Save yourself from formatting your PC
My desktop ("Dogger") is two years old this month. Normally it would be time to think about formatting the hard-drive and starting again. The reason I don't need to do this is simple: I hardly ever install software on it. This way it keeps the Registry nice and tidy and the computer continues to perform as always. To help me, I have an old laptop ("Lundy") hanging around. If ever I think there's a piece of software I might like, I always install it on the laptop first, so I can see whether it's worth installing or not. Nine times out of ten it isn't.
This was the case yesterday when I unpacked my new camera. As with most hardware nowadays, it came with a CD, full of drivers and software. Before I even opened the CD I took a photo and plugged the camera in, via USB. As expected, Windows XP recognised the camera and opened the folder of images for me. Perfect. However, if I had followed the manual, they would have had me install all the drivers and software first. Out of interest I installed the software on my old laptop. Boy am I glad I didn't put any of it on Dogger. I can't believe Sony would ship a top-of-the-range digital camera with such awful software. Not only could I not work out how to use it, but it looked like it was designed for Windows 3.1. By an imbecile!
You can see why people believe they need to upgrade their PC every few years. If you know no better and install lots of shareware/trials from magazine fronts, along with all the software that comes with all the peripherals you buy, you will soon have a dog of a computer. If you don't know how to format a PC you can only assume you need to upgrade...
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Hi Jake
You are right, there is nothing worse than a PC that is clogged up with junk. I must admit though that I tend to reformat my PC once per year. Having worked in IT for years I couldnt live without the product "Ghost". Sure beats having to start from scratch each time!
...after installing and launching the software 'Dimage Viewer' which came along with my digicam it took 100% CPU on XP to index my photos on the HD, I could not use Strg+Alt+Del either...After rebooting I did the uninstall und RegClean, now everything works again.
P.S. I always install everything on my laptop (I own just one PC) but using RegClean I get most of the progs fully uninstalled...
I know you probably know this, but
<tip> If you're using a camera with a smart card, buy a USB card reader rather than plugging the camera in directly. Downloading drains the batteries fairly rapidly.</tip>
Dave
I like the idea of having an older PC where to install "tryoutâ– s" very much. My XP has been loaded with litteraly hundreds of applications over a couple of years, and in the past year it has become increasingly unstable.
Yet I have not reached the point where I have built up the strenght to begin the total reinstallation of XP + at least a dozen other applications, each with their own modified settings...
But when I find the strenght within :) I will definatly use your model, installing miscellaneous applications on a reserve PC and test them there!
1 up for Microsoft you might say - being very accomodating as they are now.
IMHO it would be fair to say that XP lasts longer than previous operating systems. I don't feel the need to re-install anywhere near as frequently as with NT/2k or the (shudder) 9x os's.
As for the camera software - it seems often to be the way - I've used a lot of different cameras and the software is usually poor at best.
FYO, you only need the software disk that comes with a Sony Cybershot if you use anything other than XP. I too was dissappointed with the software so found the Sony USB drivers on the internet for Win2K and use that instead, treating the camera as a USB Mass Storage Device.
A google of "Sony Cybershot USB Drivers" did the trick for me, however, I have a set if anybody needs them.
With regards to a card reader, not only do they save your camera batteries (mine's a Canon, the AC Kit was an extra AU$100 - I spent $50 on a charger and 2 sets of 2000MAh NiMh batteries instead), it's a lot faster than the camera's USB interface. Especially useful when you have a full 512MB CF card to download.
Most card readers are able to read CF, SmartMedia, Memory Sticks all in one.
I bought a Panasonic Lumix camera on the weekend (very nice) and I'll be leaving the CD that came with it in it's plastic bag.
I really can't see why you need software when with XP you just plug the camera in and off you go.
Hi Gordon,
What is the product "Ghost"?