Good luck.

You can run all of your windows apps on a Mac(Parallels). Try it, you may like it.

Not as bad as yours but my Mac has a bug, too. Switching places by itself. Music and ads coming on by themselves. Not in Boston anymore and not near an Apple store. I thought part of the great things with Macs was supposed to be that they didn't get bugs. Where's my hammer?

Brad, if I come over and stand behind you, tap my foot, and keep asking, "Is it fixed yet?" would that help? Because I'm willing to do that for you if it would help.

...and I could send you a lot of needy emails about my personal problems...

Thanks, Steve. But Desi already has that covered.

Good luck. Wisconsin LeftyBlogs has been down/inaccessible since before the election, and I was afraid something might have sidelined you, too.

Just to be clear, I have no idea why http://www.leftyblogs.com/wisconsin/ doesn't work any more. There's probably a benign explanation.

But, as they say, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.

Hope to see you up and running again soon.

Brad,

Consider buying a moderate machine 2nd hand and scrapping Windoze entirely. You could install either one of the BSD Unixes or you could try one of the many Linuxes. Ubuntu is a relatively friendly Linux with a very large user group you can lean on. I think once you look beyond the Windoze walled garden, you will be pleasantly surprised to find OSes and application software that is both reliable and serviceable by you. You can actually look under the hood to see how it works, and maybe even to tune it to your needs, if what you get from the install disk does not meet your exact needs. There even are media centric flavors of Linux so professional grade audio/video recording and editing software are not the budget busters they are in Windoze.

What LinearBob said. Also, take a look at "Why I Use Generic Computers and Open Source Software".

ProTip for Windows Users: Want a WAY faster computer for free? Turn off Windows Update! Seriously!

Then there's the prob of remembering to check for updates, but still, you'll have so much more free time in the interim, you can write yourself a reminder!

Brad, you're sure you're using a "sproket not a "scocket"? Ha ha Steve Martin laugh. snort

Heller, foot tapping? Oh Oh.:-)

David I hate when that happens, a bug in my Big Mac!
I'm glad you weren't around with your hammer

Chop, chop, get to work Brad...

Strider and Aaron of Fairlight finally got to him.

Somebody donate this man a mighty Mac that can read Microsoft programs.