Internet Explorer Ballot

On March 1st Microsoft will release a new update that will allow you to choose which browser you want to use. Of course you can already do this but most computer users are either quite happy with Internet Explorer or haven’t a clue what an alternative browser is.

Via Windows Update, Windows users will be presented with the Microsoft Browser Ballot from 1 March, which will force users to choose between the five most popular browsers presented in random order.

Once the browser ballot is downloaded and installed, the browser choice system will automatically unpin Internet Explorer from the taskbar, so if that's where you'd like it to be, you'll have to go back and add it again. IE won't be uninstalled but you will have to positively choose it instead of it being the default browser as now. Windows will then pop up a first screen explaining what is going on.

The next screen of the ballot will display in random order a selection of 12 browsers, including Google's Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox and Apple's Safari, as well as the Opera browser and Microsoft's own IE8.

Under each browser icon, there is the option to install it or find out more - or defer the decision to later. Once you have done this, you can carry on working as normal.

My personal opinion is that this is the most stupid ‘fix’ that has come out of Brussels in a long time. It is fine for geeks and wire heads who hate anything with Microsoft written on it but for the ordinary computer user it is a solid nightmare. Most of the folk I looked after before I retired just want a computer that works and couldn’t care less about the internal politics of the EEC or its pissing contest with Microsoft. I personally don’t want some nameless chair warmer from Brussels trying to influence my choices about how I use my computers or which software I have installed. I can see no valid reason for them to interfere in what I do or the choices I make so what can we do about it?

First, don’t download the fix or install it if your computer is set to download updates automatically. If by some accident you do install the fix then uninstall it. That should keep your computer in the same condition it is now.

I am going to write to my MEP and complain about them messing with the computers I have bought with my own hard earned money. I feel they weren’t sent to Brussels to waste time and money persecuting Microsoft.

If by March 2nd you can’t find Internet Explorer and your home page has vanished don’t panic. Just Go to Start > All Programs and open Internet Explorer. Go to Tools on the Menu Bar and click on the Programs Tab. At the top click on the Make Default button and Internet Explorer is back to being your default browser. Then go again to Start > All Programs and find Internet Explorer. This time right click on it and one of the options is Pin to Start Menu. That will put IE at the top of the Start Menu. Last but not least go to Start and drag the New IE Icon down onto the Taskbar where it will make a new icon to replace the one that had vanished.

Shed part 2 and a surprise

Thanks to a few days of sunshine and a balmy temperature of 5°C the shed is erected and sealed against damp. The next task is to restore the electric supply and the alarm then last but not least paint the concrete floor to seal it. Everyone who sees it has commented on just how sturdy it is, That it will need no maintenance and that it looks a lot better than even a brand new wooden hut. How long it will stay like that only time will tell.

Regular readers of this blog will remember that my Nephew was being tested for haemochromatosis. This has now been confirmed and he is being bled weekly to get his blood iron levels down to a normal value. The hospital looking after him sent a message to all his family telling us to get tested too. In my case this meant contacting my children and warning them about this condition and that I was being tested for it (I had my blood test earlier this week). Since the death of my son Thomas, I haven’t got on very well with my children so it was a bit daunting to have to try to get in touch. Eventually I found most of them on Facebook and sent them a message. To my surprise and delight I found myself chatting with my Grandson and one one of my Granddaughters. As my Granddaughter said “It’s a bit difficult to know what to talk about when you don’t know someone”. I have no idea what teenagers talk about or find interesting and they seem to be having a similar problem talking to me. I hope in time we will learn what we can talk about and start to share a bit of ourselves with each other.

I told my Sister about getting in touch with with my grandchildren and as she is on Facebook too she asked them to become her friends. Where that will lead to I have no idea but I do know that if this family gets much bigger we are going to need a full time secretary.

As many of you know, I have not been a great user of social networking sites. Many older people find them difficult to use and the language adopted by users sometimes unintelligible. This made it a bit pointless for me as most of my customers were elderly or small business people who didn’t have the time for networking outside their business. So all this chatting and messaging is a new experience and I am not at all sure how I will get on with it long term.

Another Internet Explorer Flaw

Another flaw has hit Microsoft's Internet Explorer, and this time it doesn't just affect IE6.

Read about it here

Basically if you are still running Windows XP and IE 6 then your machine is open to attack. As I have said before and will keep on saying it is time to upgrade away from Windows XP as it will be obsolete sometime this year and no longer supported by Microsoft. As soon as that happens it will also be unsupported by lots of other companies like Norton, McAfee and other anti virus application producers. Then you will find that things like Office updates won’t install and newer software won’t either.

If you have an old computer (over 3 yrs) then you might find it has too low a spec to run Windows 7 and of course it won’t run Vista either. Basically you have two choices;

1. Buy an up to date computer. Not as expensive as you might think. CCL in Bradford will sell you a new tin box complete with Windows 7 Home premium for £237 inc vat.
   
   It is ideal for...


• Office Applications
• Web Browsing
• Email
• Music Playback
• Video Playback
• Viewing Photos
• It will NOT play games
  
2. If your pocket won’t stretch to that then you can download Linux for free and install it on your present machine.
   

Option two means you will have to learn to use a new operating system and then hunt for and download new applications because Microsoft programs like Office won’t work on Linux but I am told by Linux enthusiasts that it doesn’t cost them a penny.

Well there you have it. If like me you live on the Internet and prefer Windows then you need to be
running at least a version of Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 8 which you can download for free from Microsoft and preferably a version of Windows higher than XP.