Recent Posts

[why]

vemccoy,

Thanks for joining, and welcome!

You may notice that one of the main points of my article is that "Brand Loyalists" make general statements without describing any specifics of why they prefer their chosen brand.

...

I have used a pc for many years .
I purchased my first mac about 4 years ago and I can say that I like mac much better. I still use a pc with win7, its the best so far from Microsoft,but I still prefer mac

I'm very pleased to announce that the latest release of the Universal_Evolution template for Joomla 1.5 (v3.2, Aug 27th, 2010) is now XHTML 1.1 compliant!  For those that are not familiar, XHTML 1.1 is the next step after 1.0 Strict and better allows for non-desktop users and other sites to view the info we publish.  After XHTML 1.1, the next big thing is likely to be X/HTML 5 which is based on the 1.1 specification.  I will jump on that when it becomes stable.

However, there are some things left in the Joomla core that are not compliant with XHTML 1.1, such as the mod_banners module.  The fix is simple, and I've included that in the "Joomla! 1.5 SwiftekMOD" package.  I've included several new template overrides as needed, and I'll be adding a more complete changelog entry to the template zip file and here when I can.  Oh yea... oddly enough, the Sample Data that is optionally installed when setting up Joomla contains loads of XHTML errors, so don't install that (not like you would for a production site).

The SwiftekMOD Joomla package as well as our huge image pack for Joomla and some other useful stuff are now available in the Swiftek/tools folder (HERE).  Please do not link directly to these items, but point folks to this thread so they can get the support too.

Universal_Evolution has always adhered to the XHTML 1.0 Transitional specification, but I've been meaning to upgrade it to the strictest applicable standard as my skills improved.  Yesterday, I noticed that it was already very close, so I went ahead and finished that upgrade.

As always, I've done much testing, but I'd appreciate help with that.  Please test it hard and let me know if you find any bugs.

Enjoy!
Thanks!

P.S.:
I will soon be doing another upgrade to the SwiftekMOD Joomla package to include some added languages and other minor details that seem to be missing from my MOD of the original Joomla package (currently 1.5.18), but the existing zip file works great and I see no errors, so feel free to use it with confidence.

[RE: Our sites]

pinellascomputers,

Thanks for the reply.  It is important that our readers see both sides of things.

RE: Our sites

I think yours might score ~20-ish? [SEO]

Actually, our SEO scores right before this week's name change range from 83% to 86%, but I was not referring to your SEO score.  I'm talking about actual errors in your coding like the STYLE tag being outside of the HEAD tag, META tags not being closed, missing img alt attributes, style attributes that do not exist, etc.  I find these errors on your domain root page which is not marked as being under construction.

RE: Win7
I think the specific points you've made are valid by themselves, but they don't justify the expense and trouble of upgrading.

Beyond the difficulties and costs, there are moral and political reasons to avoid Microsoft products like Windows 7.  The best example is DRM (Digital Rights Management), which allows Microsoft to track and control what movies you watch, what songs you listen to and what books you read.  Windows XP and Linux do not violate user's rights in this way, but Windows Vista and Windows 7 have DRM integrated so deeply that it cannot be removed or disabled.

UPDATE:

XP does NOT search your computer from the start menu

I'm quite puzzled why you keep repeating this false claim. Not only is there search in the Start Menu, but it is fully integrated into the system and it will search the entire computer.

I never intended for this to be an argument, but rather, an honest debate.  I am sorry you see it that way.

We value your input greatly.  Please feel free to participate here any time.  With the recent launch of our new name, Pinellas Computer Club needs members like you to help and attract others.  I hope that you can put aside your need to sell your products and services in order to help members who may need you.

I just got an email reporting that I should re-reply to my original post, but....
I really have work to do right now, so I'm not going to waste much time on this.

Our website is perfectly fine, and is always being upgraded/modified. Hence, 3 of our pages list "under contruction" as of this moment.
However, We score an 84/100 on SEO breakdown/scoring websites, which is fantastic. Our formatting/structure is better that 95% of other websites.
I think yours might score ~20-ish? But, I really have no time to check.

And just to touch back on a few of my points:
Windows 7's update database contains more than 100X as many driver installation databases/files as Windows XP's. Hence, on a fresh installation of XP SP3 (with all post SP3 updates), you would ALMOST ALWAYS still need to locate, download, and install drivers for: Audio, LAN, WLAN, Video, Chipset, etc...
XP only has "problem reporting" and does not check for solutions to unknown problems, let alone link to newely found drivers, etc.
And lastly, XP does NOT search your computer from the start menu. It has a "search" feature, but it is not integrated. I'd perfer to simply hit start, type dev man, and press enter. Done.  Not start, my computer, right click, properties, hardware tab, device manager....
And why would people want to download 3rd party add-ons and programs when there is already a great built in Windows 7 feature?

In any case, I'm done arguing. I'm sure if others want more info, they can Google for Windows 7's features and see for themselves. And with OEM upgrade pricing starting at $79, who wouldn't?

Take care. I'll let the forum members decide for themselves. XP is a great OS, I just perfer my customers be up to date and have support after the year 2010, when XP discontinues their support of the OS entirely.

pinellascomputers,

I thought I'd let you know that your website has 99 errors in the code.  If you would like help rebuilding your site to meet modern web standards and correct the coding errors, please feel free to ask us here.  We have experts that are happy to provide you with assistance, free of charge if you need.

[Why your arguments for Windows 7 are invalid:]

I just wanted to come back in here and clarify my answers to "pinellascomputers", as I feel my original response was not very comprehensive.  I will address their points one at a time.

Why your arguments for Windows 7 are invalid:

it is built on Windows XP/NT core structure

So is Windows XP, so this is NOT an advantage.

It has built in problem solving

This is extremely vague, and doesn't have any specific meaning that can be addressed.

[it has built in] hardware installation

This has been a feature of every version of Windows (and all other OS'es) since the 1990's, so this is NOT an advantage.

[it has built in] 3rd party driver detection and installation

This has been a feature of every version of Windows (and all other OS'es) since the 1990's, so this is NOT an advantage.

It has multi level security features

Again, very vague, but all Windows versions after Windows 95 have had multiple levels of security control, so this is NOT an advantage.

[it has] one of the best file sharing systems

File sharing is extremely simple on ANY operating system, so this is NOT an advantage.

[it] creates automatic and customized backups

Most users will never use this tool, but if they wanted to, there are excellent free and easy methods to do so that do not rely on one particular format or manufacturer.

it informs you of problems it encountered

Both Windows XP and Linux do this as well, so this is NOT an advantage.

it searches your entire computer from the start menu

Both Windows XP and Linux do this as well, so this is NOT an advantage.

it has aero window previews, taskbar jumplists, snap...

Most users do not know about, care about or use these features, but Windows XP and Linux have very similar features that can be added or turned on should anyone want them, so this is NOT an advantage.

it detects and identifies every device, and can even figure out what to do with unknown hardware

This has been a feature of every version of Windows (and all other OS'es) since the 1990's, so this is NOT an advantage.

you can run it in compatibility mode for XP or early versions of Windows

This is only needed if you use Windows 7, but XP has backwards compatibility as well.  Free alternatives to most popular applications are widely available for XP and Linux, so this is NOT an advantage.

Why your arguments against Linux are invalid:

[re: Linux] don't count on 95% users knowing how to mount drives, and sudo software installations

Most users will never attempt these types of operations on ANY operating system, so this is NOT a disadvantage.

[re: Linux] not being able to use a large number of Windows/Mac programs that aren't currently supported [by Linux]

The vast majority of users rely on programs that have completely free equivalents for Linux, so this is NOT a disadvantage.

I would love to debate this topic further.

I'm happy to debate it with you as well, but we'll do it here, in public where everyone can see.  Feel free to respond here in the thread I have created for this purpose.

Now, I could be wrong, but I strongly suspect that "pinellascomputers" makes good money installing and troubleshooting Windows 7 for his clients.  The facts that all of their arguments are so hollow, and that they have refused to respond here so far, reinforces my belief that their motivations are in their own best interests more than their customers'.

I just noticed that the Computer Tech board is rather empty, so I thought I'd post this to point out that the majority of our articles on Computer Tech are still in the "Tech-Support" and "Computers 101" sections accessible from our Home Page.  I guess I should put a set of Main Menu buttons at the top of the Forum too.  It's on my list...

To automatically start a new topic here about an article, just post in the Comment box below it (if there is one).

I've made the final changes to convert Pinellas PC to the 100% Free Pinellas Computer Club.  We hope to attract new members as well as web traffic.

All Residents, Non-Profit Organizations and Small Businesses in Pinellas County are strongly encouraged to sign up and make use of the many free services we offer.  Pinellas Computer Club Membership is open and free for everyone.

This topic discusses this article of the same name.