you aren't suffering from pop-ups that a popup blocker is gonna help
with. You have some kind of adware or spyware on your system.

Search Google for virus scanners. If you want a paid solution go to
symantec.com and search for Norton 360, it's getting amazing reviews and
kicks some serious booty.

--------------------------
There is another factor in why some people have more contempt for MS
then they have for Shell, etc. We have -watched- the software industry
be destroyed by MS's anti-competitive practices. It happened fast enough
for us to see it happening, and to know - while we watched company after
company, product after product disappear, who was responsible.

Personally, I don't mind watching people get wealthy. In the early days
of Google, I was stoked to see the author of Perl getting rich. And I
was happy to hear when Torvalds was gifted a huge chunk of stock.

Younger people have been born into a MS world, and don't know the
history. They believe the lies about "innovation."

But while watching Gates get wealthy, I was also watching truly great
products companies and products die.
---------------------

OK, I can see that, it's definitely more "here and now" than some other
things...although the electric car was killed off only a few years
ago... but I see that.

And I guess you didn't like my other analogy about the car and windows,
haha!

http://www.buy.com/cat/wireless/10996.html?s_kwcid=&dcaid=17260

The linksys router is good, I like it.

Wireless cards for your laptops are about 50 each, and for desktops
probably around the same price...but I am assuming you are using
laptops?

But all in all, it'll be about $150 to $200 or so.

------------
as to the comparison with GM....I don't have to learn to drive all over
again when I buy a new car. I don't have to hit start to turn the car
off. The car doesn't just freeze up when I'm going down the road. I
don't have to call somebody half a world away to talk about a problem
with my car...etc etc
-----------

this is exactly the kind of stupidity I'm talking about. You don't
drive your car like you use windows. If you wanted to use windows like
you use your car, turn it on, open notepad, type a letter, maybe use the
calculator, then turn it off.

But that's not what you do...
You pull the computer out of the box, and you turn it on, and then you
install AOL.
OK, so let's equate that to...going to a 7-11 and asking the man behind
the counter to change your oil. This is AOL we are talking about, so
change a few spark plugs in your engine, and then spray paint AOL in big
letters on your car (bonus points for putting it on the windshield in
the corner).
Next...you decide to install the printer on your computer...preferably
one of those you get for free...or $10 or so.
(yes, printer=drivers...nuff said).
So you pop the hood of your car, take the cooling system, and splice it,
put a little black box next to the engine that is now cooled along with
your engine (with the same cooling system), connect it to the engine
with a belt, because the black box, at random times will need access to
power from the engine. Hook the black box up to the radio, because
whenever you start your car, you want to hear and see the pretty little
black box graphic.

We almost forgot the antivirus.

Put an additional filter between the fuel line and the engine,
preferably one that constricts gas flow a little. Then, divert 10% of
the engine power to a second black box which actually cleans your
pistons while you drive.

Now, you have to realize that you would never drive this car at 60, so
hop on in, put the UHaul trailer on the hitch, and go 120 on the
highway.

Now tell me your car is gonna run perfectly for more than 3 miles, and
it won't suddenly shut down completely at random intervals.

Yes, I exaggerate, but the fact is, a "clean system" like a clean car,
WILL work never requiring shutdowns, reboots, or anything...but as soon
as you install ANYTHING, it's not a clean system...just like it's not a
clean car. And yeah, installing some software is like changing the
tires...but most software is not that clean...so you NEVER actually use
a clean system, but USUALLY use a clean car...

---
I don't want to go off topic on the electric car issue, I'll trust you
that GM did some evil things.
--------

Good, because my point isn't about the electric cars or anything, it's
the fact that oil companies are further in bed with politicians than
microsoft can ever hope to be...last I checked...no MS employee has ever
been president, haha.

But the point is, that's it's easy to jump on the "Bill Gates/MS"
bandwagon because you know who he is. If I told you the CEO of Shell,
BP, Aral, Amoco, Texaco, you wouldn't even know who they are (or most
people wouldn't anyway)...and it's tough to hate the unit ("Oil
companies") but it's easy to hate the man (Bill Gates). That's where my
issues come from, not from present or past transgressions of other
companies...because they are all, in their own way, guilty.

----------------------
If GM had created a situation in which you -have- to buy one of
-their- cars in order for your car to be compatible with the major kinds
of gas that is available, or the main kinds of roads we drive on, then
yes we would and should hate GM also. But we have a choice to buy cars
from one of a number of different companies.
--------------------------------

You're approaching this problem the wrong way. The competition to the
car, was the railroad, people were given a choice to use it. Then GM
neutralized major railways, which essentially forced people to use cars
instead of trains. The difference is, GM had solid competition from the
start.

Apple and "IBM clones" were the first systems that were out. IBM
clones, because they were clonable and compatible began to thrive, apple
began to die. That's why I say that GM had solid competition, because
the cars ALL worked on roads, not the railroads, whereas MacOS was like
a railroad...it works on the rails...and nowhere else...but cars don't
work on rails, but they do everywhere else.

I know that MS attempted is not entirely innocent, I know they attempted
to kill java among other things...

Have you seen who killed the electric car? Since you bring up GM
dictating what gasoline goes in the car... I know it wasn't GM
singlehandedly killing the electric car...but they aren't innocent.

welcome Kevin, don't remember you from the other place, but I'm from
there as well. Welcome

This was before she asked him to use contagious in a sentence.

We were watching our neighbor painting her fence with a tiny little
brush, and my dad said "with that brush, it will take this contagious."

the one I'm thinking of getting is
You'll regret reading this shirt when the sketch artist asks you to
describe my face.

I was born intelligent, but education ruined me.

welcome to the forums, enjoy yourself here, it's a great place!

had had whoa!!

I'll have to READ it again, might have missed stuff when I READ it last
time.

Hey petite, I added you

welcome! It's a fun little place, pull up a chair, grab a beer.

Yeah, there's some scaries on here, pay them no mind.

I would have to pick 1470s

What would I do there?

I'd go chat with Leo, and check out the mona lisa while he's painting
it, then I'd go have a brewsky with Chris, letting him know that his
discovery of America was gonna kick something serious, and then I would
probably check out the Sisteen chapel, and lend Mikey a helping hand.

The 1470s is where it's at!

hey there, welcome to the forums! Pull up a chair, post a little, have
some fun!

So should we hate GM because we HAVE to own cars? Cars are MUCH more
expensive and MUCH more insecure than windows. If you look at the
statistics for cars getting scratched, dented, and wrecked, I can
guarantee that the numbers are higher than those for windows getting
hacked. Especially when you realize that some people own 3+
computers...how many cars do you own? Can I ask you how many scratches
you have on your car?

BECAUSE people started having cars, distances increased. And BECAUSE
the distances started increasing, people HAD to get cars. The same
holds for windows. Apple shot themselves in the foot many many years
ago, so they lost the market share they could have had, so now, BECAUSE
people have windows, most software is for windows. BECAUSE most
software is for windows...people have windows. I don't see how that's
Microsoft's fault. Bill Gates had a vision.

From kevin:
------------------------
Don't forget he will need to have the same level of knowlege as those
people he is paying a swell and I bet he does not even know one
programming language his people write. Sounds to me like he would not
hire himself if he saw his own resume
-----------------------

from the wikipedia:
----------------------------
Gates excelled in elementary school, particularly in mathematics and the
sciences.
...
According to Gates, people at Microsoft often did more than one job
during the early years; whoever answered the phone when an order came in
was responsible for packing and mailing it. Gates oversaw the business
details, but continued to write code as well. In the first five years,
he personally reviewed every line of code the company shipped, and often
rewrote parts of it as he saw fit.
----------------------------
Maybe...you should do a bit more research before you make a claim like
that. (just like your spell checker isn't working for you).

Yeah, MS software has a lot of issues, as does any software... but
then...EVERYTHING has bugs. If You had 500 million people (I'm guessing
that's about right...1/12 people...) using a piece of software with that
many features...they would find as many flaws as well. Especially those
who are TRYING to find them for fun and profit.

I work for a security company...those bugs in Windows keep us working,
haha.

yeah, ubuntu is kinda cool. Also does this interesting windowing thing
where they shake like jello when you move them. It's really really
cool...for like 2 minutes. Luckily it can be turned off (very
easily...unlike annoying ms features which linger forever).

OMFG ROLMAO
I am in tears.