Free Today Only - Laplink PCmover Download
Today only, in a promotion celebrating their 25 years in the computer connecting business, LapLink offers the download version of their PCmover software (usually a $50 program) for the just right price of free.
That’s Great. What’s A PCmover?
PCmover facilitates copying files, program settings (e.g., browser settings, e-mail accounts, etc), some operating system data such as those that govern the appearance of the desktop, and - this is the big deal - programs from one computer to another, an otherwise arduous task. According to the blurb on the LapLink site, the program can even handle moves from a PC to a Mac.
Of course, to physically move the files, one must connect the two computers but PCmover can function regardless of how the files are actually transfered: via a network, an external hard drive, a two-way USB cable, … .
LapLink has a good to excellent reputation for their products, and while I have never used this program, I snarfed it up first thing this morning based on my experience with their software and hardware over the years. The most recent review I could find in a hurried search this morning was an article in the November 2007 PC World, which was summarized in the final line
But I Don’t Need …
I realize that not everyone bought a new computer yesterday and needs to copy the files from the old machine onto the replacement today. Even if you don’t need this program today, download it and tuck it away on your hard drive or, better yet, burn it onto a data CD so that you can find it 8 months from now when you do bring home that new laptop and realize the next hours of your life are going to be sucked into the whirlpool of tedious and treacherous tasks: moving files, resetting email accounts, entering passwords, re-installing programs, and abusing your intoxicant of choice. Or you can buy PCmover that day for $50. Or you can get it now - for free - and feel smug as all get-out when you rev it up for the job.
Is There A Catch?
The download is indeed free as is the needed serial number. Unless one is careful to uncheck two boxes requesting LapLink marketing be sent and check the third box (unchecked by default) requesting they NOT send advertising, one is, I suspect, likely to receive a sales pitch or two - or a gazillion.
To access the download one must to open a LapLink account, a process which asks for name, street address, email address, and phone. No credit card info is requested.
One should also be aware that only the download version of the software is free. Buying the program on CDs with a paper manual is not free although it appears that even that format is available at reduced costs.
How?
The offer is displayed on LapLink’s home page. Just click on that link and follow the directions.
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It’s A Heck of a Hat
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World Tour Scheduled In 15 Years
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Corrections, Emendations, Additions, and Explanations
1. The Very Very Good Girl - SportsBizPro Nuptial Quiz
One of the choices for this multiple choice photo-based query was inadvertently omitted. Fans of Lily Tomlin and the University of Missouri will recognize the reference immediately but the image should be clear to most folks. The option has been added to the original post and is displayed in bold font below.
In this post-wedding photo of Very Very Good Girl, she is
A. Dancing with exuberance and abandon
B. Shimmying out of her gown with exuberance and abandon
C. Demonstrating the overhead, two-handed throw used to inbound the ball in soccer with exuberance but not so much abandon
D. Posing as the model for a hood ornament
E. Performing the Antler Dance, which she chose for the Bride and Groom First Dance
F. Completing the toss of the bridal bouquet, causing the assembled unmarried women, ostensibly gathered to catch the flowers, to scatter in terror as though the floral arrangement were a live hand grenade.
2. Happy Birthday, Judy Collins - and Thanks
Included in this post was Leonard Cohen’s story of being introduced to Judy Collins for the first time:
I received an email from an “anonymous fan of Judy Collins,” politely pointing out that Judy Collins tells the story differently. Her version, which she has consistently reported since the time of her songbook in 1969 (a memory confirmed by Jac Holzman in Follow the Music), is that Cohen sang a couple of songs and she (Collins) then recorded Suzanne and Dress Rehearsal Rag almost immediately rather than instructing Cohen to come back when he had something she might like.
In addition, this fan noted that Collins “also recorded dozens of Cohen’s songs and is his biggest, if that is possible, fan.”
While I initially felt the differences between the stories was of modest significance, I now think adding the Judy Collins version to the original post is worthwhile because the implications of the fact that the incident is remembered differently are themselves interesting, and it was, after all, a post celebrating Judy’s birthday.
On the other hand, I am at fault for not elaborating on the extensive support that Judy Collins provided for Cohen, especially when he was making the transition from poet to singer. My only defense - and it’s inadequate - is that most regular readers of my posts are Cohen fans who know about the role Judy played in his career. I do occasionally forget that not everyone who, for example, finds one of my entries via Google, is aware of such background. I should know better.
3. Why The 2008 Leonard Cohen World Tour Is Opening In Fredericton
An impassioned but anonymous comment and a couple of emails objected to my self-labeled “guess” that one reason Leonard Cohen’s Tour opened in a series of smaller venues was to work out any kinks in the new show before moving to stadiums and other stages with larger audience capacity.
The writers seemed to object primarily to my characterization of towns like Fredericton as “small venues” and to my likening them to “off-Broadway” in the theater world. I don’t think that either of those terms qualify as insults.
Defining “small venue’ seems an arithmetic function. The Fredericton Playhouse has a capacity of just over 700. Compared to a stadium holding thousands, that seems to me to be a small venue.
The nearest theater to my home with live performances turns out to be about the same size (800 seats) as the Playhouse.1 I would describe it as small venue as well, although I note that most theaters of this size preferentially use the euphemism “intimate” instead of “small” in their marketing.
If Leonard Cohen has opened his tour here, I am certain that, after I recovered from the shock, I would write an much more sardonic and much nastier post, if only because I know a lot more about the flaws of this area than I know about Eastern Canada.
And, contrary to some of my correspondents, I feel “Off-Broadway” connotes an avant-garde, cutting edge approach to theater as well as a certain sophistication. But what do I know? Let’s check the American Theater Guide’s take on “off-Broadway:
Well, how about the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
Yep, I can certainly see why that would rile some folks.
Perhaps the point is that - even if my speculation is accurate - opening a tour in showplaces that are smaller more intimate doesn’t negate the other attractions of those locations.
I once knew a woman who was attractive, witty, and smart, but her most powerful skill was the capacity to convince every male within within sight (and some who weren’t) that she was focused exclusively on him. This phenomenon was not dependent on explicit or implicit declarations from her and it took place even among those of us who observed it happening to others. If her attentions seemed to turn to one guy, the rest of us would immediately console ourselves with “That poor schmuck. He actually believes that she is interested in him.”
Well, Leonard Cohen is a bit like that. Those of us who are fans all want him to love us or our town or our interests the best. And sure enough, if one meets him, sees him at a concert, receives an email from him, or has any contact with him, it is overwhelmingly clear that Leonard Cohen thinks that person is someone special, that there is a resonance shared between them that is unique and wonderful.
I suspect that pointing out any possible motivation for Cohen being kind to a visitor, grateful to an audience, or gracious to a blogger other than a kinship of souls invites such protests. As far as I can determine, Cohen is genuinely fond of almost all his concert sites, especially the Canadian locations. He often, in fact, points out a special literary, political, or personal connection with the places he plays.
The problem is that Cohen being fond of a city may not be sufficient for some folks. Everyone wants to be #1 and every audience wants to be Leonard Cohen’s favorite.
It’s not just audiences. Watch or read a few Cohen interviews. Journalists fall over themselves to make it clear to readers and viewers that their relationship with him supersedes and transcends the connection between reporter and subject.
The same process, by the way, goes on in large venues. In Best Hook For Leonard Cohen 2008 Tour Schedule Announcement, I wrote about …2
The Jingoism Hook
On the other hand, the list of concert sites is a genuinely fresh addition to the available facts. Moreover, it is a data domain that enables the emergence of gloriously chauvinistic provincialism. The blurb from The Canadian Press is instructive:
Leonard Cohen announces world tour after hall of fame induction
Hot on the heels of his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Leonard Cohen has announced a world tour. It’s being hyped as the first time the Montreal-born performer takes to the live arena in 15 years. Cohen, who was inducted into the hall of fame Monday night in New York City, will kick off the tour June 6 and 7 at Toronto’s Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. He’ll give three shows at the Montreal International Jazz Festival on June 23, 24 and 25 at Place des arts. He’s expected to play Europe for the rest of the summer.
This piece has a couple of the essentials, the reference to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and the 15 year gap since the last tour.3
The article goes on to list the dates and specific venues of the five Canadian performances, appending as an afterthought the wonderfully nonspecific and even a bit skeptical comment “He’s expected to play Europe for the rest of the summer.”4
I suspect only the civility and and tact seemingly inherent to Canadians prevented a final paragraph on the lines of “And he won’t be appearing anywhere in the United States. Suck on that, Yanks. Nanner, nanner, nanner.”
The first lines of the Globe and Mail article, Cohen tour his first in 15 years, are equally revealing:
He may be Montreal’s man, but Toronto might just be his mistress.Iconic Canadian singer-songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen has revealed plans for his first proper tour in 15 years, and it kicks off in Toronto, at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, on June 6 and 7. And it’s not the first time the cloistered Cohen has picked Toronto for a comeback.
So, not only is the alliteratively cloistered Cohen an “iconic Canadian singer-songwriter,” he is an “iconic Canadian singer-songwriter” with a special connection to one particular Canadian city - Toronto - where the Globe and Mail is the hometown paper.
The nationalism angle is uniquely appealing in that, by its nature, reverting to pride of place renders the exposition automatically superior to analogous essays originating in other areas. And, this phenomenon is hardly an exclusively Canadian aspect. Heck, if Leonard’s tour had begun - as God surely intended - in Chicago, we would be reading headlines that start with USA! USA! USA! …
Heck, the real problem is how disappointed all these folks are gonna be when they finally realize that Leonard likes me best.
Footnotes
- I had originally thought the local theater to be smaller and responded to the comment in that belief. I found the correct capacity this morning. ~back~
- I am quite the equal opportunity insult-dispenser ~back~
- I’m unclear why the time since the last tour is characterized as being “hyped.” “Hyped” typically indicates an attempt to publicize an element of a story in an exaggerated or misleading manner; the 15 year gap seems to be nothing more or less than simple arithmetic ~back~
- This classic structure is forever exemplified in the perhaps apocryphal Sunday Post headline, “Titanic Sinks. Dundee Man Drowned!” ~back~
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Leonard Cohen Tour News Is Subject Of Good Clean Wholesome Fun
Leonard Cohen Performing In Halifax
Newspaper Reports of Cohen’s Fredericton and Halifax Concerts
DrHGuy reviews the reviews of Cohen’s concerts at GoodCleanWholesome Fun.1
Check out straw men, real estate metaphors, and other rhetorical devices. Discover the literary distinctions of Fredericton, NB. Be amazed as the Halifax newspapers make Fredericton disappear. All this plus snarky DrHGuy commentary can be had via the magic links below. (As usual, the links in this list go directly to the single item described. All these entries as well as the posts that preceded them and any posts added since this list was compiled can be accessed in a single sequence at GoodCleanWholesome Fun.)
-
Daily Gleaner
Most detailed report of Fredericton concert -
Chronicle Herald (Post-concert)
Best overall newspaper review (as of 13 May 2008; 5:58 AM) -
Metro
Best short report
Footnotes
- GoodCleanWholesome Fun is the quick-witted, energetic, happy go lucky younger tumblelog sibling of DrHGuy’s jocose but prolix, sometimes abstruse Heck of a Guy blog. For details, see Try Some GoodCleanWholesomeFun ~back~
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More Cat In The Hat - Leonard Cohen In Fredericton
Leonard Cohen In Fredericton (11 May 2008) - Who by Fire
Leonard Cohen In Fredericton (11 May 2008) - In My Secret Life (full song)
Leonard Cohen In Fredericton (11 May 2008) - Everybody knows (short clip)
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The Cat In The Hat Is Back - Leonard Cohen Opens Tour
Fredericton Best Performance Of Leonard Cohen 2008 World Tour So Far
In addition to these videos, there are photos and an excellent review at LeonardCohenForum. The photos and videos first appeared on Leonard Cohen Fan Pages at Facebook.
Leonard Cohen Talks To Fredericton Audience (11 May 2008)
Leonard Cohen In Fredericton - Dance Me To The End Of Love (11 May 2008)
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United Airlines Still Owes Me 4 O’Hare Hours
The Unabridged Version of United Airlines Owes Me 4 O’Hare Hours With Epilogue
Last week’s terse post, United Airlines Owes Me 4 O’Hare Hours (Equal to 16 regular hours) and Readers 1 Post,1 is flawed in that it indicates that I am complaining about what was, after all, only a four hour delay in our trip.
Perhaps I can explain.
The First Time Is Always Special;
This Was Not The First Time, Nor Was It Special
First, my discontent did not arise as a reaction to the first scheduling mishap I encountered in a bizarrely charmed lifetime of problem-free flying.
Although I have been, with the exception of three or four years, an infrequent flier, I can immediately recall a number of logistical aviation mishaps I’ve experienced. For example, on one of my first vacations, when time off was a precious commodity, 8 hours of my tiny annual allotment of leisure moments was dissipated at O’Hare in waiting for a repair of the plane assigned to our route. That delay set off a domino effect, causing us to miss the connecting flight to Maui where our nifty beach-front hotel was located. Instead, my wife and I arrived in Hawaii in the wee hours of the morning to be transported, without our baggage, to our replacement lodgings, an off-brand motel with a view of several Honolulu parking lots. (Because of a canceled flight a few years later, I was a tenant for a night at that same motel, which had somehow been transported to a site at the end of one of the St. Louis airport runways.) After several more dominoes tumbled, we finally ended up in another hotel in Maui for a couple of days (our originally reserved room was given as an upgrade to another guest when it became apparent we would not be using it that first night), after which time we were finally re-united with our checked bags, a delay, the airline customer service voice on the phone pointed out, that was of our own making since the airline could hardly be held accountable for our decision to change hotels.2
I’ve experienced lost luggage (always on business trips, by the way), delays attributed to the weather, mechanical problems, and FAA regulations,3 duplicate tickets discovered only after the other passenger and I competing for the same seat were onboard (the other passenger assigned to 18C opted for the voucher and a “next flight out” promise), more passengers showing up with tickets than the plane could accommodate, pilot job actions, and, as it is said, much much more.
Last week’s delay was neither the first nor even in the running for the worst of the batch.
So What Was The Big Deal?
Issue #1: The realization that I was thinking, “Heck, it was only a 4 hour delay; why am I complaining?”
That thought triggered the sudden and unsettling realization that I had, in effect, enrolled in the UAL 12-Step Program, the fundamental percept of which is
— and, certainly, that my life had become unmanageable
I was not only buying into UAL’s rationalizations and minimizations, I was directly wired into their message center.
I should have been suspicious when the only beverage offered on my last flight was Kool-Aid.
Issue #2: Now, About That Four Hour Delay …
-
It was a four hour delay of a flight scheduled for less than two hours in the air. 4
- It was a four hour delay that was announced as first as delays of an hour, then 30 minutes, then 10 minutes. Sometimes there were even positive movements - the takeoff time changed from 12:30 to 12:25. The delays, in fact, continued to decrease in magnitude until the announcement came that the flight had been canceled. Oddly, all the passengers, as far as I could determine, believed these announcements, citing the decreasing length of time for the delays as a positive indicator.
-
It was a four hour delay that was finally canceled after a four hour wait without an airplane ever entering the gate.
-
It was a four hour delay that UAL expected us to accept although, thanks to one of the most unilateral contracts permitted since the Emancipation Proclamation, United would not only refuse to refund our Economy Class ticket price if we missed the plane, regardless of the reason we did not arrive on time, but would (and did) also re-sell those already paid-for seat to others passengers.
- It was a four hour delay that we had little choice but to accept. United, like the other carriers, confesses its responsibilities only when such declarations are mandated and then in (literally) fine print. While those feature articles in the travel section of the Trib point recommend that we all learn the arcane, complex, and changing regulations re passenger rights, that would seem a low return investment for those of us who travel infrequently. At one point, I considered aborting the entire effort, but with our checked bags somewhere in the bowels of O’Hare and our electronic tickets electronically paid, I had no idea if or when we would be able to recover either our luggage or my money.5 And, although I couldn’t understand every word of announcements made on that 1958 Sears home intercom system O’Hare uses, I’m fairly certain nothing was said on the lines of “If you would prefer a refund, … .”
-
It was a four hour delay that was first announced by United’s Alerting Service only after we had arrived early enough to park, carry our bags 1/4 mile to the people-mover station, wait for said people-mover to arrive, ride to the terminal, pay to have our bags checked curbside rather than wait in a seemingly stationery check-in line of well over 80 passengers, wait in another line to be inspected for threats to safety and democracy, and made our way to the gate where our flight would not take off.6
-
It was a four hour delay for a flight that, according to three different United agents I cornered, on that day was never more than a gleam in the eye of a scheduler somewhere.
-
It was a four hour delay that could have been a 24 hour delay (or more) if I had followed instructions. At the time of the cancellation, one of my sons was automatically rebooked for the next day’s flight. My other son and I were not rebooked. All passengers on the flight were instructed to rebook at C18, which was manned by two United agents. Unable to contact a human at the United phone numbers, I threw myself on the mercy of an United agent at another gate, asking for an alternative to standing in the imperceptibly moving line at C18. Following the recommendation to go directly to the United gate with the next flight to our destination, I again went into begging mode with the agent there. She did her incantation by keyboard thing and created three seats on an overbooked flight. That plane was only delayed another hour and 30 minutes. During all the time spent rebooking and waiting for the next plane, my phone went off continually with messages from the Alerting Service informing me that our original flight would be “delayed until ____ .” I finally had the calls discontinued an hour after the cancellation. At that point, I was receiving alternating messages that (1) United was apologetic for canceling the original flight and (2) the original flight would again be delayed by 30 minutes.
- It was a four hour delay that changed our schedule with built in time cushions to a schedule that had us speeding to our hotel after we arrived, showering and changing in 12 minutes in order to arrive at a dinner two hours late.
-
It was a four hour delay on a flight for which we were still charged the full fee. United’s -pre-recorded announcements did, however, apologize “for any inconvenience” caused by the cancellation.
- It was a four hour delay that was never officially explained.
Issue #3: The United Zombie Effect
I was (and still am) convinced that the explanations and apologies for delays and problems from the airlines rendered during the first years I flew, were genuine and empathic.
A few years ago, I became aware that the words and phrases used in such circumstances had become standardized and reflected the expertise of the airline’s customer service training workshops rather than the airline employee’s own responses. On paper, the words were unfailingly polite, but almost always the answer to any query from a passenger was “No.” For example, “Yes, I can see why you are upset that your mother had to be hospitalized after our skycap mistook her for check-in luggage and threw her onto the conveyor belt where she broke both her legs. I’d feel the same way. But, you did buy a nonrefundable ticket and we have no choice but to keep your money and sell that seat to someone else. Oh, by the way, your plane has been delayed by 30 minutes. Have a great flight!”
On this trip, however, I noticed that passenger complaints evoked a different response - a voiceless, immovable face. Passengers were allowed to wear themselves out while the agent did nothing but look straight ahead with a blank expression. There was no argument, excuse, or justification provided. At most, the agent would repeat his original response (e.g., “There are no seats on Flight 666″).
Looking about, it was clear this was not an isolated incident; either UAL has begun a policy of mandatory Botox injections for all agents or a lot of these folks have given up trying to manage their role as liaison between the airline corporation and the passengers.
I had seen that deadened face reaction before. It was, in fact, the M.O. of the DMV offices I’d visited over the years. The scary part is that at the DMV (or at least my local branch of it) has improved by a quantum leap or two. It’s a bad sign for the airlines that renewing my drivers license is a now a significantly more pleasant experience than catching a flight.
But What Can You Do About It?
Well, for the first time in the 21 years of annual vacation trips, we are planning - despite the price of gas and the 1,000 mile/2 day drive - to hit the road for Hilton Head Island rather than flying the not-so-friendly skies.
Footnotes
- In fairness, I should point out that I have no evidence that United Airlines or O’Hare Airport is significantly worse (or better) than other carriers or airports, respectively. It happens that the overwhelming majority of my lifetime flights have been on United out of O’Hare so I have far more experience with those entities than others of their ilk. ~back~
- I am convinced that were a history buff to pursue the trail of fallen dominoes from this point, it would require only a few more steps to explain the current downturn in the housing market and the decisions that led this country’s involvement in Iraq. ~back~
- Incredibly, no airline has ever been at fault for a delay I’ve suffered. Each airline in each circumstance has been exquisitely clear about this on every occasion, including episodes when I’ve been involuntarily bumped because my flight was “overbooked,” a circumstance in which the airline was apparently victimized by a force or forces unknown. In fact, I was given the impression that I was being held responsible making so-called reservations two months ahead and then showing up. ~back~
- Yes, I realize that, for the airlines, a delay is a delay, i.e., the distance of and time required for a flight has no impact on the length of the delay in getting that plan to the origin of the flight in question. But for a passenger, the perception is different. I had budgeted for a total package of travel-stress based on fixed time requirements (e.g., travel time to airport, time to check bags, etc) and the variable time required for a flight. In this case that variable was about 1 hour, 40 minutes. Extending that by 4 hours produces a significant negative effect. And, the short time required for the flight means, at least theoretically, that the airline has a chance of making another plane available for that run - if they plan for such eventualities. ~back~
- This is why informed consent in healthcare entails providing patients with the risks and their options before starting treatment, not after the surgeon nicks the aorta. ~back~
- It could have been worse. The other economy parking lots, while cheaper than ours, require a shuttle ride to the lot where we parked, after which one takes the people-mover to the terminal, … ~back~