In terms of the cheap laptop - how about Linux? Linux should run as well on cheap hardware as on a chromebook. You are not limited to browser baeed software. And you can run Firefox for most browser based software. Not a rece by me but I wonder what the experts on this stuff think.

Linux can work pretty well. Chrome is also available for Linux and that lets you do stuff like stream Netflix and stuff (since it's not totally open source). Steam gives you access to games these days, and Libreoffice is finally pretty good.

When I replace my six year old laptop I intend to do so with an inexpensive Thinkpad from Lenovo's outlet website and replace the OS with Linux immediately.

amych suggested I move my Business question over here. (Cheers, amych)

Question of the day, for web types:

Is there a preference these days for joomla over wordpress?

I use wordpress.

Thanks, Liese. I did decide to stick with wordpress.

I bought the template I like and then spent an hour on the phone with a very nice tech for a company I don't love.

Now, the site doesn't look anything like the preview. I'm so bummed. I just want the thing to look like the preview so that I can just change the text and graphics. I'm proficient at that...sort of. The set up? NSM.

Anyone know of a good beginner course on Pivot tables in excel?

Lynda.com has some good tutorials. If I were local, I'd teach you for free!

Thanks! Yeah, I may see if any local friends can help too. There's a ridiculous excel sheet that really has too much info on it, for my new project, and I think one way to make it less ridiculous by making it more so would be to use pivot tables. Because right now they're manually updating the summaries...

Airport Extreme Base Station question. I have my base station set up with my main wireless account password protected and then a guest access account that is not password protected. I can turn that one on and off with a click.

I turned it off this morning and when I got home it was back on again.

I will probably just test this out, but would disconnecting the base station and then re-connecting it, reset these things?

I am setting up my new environment and trying to bring things over selectively rather than just copying over decades worth of applications and files.

First complete failure was thinking I could use Outlook instead of Thunderbird. Ha! The rules sucked and I gave up. No doubt there is something better, but I know how to use Thunderbird for my zillions of accounts and the rules actually work, kinda.

Next up was reinstalling graphic stuff. I have used Paint Shop Pro for a really long time and know it, but I am thinking of trying Photoshop. My questions: Learning curve for someone that generally can use any software any time even if they never saw it before? Pros/Cons PSP vs Photoshop if you have used both?

ps - in the smart house update I still get up and use the switches because I still haven't upgraded my phone! (I know Drew, Brendon keeps threatening to tell you so I am confessing in advance) It is on the list!