troubleshooting

[desh]

My new WinXP Pro computer seems to lose its internet connection entirely if the connection is completely idle for too long. There was a helpful option in the hardware manager to tell the network adapter to go to sleep if it's idle for too long; I disabled that, but it didn't help. The only workaround I have is rebooting; logging out of Windows and back in doesn't help. (At least, I don't think it does, if I remember from last time; I can't test it this time, since logging back in seems to be hanging the computer. Whoever said XP Pro got the bugginess out was lying.)

Now it could be a problem with my crappy crappy router. (Don't buy D-Link!) In fact, that seems likely, because I can successfully ping my other local computer. But does anyone know of anything else it might be? Known issues with ZoneAlarm, XP Pro SP1, or ethernet adapters onboard NVIDIA mobos?

Edit: Apparently it's DNS that stops working! I can get to Google by its IP address, but not by "google.com". I'm totally confused now. Ideas?

Edit 2, ~6:15pm EDT: What timing. Now my cable modem is entirely non-functional, and Comcast has a message on their tech support line that there are widespread problems. Yippee. This dialup is painful.

Comments

[jdcohen.livejournal.com]

Well, you're right about the RAM being paltry, PC hardware being cheaper in general, and the dearth of software available for Mac... but "not at all harder to use"? What planet are YOU from? The whole selling point of OS X is that even the dumbest user can use the thing - just plug it in and turn it on. Windows' claims of Plug-and-Play still have yet to be fully realized, and might never fully be so because of the problem of 3rd party hardware and non-standard drivers (which is what makes the hardware cheaper anyway). My point is only that while PCs are cheaper and faster (faster per dollar, at the very least), first time users would be much better off spending the extra hundred dollars and getting an entry level Mac that won't confuse the hell out of them. PCs really do need to be administrated by moderate to advanced users only.

--Jeff

[desh]

Agreed, with the caveat that absolute beginners can't admin either one. My aunt called me a few weeks ago, asking me to help her pick out and buy a computer, since her old one is REALLY old. Since she doesn't know much or do any power computing, I told her to just go to the Mac store and ask them what to get. They ended up selling her a Mini Mac and a 3rd-party flat panel monitor. They were incredibly helpful, of course, and it was the best machine for her, of course, but she still needed them to come and set it up and teach her how to use it.

So it's a relatively small segment of people who can set up and run a Mac themselves, but not a Windows computer. Of course, it's not just that segment that should be buying Macs. I'm certainly not as anti-Mac as I was a few years ago, but I'm still not as pro-Mac as I was in 1994.

[flyinbutrs.livejournal.com]

I'm from earth, where entry level people don't care about plug and play, or anything that's going on behind the scenes. What they care about is "can I find my files easily, can I check my e-mail, can I browse the web, and can I write papers". For those features, out of the box, a windows PC is every bit as usable and stable as a mac. The mac is certainly shinier, and a prettier computer to look at, but functionally, it's the same for entry level people.

In my opinion, Mac's advantage has totally flip flopped from where it started. It's doesn't have a clear stability or useability advantage for the basic computer user, but for the power user, OS X blows XP out of the water, for no other reason than being based on *nix. Having a nice, slick GUI thrown on top of a bash shell is enough to make me want to lay out the cash to buy one. Almost.