45 replies to this topic

[Vicious Parker]

Computers annoy me. I hate them. Yet I don't think there has been anything else that has sucked away more of my time due to addiction than computers (I'm going to safely bundle video games in here, especially since I'm primarily a PC gamer). But lately one thing has been annoying me more than anything else: the amount of work I have to put in to a computer set up just to make it work the way I want to, or at least in a way that makes sense to me. I'm not naive. I know that all people have different preferences and opinions, so there will never be a "perfect" set up that "just works" for everybody. I just don't understand why I have to put so much work in to something that should be working for me, especially after the initial investment of, well, wads of cash.

With this topic, I would like to discuss our annoyances with computers, what we do to fix them, or what we would do to fix them. I'm not going to post everything in one post, because I'm sure that not everyone would read that whole post. But I do plan on continuing this topic, so please join me.

______________________________________________________________________________

Windows 7

A perfect example of what I mean is my current set up of my recent Windows 7 Home Premium installation. Allow me to start by saying that I'm actually in love with Windows 7. For everything that vista wasn't, 7 is. I'm going to go so far as to say the same for XP. 7 is an excellent next step in the windows line. I could go in to more detail, but there are plenty of reviews out there that do so much better than I ever could. However, something is wrong... Let's take a look.

 onlytwo.jpg   136.64K   28 downloads

In that picture you can see the programs that I use most, and the way that I like to sort them (Primary on the taskbar, secondary on the start menu). What is less obvious are what the three two arrows are pointing at. Figure it out yet? Those are the only three programs in my list of most used programs that are made by Microsoft. One of them is friggin' notepad, and another is from a separate download from Microsoft (Windows Live Photo Gallery), which I don't even know if you can find a link to in windows!

Here I will note that I am aware that Microsoft chose minimalism and user choice, rather than bundling everything in with the operating system. I wholeheartedly support this approach. But it needs work.

Let's take a look at what I have vs. the Microsoft alternative. I'm going to skip Firefox, because I am planning on going in to more details about browsers in a later post. However, just how many of us here still use IE for anything, anyway?

Winamp, MP3 Tag, Exact Audio Copy and Amazon MP3 Downloader + Media Player Classic Vs. Windows Media Player

I love album art. Most of us do, I'm sure. I have, in the past, been very OCD about organizing it. Embedding it in to files, and leaving a copy in an album's directory. I've gone with "Album Art.jpg" and more recently, "folder.jpg" for various reasons. But Windows Media Player knows how I want to organize my music better than I do. See, by default, it wants to download media usage rights and file information, and automatically make any file named folder.jpg a hidden system file. Not a hidden file, mind you, the kind that is easy to find by changing your folder options. But a hidden file that you can't find. Or see. Or delete. Or replace without having to once again be anal retentive about your music library. Oh, and did I mention that it does this as it's loading your music folder in to it's own library database? Even if you only opened WMP to play a single file, and don't even touch the library?

Speaking of music libraries... I think I'm going to have to make a post about that in the future, too...

So my alternative is to use Exact Audio Copy to rip music (because I'm OCD like that), and though it does a pretty nice job of auto-tagging most music, I often need MP3 tag to clean things up, and embed album art. The Amazon MP3 downloader is obviously for the Amazon mp3 store, since it is the only tolerable online music store. And obviously winamp is for playing music (and only music). Because winamp almost gets it just right. Media Player Classic has been my preferred video player for some time, because I find others intolerable (I can't remember why. Maybe I will have to explore this with another post).

To make up for the terribleness of windows media player, I'm using five separate programs. Admittedly five smaller programs with more specific purposes. But shouldn't a full fledged media program at least be capable of being less... annoying?

And that covers like half of the list...

Err...

Trillian Vs. Windows Live Messenger

This one has more to do with having too many contacts spread across multiple networks, but there's more to it. I admit to not having used a MS messenger in many years, but I can't remember the last time I used one that didn't have advertisements strewn all over the place. Not that I'm anti-capitalist, mind you but meh. My computer feels considerably less personal when I can't avoid advertisements, especially doing simple tasks.

Steam Vs. Games for Windows Live

Laughable. Though GFWL is no longer a subscription service, and you can tie it in to your X-Box Live account, there just really is no comparison here. Everything GFWL does, Steam does a thousand times better. I've been a very satisfied steam customer for 6 or 7 years now.

Open Office vs. Microsoft Office Vs. Microsoft Wordpad

Here I admit that I would probably use MS Office if I could afford it. In fact, I rather hate open office. I'm using the portable versions of OO applications because I'm avoiding installing the java run time environment on my computer at all costs. Now there's a piece of junk software that doesn't do anything right ever.

HOWEVER! The version of Wordpad included in Windows 7 can do the unthinkable - it can not only open MS Word .docx files, but it can save to them. I was very happy to hear this until earlier today, when I tried to open a course syllabus and was greeted to this garbled mess:

 sillybus.jpg   55.64K   24 downloads

Why? Because the professor had the audacity to save the file as a MS word .doc, rather than the newer .docx standard. And Wordpad can't do anything with those. Jesus. H. Christ.

Filezilla vs. Internet Explorer

I'm actually not going to write much here, other than the fact that I literally just found out that IE can be used with no extra extensions or programs as an FTP client, after a quick google search. I'm going to guess that not enough people know about this, which is why programs such as Filezilla are popular. I may sound like a noob here, but I now wonder if other browsers are capable of the same.

The Rest: Paint.net and Utorrent

These go here because they don't have a viable alternative included with windows. And no, MS paint does not count. For anything. Ever. Though I don't think any major operating system actually includes a serious image editing program by default (Hell, Ubuntu doesn't even have the gimp anymore!), and bit torrent is still kind of an iffy area for some. Thankfullly, I'm cheap, these programs are free, and they are great. So that makes my life a little easier.

Windows Live Photo Gallery
If you're wondering what this is doing here, it is because my wife and I recently purchased a digital camera. Also, we have a baby on the way. I realized that I needed a way to quickly and easily organize the ungodly amounts of photos we are bound to have. Not for me, but for my wife. I'm far too anal retentive... I would have organized them ten ways to high hell. But I have to admit, being able to tag photos is a great way to organize massive collections while using little effort.

MS Sticky Note
This program is great. There are others like it, but this honestly doesn't do much more than it needs to. Other than not being able to change the font (looking at the screenshots about, don't even bother asking me how I have multiple fonts on one note. I don't know how it happened), and a few other minor quibbles, this program is near perfect. Go microsoft.

__________________________________________

Is it bad that I want my computer environment to work for me? That maybe I want everything to feel more integrated, while still letting me feel in control? I know that some might suggest I switch to Linux (*cough*BLU*cough*), but that just hasn't worked for me in the past. What little I know of Apple computers make it seem as though they do some of what I want, but leave out the most important parts (namely, being in control). And what about the new computer frontiers like cloud computing, on something like the Goolge OS? Am I simply too OCD about computers, or is it possible to get things to work the way I want to?

And that about covers everything I wanted to cover with this post. I have a lot more to rant and rave about in the next few days. I realize that this post was a bit long, and the rest have the potential for length, too, but since many of us here like our computers far too much, I think that this topic will at least be interesting enough to merit the longer posts.

Meh.

[Vicious Parker]

As a supplement to my post, here's a more complete list of all of the programs I've installed to get things working just right. I'm not going to include individual games.

7-Zip
Foxit Reader
Steam
Impulse
Paint.net
Windows Live Photo Gallery
Utorrent
Filezilla
Firefox
Trillian
CCleaner
Revo Uninstaller
Amazon MP3 Downloader
Exact Audio Copy
MP3 Tag
Winamp
Open Office Impress (portable)
Open Office Writer (portable)
Faststone Capture
Katmouse
Media Player Classic
Quick Time Alternative
Windows Movie Maker (Yep, this is no longer included with windows)
Defiler Pack

[Kamau]

I think I'm far too tired to figure out an actual response to your rant, but for some reason, there's a part of my brain that still thinks it's working and says, "Oh hey! You can make a constructive comment if you mention this!" So here I go.

For image editing (photos, at least), I use Picasa 3. I don't remember where I found this, but it likes to automatically pull every new photo that I have on my computer into its program every time I open it on my computer. And then it likes to bold the folders on the side (which are labeled and organized exactly the same way I have the actual files organized in My Pictures, which is nice) that have had new photos added since I last opened the program. I use Picasa to get rid of red eyes (since despite the 'red eye elimination' feature on my digital camera, the people in my photos seem to have red eyes in every picture! How strange!), to crop photos, and do all that fun jazz that I like to do with pictures, since I'm a weird media kid like that.

For basic things, like cropping smaller images and playing with colors and stuff, I use MS Paint (yes I know, gasp and heaven forbid).

To listen to music, I have recently begun to alternate between Windows Media Player and... I-Tunes. Because I now have an IPod Nano, and Benny prefers to work with, and only with, I-Tunes. How tempermental and annoying, but it's made me go out and re-find my CDs, so I know where they are now. I...guess that's a plus.

I'd like to say here that I love WordPad (despite its inability to do, well, almost anything Microsoft Word does), especially in comparison to the newer versions of Word, since I've been lazy and even though I'm sure I can alter them, I've been too lazy to try and change the stupid Calibri + 1.5 spacing + whatever else they have going on default settings. However, as much as I love WordPad (and would much rather use it for everything except my actual writing), my computer has this irritating habit of freezing up when I do absolutely nothing at all to provoke it, on a daily basis. So Microsoft Word, with its ability to at least attempt to autosave what I'm working on (though sometimes it likes to be mean and pretend that I hadn't typed things, so they don't show up once I've restarted my computer...), wins for now.

In fact, my paranoia about my computer randomly freezing up shall now cause me to end my attempt at constructive comments. For now.

[Monkeydog]

One of my harddrives is dying. That's annoying. Especially since it doesn't appear to be dying, my bios just says it will. Thus it makes me even more scared to turn off the computer.

Anywho~ what I use, since I guess that's what this topic is about? (I read it, but I just woke up...so my mind is kinda hdgsausd)

bblean - I love this thing. It's a shell replacement for Explorer, and it's wonderful. It does a bunch of things I don't even use it for, but the prospect of me being able to map out all my keys of having multiple desktops makes me happy. I also love being able to have everything Always on Top and having my little start menu type thing able to pop up whenever fully customized to everything I use.

 bblean.PNG   826.42K   5 downloads

I love it, I can basically change anything I want, and the silly little language it uses is pretty straightforward. My only problem is there is basically no way of getting rid of Explorer as a file directory thing, as far as I know, but eh. It's minimal, and I usually don't have to much much anyways.
bblean is the reason why I won't get rid of XP. bblean is all nice, minimal, works perfect on XP, changeable, and I love that XP isn't all flashy and use a lot of space on my computer and doesn't fail at doing anything I need it to do. I had my first experience with Windows 7 yesterday, trying to get a laptop to connect to our router, and all it did was irritate me. Although, networks in general irritate me most of the time anyways.

VLC Player, Winamp, Tagscanner - I won't change my stance on Winamp, because I find it useful, even if stupid people don't and complain how much work you may have to put into it and it doesn't have a graphical library by default. They're all cry babies and stupid.

I use Tagscanner to organize all my music files and tags. I got very I WANT ALBUM ART IN ALL MY FILES a little while ago when I got my new MP3 Player, but doing that for all my music would take days. So I'm not doing that. Tagscanner (as well as Winamp) makes it pretty easy to just import album art into the ID3 tag. Which is wonderful, because then it doesn't need the album art file in the folder and it just goes everywhere with the file.

VLC because VLC plays everything and I like it.

Notepad++ - I also love Notepad++. It's wonderful. Only problem I have with it is CTRL+N makes a new tab. Which makes complete sense, just not when I'm under the impression that I'm making a new tab and not a new file. Firefox ruined my mind. Although I think I may have far more use for it compared to others (Since it colorizes and compiles things for me, like Java, C++, HTML, etc).

I don't use much though. I have all the browsers on my computer, but I use Firefox. I use Fillzilla, even though I know IE is a FTP program, and Firefox has it's own FTP plugin. I use Nero, and I have Photoshop and Office installed, but I never use them. In fact for Office, I've grown keen to using Google Docs more than ever. I have Last.FM's plugin, and I of course use utorrent. I have Picassa, somewhere, I never use it, as very neat as it is, it's too big to use. It's only real use to me is uploading photos to Picassa. I use Trillian Astra, and I have Skype. I have Winrar. I have some games, and useless programs I should get rid of, but meh. I also use CCleaner sometimes, it's useful, as well as Defraggler.

So yeah.

[Hyperlisk]

My post is the shortest.

[Vicious Parker]

I would like to remember what it is about VLC that makes me hate it so much, but I don't dare re-install it...

Also, one thing that winamp does absolutely perfectly is the installation process. During a custom installation, you can very easily rid yourself of many of the components that you just plain don't want. Like Winamp orgler? Who cares! Especially when Last.fm exists.

And once you figure out how it works, getting a visual library to work in Winamp is actually pretty easy. But.. I still prefer having less interface with my music programs.

But monkey, no, this wasn't so much about what you use. More about why things are so annoying.

I think what really annoys me is that these programs don't conform to standards, especially Microsoft programs. I can share a regular CD with someone just by handing it over, but if I wanted to share music with somebody the Windows way, it would probably be more hassle than it's worth.

If I didn't play so many damn video games, I would probably just switch to Linux and get it over with...

[Stars]

TLDR; http://ninite.com/ ... probably the only thing of use within this post.

I know that some might suggest I switch to Linux (*cough*BLU*cough*), but that just hasn't worked for me in the past.

Hehe, I usually don't even bother trying to get people to switch to Linux anymore (not that I heavily did before, I think), well ... not seriously anyway (everybody go install Arch right now! Do it!). There's no benefit for me and unless the person actually wants to switch it only brings more dificulty ... so it's a lose-lose.

A few things, though. Pretty much all browsers handle FTP. Although I'm not sure if that's limited only to anonymous FTP or if there's log-in stuff as well. Really the only reason I use Filezilla is for more advanced downloading (such as pause/resume) and SFTP. Firefox also handles the Gopher protocol that nobody uses.

As for an Open Office replacement, you can try Abiword. I haven't tried it out much, as my word-processing needs are almost nonexistant now, but I think if I were to ever need a word processor I'd install Abiword. I do remember it being quite minimal compared to OO, though. Usually I'm lazy and just stick with Google Docs or Zoho.

Picasa 3 seems awesome, although again I haven't really played with it.

The lack of good replacement window manager for Windows kinda upsets me. bblean is nice, but I kinda dislike how it's not very usable out-of-the-box (Plus, when compared to Fluxbox or Openbox, it's missing a lot of functionality). Windows needs a decent tiling window manager. I'm not saying that Windows should just turn into Linux ... but tiling window managers make so much sense (use 100% of the screen all the time, and don't worry about having to place/move windows), you'd think there would be something. I do really like Win7's ability to drag to the side of the screen to half-max it.

I've come to not really bother with VLC. I dislike their move to QT (although considering their primary target is Windows platforms, I guess it makes sense), so I only use MPlayer now. If I were to be on a Windows machine, though, I'd probably use VLC simply because I don't like having codecs or codec packs installed.

I suppose my final complaint is the lack of a package manager for Windows (and Macs too? I really don't know, but I assume Macs don't have one). For those who have no idea what I'm talking about - package managers provide a centralized place to get any/all your downloads from. It's very much like Windows' Add/Remove programs if it would actually Add programs that aren't basic Windows services. It's really awesome because package management provides a standard installation routine for everything, and there's no searching the internet for installers. You can also batch-install and batch-uninstall everything (although I suppose Windows users can use this: http://ninite.com/ ).
EDIT: Although I suppose it's far too late for this to work sucessfully. Way too much software and it would be a huge waste of effort to get this working. Still, package managers are <3


As for Linuxy complaints, I suppose they are pretty much standard among all Linux users: Flash sucks, device drivers suck, X.org is bloated and suck, and there are just some apps that lack a Linux replacement. But it's nice knowing that Flash is slowly getting better (plus less necessary with HTML5), drivers are eventually going to get better as companies start realizing that Linux people need love too, and there are a couple X replacements in the works, although they're probably years away from becoming standard.

My prediction for the future (although not really, but it'd be interesting): a bunch of Windows users start switching to Linux ... Linux becomes too much like Windows, so all the current Linux people switch to Haiku or BSD.

[Vicious Parker]

Hehe, I usually don't even bother trying to get people to switch to Linux anymore (not that I heavily did before, I think), well ... not seriously anyway (everybody go install Arch right now! Do it!). There's no benefit for me and unless the person actually wants to switch it only brings more dificulty ... so it's a lose-lose.

I actually appreciate and agree with that point of view. I try not to give too much computer advice to tech-illiterate relatives because it usually just results in more questions in my direction than I want to answer.... Sigh. If people are interested in using their computers, usually it's best to let them learn things on their own.

And I do quite like Abiword, even if it is a bit buggy. The only reason I'm using open office is because I fear I may need to make a power point presentation for... something. Though admittedly I could just use that, and Abiword for other junk. Maybe I will do that...

May I ask what you have against codec packs? I only ask because I use defiler pack, though I wouldn't mind any decent excuse not to.

I don't mind it that windows doesn't tile. I also don't mind not having multiple desktops (I've never liked them). Since I don't do nearly as much multi-tasking while using my computer as I used to, I don't find these things necessary. I can see the benefits of a tiling window manager, but at the same time, I guess I don't need to have everything visible at once. Here is an example of a common set-up with me:

 winders_.jpg   176.06K   10 downloads

When I want to chat, I can have trillian open on the side. I can easily see when somebody sends me a new message (since I'm rarely talking to more than one or two people at a time anymore). Winamp is in plain view, and easily accesible. But I do most of my winamp controlling through keyboard shortcuts. And I have enough room in firefox to do most things. BUT! More often than not, if I'm doing these sorts of tasks, Firefox is maximized and everything else runs behind it until I need them. I still multi-task. But I much prefer to focus on fewer things a a time, usually only one.

I was going to go in to a linux a bit more, but I have to step away from my computer for a bit. Though it is a topic I want to cover a lot more in a post like this. I like linux... in concept. And it's something that could involve a lot more depth. So, laters.

[Vicious Parker]

Also, Puppy, what kinds of programs do you have running that might slow down your computer? Anti-virus or anti-spyware or that like?

What programs do you have that start up when windows starts?

If your computer is crashing regularly, the problem is likely easier to fix than you think.

[Kamau]

I dunno about that, Fluffy, but I hope you're right. I already got my computer checked out and 'fixed' by a computer guy that does all our computer stuff, but it's still happening.

Anti-virus wise, I have AVG and that's it. But my computer freezes up even when AVG isn't running, since I have it set to only scan at midnight. I don't know what programs are constantly running, but I multitask, so like I usually do, I have Firefox, AIM, Word, and Itunes currently up. But I don't think this is the problem either, since I've had just one thing open and I've had five or six more things open during times where it's crashed.

Things that start automatically... Just AIM. And that tends to freeze up for an ungodly amount of time after signing in upon each start-up. I tend to just let it go its merry way while I reopen Firefox to get my tabs back.

Like I said, I could be doing absolutely nothing of interest when my computer decides to freeze. I could be scrolling down while reading something in Firefox, or chatting with someone in AIM, or typing something up in word (examples include but are not limited to...). What happens is, one of the programs that I have open (and sometimes it's not even the one I'm using at the time!) randomly stops working. I can tell when this has happened the easiest with Firefox, because I'll try to scroll and it won't let me, or I'll click on something else and it won't move anywhere. Then my ability to click goes away. Then the little hourglass-like symbol pops up and it's all "Firefox is no working!". After that's frozen up completely, I can still click on my other things one or two times each, but the second I actually try to do something with them (like AIM: I can start to type a sentence but if I try to hit send, it's all "Oh hey, that's right, your computer is freezing up. Sorry!") they stop working as well. Then I have to restart.

Other times, when the main thing I'm working on isn't the thing that freezes (ie, I'm on AIM/Skype and Firefox is what freezes up), I can realize that Firefox is freezing because I try clicking on it and everything is faded (which is Firefox's way of saying that it's not working right now, as I'm sure you know). But as long as I don't click on Firefox a second time, I can go back to AIM/Skype and continue chatting. The second I try clicking out of AIM/Skype, though, it freezes up too. A good example of this would be when I was playing a card game, Euchre, in a separate program. Other programs started to freeze up and I realized this, but I managed to completely finish my game (another five minutes of play). The game froze up the second it attempted to start a new one.

It's complicated. I think.

[Stars]

May I ask what you have against codec packs? I only ask because I use defiler pack, though I wouldn't mind any decent excuse not to.

Hmm, there's really no good reason that I'm against them. I just prefer to have media players which can play media without having to do any extra work. I know a few years ago (before I knew about codec packs), trying to find all the different individual codecs for the random media files I had was difficult.

Also, does anybody use Microsoft Security Essentials? I've heard good things about it.

Kamau: Freezing is no fun :( You could run a LiveCD for a couple hours, if it still freezes then you know it's a hardware problem. Memtest86+ and a disc check might be worthwhile as well. If it's a software problem, then diagnosing becomes way more difficult ... I suppose you could monitor processes/RAM/etc for anything behaving stupidly.

[Monkeydog]

But monkey, no, this wasn't so much about what you use. More about why things are so annoying.

Well I feel like I complained.

And BLU, I do believe bblean, and XP in general, has ways to tile everything like you like. I just absolutely don't care for it, I find it useless since I like everything full screen (except maybe Winamp and Trillian) anyways.

Pupp, when was the last time you cleaned up your Temp folder or cleaned up the registry? That could be a big reason why your computer is slow. Maybe not why it freezes though.

[Stars]

Kamau, I'd consider replacing AVG with something else. I used to have it on my Vista laptop, which was near-unusable and froze all the time until I got a different anti-virus program (TrendMicro, I think).

[Monkeydog]

I recommend getting rid of anti virus and not doing things that would give you a virus.

Unless you happen to be running something older than Windows XP SP2, anti virus is kind of only for people who are either on a network with stupid people, or do really stupid things. (Like click every ad and go to every porn and crack site ever)

[Kamau]

Pupp, when was the last time you cleaned up your Temp folder or cleaned up the registry? That could be a big reason why your computer is slow. Maybe not why it freezes though.

I cleaned out my Temp folder entirely just a few weeks ago. And when the computer guy took a look at my laptop, he cleaned up the registry. Still freezing up, sadly.

Stars, if you can recommend a good, free virus program that'll work on my laptop, I'm willing to try it. The version of AVG I currently have on my computer is awful anyway.

[Vicious Parker]

Pupp, as BLU suggested, try Microsoft Security Essentials. I plan on installing it on our laptop soon, because AVG was slowing down our laptop, too. If you think it's worth the wait, I can give you my opinion of it then. Though, like BLU, I have heard only good things.

Also, let's take a closer look at your computer. Download the file attached to this post, and run it. It's a program called HijackThis, and in spite of the sorta scary name, it's actually a helpful tool. You don't need to install anything. Hell, you don't even have to unzip the program from the zipped folder. Just run it, then click "Do a system scan and save a log file." When notepad pops up, copy all of the text from it, and paste it in a post. We'll take a closer look at what's running on your computer. (I doubt it will show anything too personal, but feel free to look over the text before you paste it).

 hijackthis1991.zip   207.86K   1 downloads

And back to the subject at hand, I think that what I want is a more immersive computer experience. Thinking of it in terms of a video game, like, say... Half-Life 2. The interface is minimal, but I'm still presented with all of the information I immediately need. And there are plenty of options for configuring the game. But I rarely have to think about them, or the program at all, while playing.

Though I don't have much experience with apple products, I do believe that apple agrees with me. However, their intentional avoidance of open standards is just too much of a turn off for me. I don't want to forget that my computer is a computer. Just.. most of the time.

[Vicious Parker]

Also, it seems to me that we should start a topic about proper windows maintenance. Registry cleaning probably wouldn't be included on a proper list...

[Kamau]

How funny, the computer guy installed and ran HijackThis on my computer when he tried to fix it! o:

I'll have to try that security thing.

[Kamau]

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 10:12:12 PM, on 1/7/2010
Platform: Unknown Windows (WinNT 6.00.1905 SP1)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v7.00 (7.00.6001.18349)

Running processes:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\bin\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
C:\Program Files (X86)\Intel\Intel Matrix Storage Manager\Iaantmon.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\CyberLink\Shared Files\RichVideo.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel Matrix Storage Manager\IAAnotif.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\AIM6\aim6.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\GoogleToolbarNotifier.exe
C:\Users\Owner\Program Files (x86)\DNA\btdna.exe
C:\Program Files\Camera Assistant Software for Gateway\traybar.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe
C:\Program Files\Camera Assistant Software for Gateway\CEC_MAIN.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\AIM6\aolsoftware.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Plugin Manager\skypePM.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunes.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\AIM6\aolsoftware.exe
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\DllHost.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\WinZip\WINZIP32.EXE
C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Temp\wz2dc7\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.gateway.c...h...TB&M=T-6836
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft....k/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.gateway.c...h...TB&M=T-6836
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.gateway.c...h...TB&M=T-6836
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft....k/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft....k/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.gateway.c...h...TB&M=T-6836
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = http://www.gateway.c...h...TB&M=T-6836
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
O1 - Hosts: ::1 localhost
O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: Skype add-on (mastermind) - {22BF413B-C6D2-4d91-82A9-A0F997BA588C} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\SkypeIEPlugin.dll
O2 - BHO: Java™ Plug-In SSV Helper - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Helper - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google Toolbar\GoogleToolbar_32.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Notifier BHO - {AF69DE43-7D58-4638-B6FA-CE66B5AD205D} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\5.4.4525.1752\swg.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Dictionary Compression sdch - {C84D72FE-E17D-4195-BB24-76C02E2E7C4E} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google Toolbar\Component\fastsearch_B7C5AC242193BB3E.dll
O2 - BHO: Java™ Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Camera Assistant Software] "C:\Program Files\Camera Assistant Software for Gateway\traybar.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Reader 8.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [TkBellExe] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe" -osboot
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [iTunesHelper] "C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\RunOnce: [Launcher] %WINDIR%\SMINST\launcher.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Sidebar] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe" /autorun
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Aim6] "C:\Program Files (x86)\AIM6\aim6.exe" /d locale=en-US ee://aol/imApp
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ehTray.exe] C:\Windows\ehome\ehTray.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [swg] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\GoogleToolbarNotifier.exe"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [BitTorrent DNA] "C:\Users\Owner\Program Files (x86)\DNA\btdna.exe"
O8 - Extra context menu item: Add to Google Photos Screensa&ver - res://C:\Windows\system32\GPhotos.scr/200
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~2\Office12\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Send to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~2\Office12\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: S&end to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~2\Office12\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra button: Skype - {77BF5300-1474-4EC7-9980-D32B190E9B07} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\SkypeIEPlugin.dll
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~2\Office12\REFIEBAR.DLL
O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\windows\system32\nlaapi.dll
O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\windows\system32\napinsp.dll
O11 - Options group: [INTERNATIONAL] International*
O18 - Protocol: livecall - {828030A1-22C1-4009-854F-8E305202313F} - C:\PROGRA~2\MSNMES~1\MSGRAP~1.DLL
O18 - Protocol: ms-help - {314111C7-A502-11D2-BBCA-00C04F8EC294} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Help\hxds.dll
O18 - Protocol: msnim - {828030A1-22C1-4009-854F-8E305202313F} - C:\PROGRA~2\MSNMES~1\MSGRAP~1.DLL
O18 - Protocol: skype4com - {FFC8B962-9B40-4DFF-9458-1830C7DD7F5D} - C:\PROGRA~2\COMMON~1\Skype\SKYPE4~1.DLL
O18 - Filter hijack: text/xml - {807563E5-5146-11D5-A672-00B0D022E945} - C:\PROGRA~2\COMMON~1\MICROS~1\OFFICE12\MSOXMLMF.DLL
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Alg.exe,-112 (ALG) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\alg.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\bin\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
O23 - Service: Bonjour Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: @dfsrres.dll,-101 (DFSR) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\DFSR.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\ehome\ehstart.dll,-101 (ehstart) - Unknown owner - %windir%\system32\svchost.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: GameConsoleService - WildTangent, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Gateway Games\Gateway Game Console\GameConsoleService.exe
O23 - Service: Google Software Updater (gusvc) - Google - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Common\Google Updater\GoogleUpdaterService.exe
O23 - Service: Intel® Matrix Storage Event Monitor (IAANTMON) - Intel Corporation - C:\Program Files (X86)\Intel\Intel Matrix Storage Manager\Iaantmon.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: @keyiso.dll,-100 (KeyIso) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @comres.dll,-2797 (MSDTC) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\msdtc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\System32\netlogon.dll,-102 (Netlogon) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\psbase.dll,-300 (ProtectedStorage) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\qwave.dll,-1 (QWAVE) - Unknown owner - %windir%\system32\svchost.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Cyberlink RichVideo Service(CRVS) (RichVideo) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\CyberLink\Shared Files\RichVideo.exe
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\Locator.exe,-2 (RpcLocator) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\locator.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\samsrv.dll,-1 (SamSs) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\seclogon.dll,-7001 (seclogon) - Unknown owner - %windir%\system32\svchost.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\SLsvc.exe,-101 (slsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\SLsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\snmptrap.exe,-3 (SNMPTRAP) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\snmptrap.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\spoolsv.exe,-1 (Spooler) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: SigmaTel Audio Service (STacSV) - IDT, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\IDT\WDM\STacSV64.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\ui0detect.exe,-101 (UI0Detect) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\UI0Detect.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vds.exe,-100 (vds) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\vds.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\vssvc.exe,-102 (VSS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\vssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%Systemroot%\system32\wbem\wmiapsrv.exe,-110 (wmiApSrv) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbem\WmiApSrv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe,-101 (WMPNetworkSvc) - Unknown owner - %ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe (file missing)

Truthfully, I have no idea what most of this stuff means.

[Vicious Parker]

I dunno. I don't see anything too out of the usual. A few things I wouldn't want, but that's mostly due to anal retentiveness.