It Is A Very Good Day

This morning when I got up I called American Express to check on my card activity. I was surprised to hear that I again had a large credit balance. I checked the recent activity and a credit for approximately $100 less than the price of the HP computer had posted. I rushed to shower and dress. Then I went to the community center to use a pc. I logged onto American Express and saw that HP had indeed issued a credit for the second pc. I checked the order status and saw that HP had assigned a return order no. to the pc that FedEx sent back to them yesterday. They had not given me credit for the service policy. When I went back home. I called HP customer service and told them I needed to return the service policy since the computer had already been returned. It took some time, but the woman finally gave me a return authorization number. She arranged for FedEx to pick up the envelope on Monday between 1-5 PM. I will get a credit for the full $108.24 that I was charged for their worthless service policy.

 

I settled down to wait for the delivery of my new Sony Vaio. A little before ten the doorbell rang. A man was returning to a yellow rented Penske truck. He had just dropped the package and did not wait for my signature. The FedEx tracking information had stated that a signature was required. There was a label on the box that said contract delivery. It appears that FedEx is now outsourcing their deliveries. In addition someone had drawn a map on the box on how to find my street. Any way the box appeared to be in good shape.

 

I opened the box and removed the contents. I installed the battery, plugged the power adapter in, pressed the power button and held my breath. Sony has Vista setup so it is ready for use much faster than the way HP had installed Vista on the first computer. I connected to my WiFi network. The computer downloaded the Windows updates. I updated the Norton Security software. I then shut the computer down. It was at this point that the HP had permanently died. After a few minutes, I again pressed the power button. Vista is rather slow to boot, but the computer did exactly what it was supposed to.

 

I purchased the Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student addition. It appeared that only a 60 day trail version was installed. I loaded Excel and it asked for a product key. At that point I called for product support. While I was on hold, I picked up the Microsoft Office CD and saw a product key on the back of the disk envelope. At that point a tech support person answered. She confirmed that the product key on the back of the disk was what I should use. I then typed in the key and all is well.

 

I was expecting the Vaio to have a lower Windows Experience Index than the HP since it has slower disk drives. Much to my surprised all of the numbers are higher than on the HP. All of the HP numbers were 4+. The Sony disk drive has a 5.5 and its graphics have a 5.6. 5.9 is the highest possible score. All I can say is WOW!

 

I made made two changes to the Sony that I did not have on the HP. I upgraded to Windows Vista Business edition in order to get the fax, scan and backup programs. I decided they were more important to me than the entertainment features in Windows Vista Home Premium. Sony did not offer the Windows Vista Ultimate edition. I also upgraded the graphics controller to one that can display the WUXGA resolution. It is comparable to what I had on my old computer.

 

I am very, very happy now.