Dell and Win XP - A Bad Match?

I'm not sure if this falls under a Windows problem or one for Dell, but here goes.

I had my Inspiron E1405 on hibernate. I took it out of the bag, opened the screen, and pressed the power button. Instead of coming back into Windows with my programs where I left them, the machine opened up Dell's MediaDirect program. What?! I then had to exit from MediaDirect, at which point I was finally taken to Windows.

I'm really not sure what happened. Perhaps I accidentally pressed the MediaDirect button on the front of the machine. I really don't think I did, but it's possible.

More than likely, Dell and Windows are having an internal fight somewhere. I'm not sure how MediaDirect works, but it seems to bypass the standard standby and hibernate features. Windows might not appreciate that.

I guess I'll just be more careful next time.

Why No Comprehensive Dictionary?

Windows programs definitely have spell checking features these days. They're handy. I'm personally a fan of Firefox 2.0's inline spell checking. It's cool.

The problem is that Windows doesn't have an integrated, comprehensive, universal dictionary. So when I'm in Firefox and add a word to the dictionary, it doesn't get added to Word. And vice versa.

What's a guy to do about this? Shouldn't we be able to have a a simple dictionary that all our words go into? Perhaps someone can program something to resolve this dilemma. Maybe Vista solves the problem, but I doubt it. In all likelihood, we'll be stuck adding the same word to multiple dictionaries forever. Wasted time.

Error on Startup of New Laptop

You read that right. I got my brand spankin' new Dell Inspiron E1405 two days ago. I started it up, and I got a Windows error. I can't even remember what it was, but it annoyed the heck out of me.

Luckily, I figured out that it was some problem between Internet Explorer and Google Toolbar. Shame on you, Google!

I guess that's just another reason to use Firefox.

Disclosure Policy

Yep, I'll be blogging for money around here. Nope, I'm not ashamed of it. And no, I won't do it all the time.

But I guarantee that you'll know when I get paid for writing a post. That's what disclosure is all about. Thus, any time I'm getting paid to write a post, I'll put "Sponsored Post" at the top. You'll quickly know that it's a paid post.

Also, I guarantee that I will NEVER write a post that is required to be positive. I will only provide my honest opinion on products/services. If I can't tell it to you straight, I won't accept the sponsorship. That's what I'm guaranteeing.