A Charlie Brown Christmas, Unemployment, Laptop, & Microsoft

In December, my mom usually plays the same Christmas albums from years past, including:

• A collection of holiday songs from Johnny Mathis, Burl Ives, and Mariah Carey.
• The album Soulful Sounds of Christmas featuring various soul musicians.
• The soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas.

They’re all my favorite, and during the holidays, I still listen to the albums at home, work, and on my Zune HD when I’m out and about. But the one that stands out the most is the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas, because it reminds me of Christmas in 2001.

In December 2001, I was just wrapping up my first quarter at Bellevue Community College (now Bellevue College). My parents were both unemployed—through no fault of their own—and staying afloat with strategic use of unemployment checks and, I presume, credit cards. I didn’t have much insight into the whole situation, because I was rarely at home; my college classes extended into the late evening and I worked on weekends.

In Christmas of that year, my sister and I woke up pretty late. It must’ve been at least 10:00 AM because I remember seeing daylight coming through the living room. We opened up our presents, which I’m positive included some kind of underwear from the dog (a common theme since when we were younger) and a couple other clothing items. Then, I opened up a gift and was confused at what I saw: It was a neoprene laptop case. I asked my mom, “Um, what’s this for?” and she responded, “Oh, they were just giving them away at Circuit City, so I got one for you and your sister.” Hm, weird.

After we finished opening our gifts, my mom walked into the family room and came back with two big boxes: one for me and one for my sister. I vividly remember that moment. I unwrapped the present and wondered what could be in the box with computer printing on it. Sure enough, I had gotten my first computer: a Compaq Presario laptop running Windows XP. The feeling was almost like when we first got the Internet (Prodigy or AOL, anyone?); I instinctively knew how to use it, but it felt really good to treat it like something totally foreign.

I remember hearing my mom talk about it with my sister that she had gone to Circuit City and found the laptops on sale. Hoping to get a deal, she found out that they were offering 10 percent off if she was willing to sign up for a Circuit City card, which is good because laptops were still a pretty new concept for typical consumers back in 2001. And although my parents both found jobs after the holiday season, I can’t fathom how long it took for them to pay off the two computers.

I took my laptop with me to school almost every day, wrote tons of papers on it, and watched movies during the long breaks in between classes. No longer would I be regulated to sleeping in the library to pass the time. However, procrastination in school projects was still an issue, but that’s another story.

The laptop also formally introduced me to the Microsoft brand. I’d known about Microsoft before, from using desktop computers running Windows 95 and Windows 98, but having my own computer let me explore how it worked and made me solve my own misunderstandings in how computers operate. It sparked my interest in technology and introduced me to new concepts like developing websites and mobile applications, blogging, finding resources online, and generally shaping my computer skills. I’ve taken advantage of these skills to develop myself academically, professionally, and personally. It’s because of this early exposure that I’m fiercely loyal to Microsoft products.

And now, whenever I listen to the “A Charlie Brown Christmas” soundtrack, I can’t help but think about that Christmas in 2001: The costs my parents endured to provide me with a tool to improve my education, my first laptop, and my introduction to Microsoft.

Thank you to my parents for buying me my first laptop for Christmas in 2001; it helped transform the way I learn and began my immersion into the world of technology, which is something that I take advantage of every day. I hope you understand how much that investment continues to pay off.

Love you, Mom & Dad!

Recapping Three Months with the Windows 7 RC

I’ve been using the Windows 7 RC since Microsoft released it on May 5, but held off on blogging about it to make sure I had all of my facts and opinions straight. After three months, I might as well have written a review a week after installing it. The RC, which stands for release candidate, is Windows 7 Ultimate, the full-featured version of the operating system.

Setting up Windows 7 was a breeze. So much of a breeze that I installed it twice on my Compaq laptop within 12 hours. Well, there’s a disclaimer on that: The first time I installed it, it took four hours because I hadn’t realized that I selected the option to keep all files on my computer, meaning that my previously installed programs and saved music, pictures, and documents transferred over when I updated. This was not what I had planned, so I reinstalled it, wiping off all files and installed programs. This method of installing took roughly 30 minutes. Yes, 30 minutes, as in half an episode of Man vs. Food.

Note: When Installing Windows 7, remember to create installation disks for your current operating system, Windows Vista or Windows XP. I made the mistake of note creating the disks and cannot go back to Windows Vista unless I call Compaq/HP and pay for the disks. Oops. Guess that’s a good enough reason to buy Windows 7 Ultimate when it’s officially released on October 22. ;)

Setting up the new operating system was pain-free and straightforward. And, I didn’t have any problems with installing drivers that weren’t preinstalled on the computer, such as printers, mobile devices, and flash and external drives.

The only noticeable and annoying bug I experienced for the first two months was this: Occasionally when I moved files from a folder to the desktop, the desktop would not refresh unless I manually refreshed it by pressing the F5 key. The only way to fix this would be to restart the computer, which is hardly ever convenient. For the past month, though, I haven’t had this problem, so I wonder if it was fixed in a recent update. Other than that, I haven’t run into any major bugs, but keep in mind, I primarily use my computer for average tasks, like browsing the Internet and using applications in the Microsoft Office system, Macromedia Dreamweaver (yes, Macromedia) and TweetDeck.

My wife was even jealous to see my computer running Windows 7 that she wanted me to install it on her Sony Vaio laptop running a Japanese version of Windows XP. Not only did she set up the English version in 30 minutes, but she also can switch between English, Japanese, and Chinese anytime she wants to. Because of her higher-end, super-featured laptop, we did have a little trouble installing drivers that should’ve been on the laptop. I think this had more to do with the applications that are never included on U.S. PCs, such as FeliCA. Fortunately, Windows 7 provides thorough directions that help get the drivers onto the laptop.

Overall, I’m very pleased with the Windows 7 RC. From what I’ve seen, Microsoft is really listening to the public about how to make the operating system better, and I think social media is really playing a good part in pushing the Windows brand back to the ranks that it was before Windows Vista. People like Marcus Schmidt, Brandon LeBlanc, and Stephen Rose and online entities like MSWindows on Twitter are very active with promoting blogs and general Windows 7 information on Twitter.

Zune HD and brief thoughts on the software and hardware

Ok, this is going to be really brief, but here are two things that I think the Zune should have: Bluetooth for stereo headsets and speakers and support for Asian languages.

It’s a bit of a long shot, but I would like to see the next-generation of Zunes with Bluetooth. It would definitely give it more firepower against the iPod, but because of the demand on battery power that Bluetooth uses when it’s on, I know that might not be feasible or practical to keep the battery life at such exceptionally high levels. Coincidentally, though, Bluetooth 3.0 will be rolled out to manufacturers soon, and one of the improvements in the technology is lower drain on battery power. If the rumored Zune HD had Bluetooth 3.0, it would probably make it the first device to hit the market with that mobile technology. This sounds completely possible to me with the Zune HD rumored to be released in fall 2009. Having the newest technology in a refreshed device would totally gain followers for Microsoft. The only obstacles for implementing Bluetooth 3.0 into the next-generation Zune are price and battery demand, two of which I have no insight into.

The second should-have (will-have?) for the Zune is the long-awaited support for Asian languages. If the Zune is indeed going international, the Zune must have support for Asian languages for it to succeed overseas.

*The image of the rumored Zune HD above is from Engadget. (http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/10/is-this-the-zune-hd/)

Proof that not all companies are invincible in tough times

I’m sure that most of you know that Microsoft announced 5,000 layoffs today—1,400 of those which are effective immediately. I feel really bad for those who lost their jobs there today… it’s such a hard place to get into, that when you have it, I’m sure that just being there is incomparable to other corporate jobs. Unfortunately, my chances of ever landing a job at Microsoft—which I’ve been trying to land since early 2006—took a significant hit today, but that’s secondary to what happened today. Here’s hoping to swift job creation in the near future!

Note to those at Microsoft who lost their jobs today: Be thankful for your health and look forward to your next adventure! Your experience at Microsoft is invaluable, and you’ll all find jobs soon enough. :)