Though I thought that Margaret reported that using USP printers "avoided" the printing problems.
I wish I knew more about how an application would have to change its behavior in order to address different printer configurations. Actually, I'd really like to know why any application should have to change its PCL instructions to correctly print to the same printer it printed to under an earlier operating system. [Read that as my doubt that ANY application should need to change its PCL priinter instructions to accomodate a new operating system. I think this particular aspect of the problem is the most interesting, and the most likely to offer insights into the underlying problem.]
I'm reasonably certain that the same PCL (Printer Control Language) instructions should produce the same result on every PCL capable printer, no matter what the printer is (I assume that all the printers involved in the discussions that have triggered my interest, are PCL capable printers).
I was originally just responding to your following request with a counterexample of a Quicken-only printing problem that was not caused by a printer driver:
[I'm interested in concrete evidence that printer drivers are causing problems for Quicken under Vista, that are not "apparent" in other applications.]
There's clearly more than one problem here. Bob and Margaret are having problems printing from applications other than Quicken. Everything I tried except Quicken (MS Word, MS Excel, Adobe Reader, IE) worked fine. In Quicken, not even File -> Printer Setup could communicate with my Lexmark. I don't think wpr.dat is a likely suspect in their cases. But *switching* from USB to network might have something to do with Margaret's problem.
And how do you know that does not apply to me, that I might have had a MBP award and it was revoked because I refused to jump on the Microsoft upgrade bandwagon?
And, btw, how does harassing a Windows user (who happens to be happy with Windows 2000) to upgrade to a DRM-encumbered WGA'd version of Windows become HELPING that user? If the MVP were really helping the users, the MVP would be chastising Intuit for dropping Windows 2000 support, instead of harassing the user to upgrade to the fiasco known as Vista (and, yes, I have tried Vista.)
Whose interest is that MVP really serving? The user's or Microsoft's? When you answer that question honestly, you will finally see what the MVP program is all about - selling more Microsoft product.
For example, many hardware drivers (LAN cards, audio cards) support both Windows 2000 and Windows XP. However, drivers on Windows Vista is a whole different (and very messy) matter.
That seems to say that I was generally right (thank you!). Indeed there has been a progression from cp/m to dos to windows (1,2,3) to 95, 2000, XP and now Vista. In keeping with the notion that customers need to be at least somewhat happy, backwards compatibility is often kept up, but of course only so much is economical.
The main complaint was that peripheral manufacturers have not focused on assuring that obsolete (what's in a word?) equipment is usable on futuristic platforms.
Please note sarcastic (to the companies) hyperbole.
You're a sad little man. You accuse MVP's of being biased toward MS products while you clearly show an anti-MS bias that refuses to consider anything positive about them.
Ordinarily, I would take offense at remarks like yours, but between your attitude and lack of knowledge about the MVP program it's clear that your opinion is worthless.
I wish you could be an MVP for a month or two (and no, there's no chance you ever were one) and see the comments regarding MS and MS products that we make. MS doesn't have any more demanding critics than us....
I have had good advice from MVPs and bad advice. Unfortunately the bad advice sticks in my mind, and that is not against any one MVP, nor at the the whole "system", but against Microsoft.
The worst examples: Problems in Word that make inserted picures, graphs, tales, etc. fly around when making edits to the underlying document. Known problem for Word from way back. Answer: Not really a Word problem, use Publisher or something else if you really want layout capabilities. Yeah, Publisher is so good it isn't talked about anymore. Really good anchoring of illustrations would be a definite plus for writing grant proposals, where location and space are at a premium.
Update Vista to SP1. Fails due to whatever, but it is not identified. What?? If youknow it fails, why not identify the cause? Then it can be remedied. Now the best advice is reinstalling. Do you know how much time it costs to get a system from the primal state to the state I want, withall installations and reboots?
Thanks for letting me rant. As mentioned this is not against an MVP, or the MVP system but against Microsoft's sloppy practices. I wish I could quit, but it doesn't seem possible. Although, I did quit smoking 32 years ago, so it should be possible to quit MS
We've "known" each other here for several years and I value your experience and your opinions. You've earned the right to rant. ; The worst examples:
These both seem examples of valid gripes against Microsoft, but neither seems to make a case (for or) against Microsoft MVP's. You gotta remember:
MVPs do not work for Microsoft. We are not on the payroll - for a number of reasons, including tax laws and labor laws.
MVPs do not speak for Microsoft! Some people, even within Microsoft, want to call us "evangelists" or some similar term suggesting advocacy, but most MVPs reject such labels vehemently. We are volunteers and we are here to help computer users. It's a fact of life that, just as you said, Microsoft is so pervasive in the PC world that virtually all of the people needing help are Microsoft customers. That may change the public's perception of who we are working for - and it might even change the perception of many Softies - but it seldom if ever changes the focus of MVPs.
MVPs do not always praise Microsoft and its products. We are free to choose and advocate competitive products - and we do. I'm not the only MVP who chooses Quicken over Money. Probably all of us use Google; many use Gmail and Firefox. Microsoft frequently reports that we are some of its harshest critics, and Microsoft executives often thank us for working hard at that role. Too bad you can't see some of our debates and comments in private MVP venues.
Obviously, we MVPs do not write Word or Vista. We are customers, just like you, and we get just as frustrated as you do at situations like those in your examples. When you post a rant, don't be surprised to hear a chorus of MVPs saying "Amen!" We often participate in beta tests, and so do millions of non-MVPs; our feedback is often ignored, just like other testers, but we hope it results in an improved final product.
Of course, accepting the MVP Award does not confer either sainthood or infallibility. We are who we were yesterday. We didn't have to take any courses or pass any tests. I'm a little embarrassed by Microsoft's claim that we are "experts" because I certainly am not one; I'm just a very-experienced amateur. Our Award is based on our record of having freely offered help that was usually correct and usually helpful. Each year, some are not re-awarded. Some have died or retired voluntarily. Many have had new "real world" responsibilities that kept them from spending time helping online. And a very few are removed from the program for other reasons. Most of us, though, say things like, "I was doing this before I got the award; I'll keep doing it even if I don't get another award; it's just what I do because it's just who I am."
Well, now I'm just repeating what I and others have said many times before, so I'll quit.
Oh, just one more:
Sometimes that is the best way out of a tangled web. But that advice comes most often from hardware and software vendors. MVPs usually suggest this as the last resort, not the first.
I'm a fan of re-installing. With proper backup, such as image files on a removable HD, it's often much faster than trouble shooting a difficult problem. Even w/o backup a re-install will usually take less than two days, trouble shooting some problems can take much longer than that.
XS11E wrote in news:Xns9B125F3A791C9xs11emailinatorcom@127.0.0.1:
The problem in my case is that I am unwilling to spend 2 days to make a machine that works just fine work just fine again, but now wth the added proviso that it will have Vista SP1. I guess that I will indeed do it ome time, but possibly as part of an upgrade to Vista Home Premium or Ultimate. My Acer ASpire 3680 was incapable of running that in its native state, but with its new CPU (INTEL CORE 2 DUO T7200 2.0GHZ 4M 667 MOBIL CPU 479 rather than Celeron M 520) 2 GB RAM and a bigger (150 GB) hard drive, it should, I think. I'll run the upgrade advisor again.
Hear, hear. If people would follow my advice when they set up their PCs, fixing problems would be so much easier.... I try to get folks to:
1) buy an external USB drive (really cheap thee days)
2) install an image backup program (Ghost, Acronis, etc.)
3) Create a scheduled task to backup on a regular basis
4) install/configure a sync program (like SyncToy or Karen's Replicator) to sync critical files on a daily basis to the external drive.
With a configuration like this, if the system is compromised, it should take on the order of an hour or two to restore the system to a known good state with minimal, if any loss.
Unfortunately, folks insist on spending $K USD on a computer and then balk at spending another $100 USD.......
5) Backup the production drive to a hardened media (DVD?) that can be stored offsite (family's other house, safe box in bank, etc.) in case there's a problem with the location (complete flood?, total electrical zap that affects all attached electronic drives? etc.) on a monthly/semimonthly/yearly (take your pick depending on your level of paranoia)
it will fit into my case when in use, but any removable HD would work.
While your off-site idea is a good one, I don't worry about it, anything that would destroy my house and the drive would be catastrophic, home invasion, airplane crashing into it, etc. and recovering data would be the last of my worries since I'd likely not survive it.
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