Blue Screen Of Death

"STOP 0x0000008E error message", "Page fault" or else the "Blue Screen of Death". Usually followed by the words, "Ctrl-Alt-Del". This is Windows way of saying, "I just can't take it anymore" as it makes a lunge for the door. The system stops working and you lose everything you have been working on. Slamming your head against the wall you pray that that the next boot will resolve the issue.



There are many reasons that blues screens may occur. The most common are...

1. Hardware failure,
- usually an old motherboard. An indication of this would be over-sized, burnt or leaking capacitors (the small cylindrical vats sitting in clusters on the big circuit board inside your computer.) Don't be fooled though. A number of times I've seen rusted and melting boards while the cylinders have been intact!

- faulty memory, either video RAM, cache or system memory. A BSOD could follow after you have tried to run a program or game.

- a hard disk drive error. The thing in your computer with all your personal stuff and windows and pictures and music and downloads? Well thats about to go kaput, so BACK IT UP FAST!! Or at least take it to someone who you can trust that can do it for you.

2. Software problems,
- the most popular? Yup you've guessed it, Windows! Just check for any updates at microsoft.com. You'll be looking for the ones marked "Critical"!

- faulty or out of date drivers, or corrupt and unresponsive software. Try to download the latest updates for your computer, or check the version of the software you are using.

- and games. Games...? Yes, games! Bought or downloaded any pirate software? Well apart from being liable for prosecution, you may also have been infected with Malware. Short for 'Malicious Software', this includes all forms of virus which can disable RAM and corrupt windows.

In conclusion the Blue Screen of Death and other computer errors are not always fatal. You can nearly always repair the problem with just a little patience. Just make sure you know where to look for help.

Oi! PS3! GIVE US A FLASH!

As of 15th April Flash support has been dropped on the Youtube site when using the PS3 browser. Want to sit on your couch and surf the new videos being uploaded and viewed by millions? Well you can't at the moment. Youtube XL has been reported to be working ok, but lets face it, its not the same.



So what's Sony going to do about it? I'll tell you. Nothing. That is until the new update to the PS3 software is out. So for now we wait.

"Now join hands, and with your hands your hearts."

Inside the honeymoon suite a couple have just arrived. The husband takes off his pants, hands them to his wife and tells her to wear them. Trying them on she tells him that they are too big, to which he replies, "...and that's who wears the pants in this family!"

Looking him squarely in the eye, the wife hands him the underwear she had been wearing all night. "You put these on darling," she tells him. The husband takes one look, laughs at the tiny garments, and says "There's no way I could ever get into those!"

The wife smiling replies, "Of course... not until you change your attitude!"

Try to imagine an office run by one person. Alone they will type out the invoices and the memos, put out orders to companies, clean out the rubbish at the end of the day, answer the phones, balance the accounts, talk to the clients... the list is endless.

In the office is a second person who sits and watches as the first brings the company to a grinding halt. Not being able to cope with all the work, they have slipped into a spiral descent, slowly but surely dragging all images of a successful business and a promising future into a bottomless pit.

Similarly, a wedding is a life-long commitment. Love plays a big part in such a relationship, closely followed by compromise, communication, and understanding.

But then again, give me 10 years and I'll tell you if I'm right...

April Fools!!! The joke's on... who?

Early hours this morning many people had turned on their PS3 to see that there was a new firmware update 3.21 to the console. Maybe it's the greatly anticipated 3D capabilities for upcoming games? How about in game picture-in-picture camera viewing?

Nope. Instead they have removed the "Install Other OS" feature which was made available at release with all PS3 models, prior to the slim version. You want to keep your current firmware and continue with Linux? Then you lose all on-line capabilities with your PS3, including on-line gaming and chat/messaging, and neither games nor Blu-ray movies requiring firmware 3.21 will run.

Whatever you decide to do, please remember. You will not be able to roll back to previous firmware versions, and if you have "Other OS" installed on the PS3, all data will not be accessible following the update, so you mustn't forget to backup!