)

Yes, why not? After all when we wake up every morning we have a choice: we can either say it’s going to be a good day or it’s going to be a bad day. Guess which one I always focus on…anyways, some small but happy nuggets were tossed my way recently, probably by my guardian angel.

First off I had a talk last week with the administrator of the music school I teach in. Turns out that there was this parent who was adamant that his son learn under me. The administrator said that the parents didn’t want any other teacher, ever since they saw me judging at the recent Piano Idol. And um…I was very flattered, and touched. No I wasn’t turning peacockish, but sometimes when you give your all to your music students and don’t find any gratitude returning, it can be pretty disconcerting. This was a nice change. Anyway, the parents pleaded with me for the whole of last month to please, please find a slot to fit their son in, and I eventually relented…I just couldn’t turn them down. So now I’m teaching their 9 year-old son, who is already preparing for his ABRSM Grade 6 practical exam next year. One happy pair of parents, and one happy teacher.

Another thing that made me smile recently was reconnecting with my MO (male offspring). Last week we went for a very nice lunch at one of the shopping malls here, and then we both hit the bookstore. It was nice, bearing in mind that teenagers normally don’t want to talk with their folks. I guess it’s sort of tuning in to each other’s wavebands or frequencies—just finding that sweet spot. So that was nice for me. And I hope it was nice for him too.

On top of that, I had another surprise coming from him. A few days ago he unplugged his Linksys wireless USB adapter and told me to keep it, since his final exams for the year were just around the corner and he wanted to focus on studying instead of browsing the web. I felt like the dad in Zits (the comic strip), my mouth was wide open and I was totally speechless–all I can say is, this MO does possess some responsibility after all (smiles).

Right now I’m typing this in Starbucks—muahaha!! My Dell Studio 15 is great, but be warned—the thing is heavy (around 5.5 lbs or 2.5 kg). Using a backpack (recommended!) instead of a shoulder bag makes it better, but still it did cause my shoulders to ache, or is that a sign of old age, LOL. Then again, it’s super to get out of the confines of home and blog elsewhere…just have to filter the other customers out. And mein gott, the coffee isn’t what I’d call cheap; no I won’t be doing this too often. However, I gotta admit, it is enjoyable.

The only drawback is that I believe my desktop is shedding tears. A friend said that I’d definitely be abandoning my desktop for this girl…and it looks like she’s right. But don’t worry, my dear desktop—I won’t leave you, hee hee!

Related posts

• My Dell laptop has arrived! (4)
• Dell’s support…Wow! (4)
• The ABC’s of Me (D-E) (3)
• Tempus fugit (1)

After debating about it for over a year I decided to take the plunge and get myself a laptop. I’ve told myself over all these years that nah, I don’t need one…but it seems the time has come when it becomes necessary for me to have one. I opted for the Dell Studio 15 because it had just the right mix of what I’ve been looking for in a laptop—a powerful Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB of RAM (free upgrade), backlit keyboard, a 320GB hard disk with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit preinstalled. That, coupled with the gorgeous Ruby Red cover, 3-year warranty against accidental damage, and a free Belkin Messenger backpack, sold me completely on it. Furthermore the audio quality is excellent, a far cry from previous Studio laptops. The icing on the cake was when it connected without fuss to my Linksys wireless network at home—wunderbar!

Some minor niggles? Well get this—no indicator lights for hard disk operation, Caps Lock, etc. In fact the only light is the Power On thingy on the right-hand side of the cover, but the power cord does have a cool blue light to show that it’s receiving juice from the mains. I solved the Caps Lock problem by turning on Toggle Keys in Windows, also a little picture icon appears on screen whenever Caps Lock is pressed. I still would have liked a Hard Disk indicator light though. And there are only three USB ports. My, aren’t we miserly, Dell. I’ve already used one USB port for my Logitech cordless mouse with its Nano receiver. Looks like I might have to get a USB hub later on. The glossy surface of the touch pad and the surrounding area is also prone to fingerprints and marks, so be prepared to do some occasional wiping.

Now I’m exploring the new Windows 7. Some changes compared to Vista of course. I didn’t like the new wider taskbar but that can be changed to a more Vista-ish one, thank goodness. The notification icons on the right are also just a ghostly white color—oh well, can’t have everything. And I was surprised that Microsoft didn’t bug (excuse me, prompt) me to install their latest Live programs—I installed Live Mail, Writer, and Messenger since I use these three programs. I hated the way Windows Live Messenger would not remain in the right taskbar notification area; it would stubbornly anchor itself on the left side near the Start button. I solved this by closing and exiting WLM, then right-clicking its icon on the Start menu and selecting Properties. Choose Compatibility Mode for Vista, click OK, and restart WLM. You’ll find that WLM now resides in the right taskbar notification area.

That’s it for now, typing this on the Dell. It feels great!

Related posts

• Thinking happy thoughts (4)
• Dell’s support…Wow! (4)
• The ABC’s of Me (D-E) (3)
• Tempus fugit (1)