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Software Windows Hardware Technology

Who Installs the Most Crapware? 583

Posted by timothy
from the phrase-your-answer-in-klingon dept.
Barence writes "PC Pro has done a thorough test of the software bundled by nine of the leading laptop manufacturers to find out who installs the most crapware on their PCs. Manufacturers such as Acer add as much as two minutes to their boot times by stuffing their machines full of bundled software, with own-brand proprietary software being the worst offender. HP's bundled apps, meanwhile, have a memory footprint of more than 1GB. PC Pro has also reviewed three pieces of software which promise to remove rubbish from your PC — with mixed results."
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Who Installs the Most Crapware?

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  • Lenovo (Score:5, Informative)

    by El Lobo (994537) * on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:02PM (#29913493)
    As a responsable IT person at my university, I buy a lot of different hardware (laptops, stationary, servers)...

    I ALWAYS format the computer before giving it to the final user, but as a rule I can tell you that any "big" name out there installs a lot of crapware, but the winner is: LENOVO.

    The last Dells I've got have:

    1. Adobe reader
    2. Google toolbar
    3. Google Desktop (!!!! ahhhggg the pain)
    4. Adobe Flash player
    5. Lots of Dell crapware like Support center and so on..

    Lenovo: 1. Adobe reader
    2. MS Office 30 days trial (yes, trials ARE crapware in my book)
    3. McAffee antivirus + Firewall + anything (60 days trial)
    4. Google toolbar
    5. Google Desktop
    6. Google Chrome (AHHHHHHH MORE PAIN)
    7. Adobe flash player
    8. Skype (!!!)
    10. Lots and I mean LOOOOTS of Lenovo panels, gadgets and stuff
    HP 1. Adobe reader
    2. Norton antivirus + Firewall + anything (60 days trial)
    4. Google toolbar
    5. Google Desktop
    6. Lots of gadgets and added HP value"

    On the bright side, Dell always gives you a new brand Windows CD and a CD with drivers so the re-installation is easy.

    Lenovo? They give you a Restore CD that installs the system with all the crap from the beginning.

    Oh well... At lest nobody else (that I know) is installing Abble crapware by default. The day some big name intalls iTunes, QuickTime, Safary or other Abble Supercrap, as default, that's the last day I buy such a brand for us.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by megamerican (1073936)

      Why is this marked as troll? He is answering the stated question to the best of his knowledge. If anything should be marked as troll, it is the question itself. What do you expect when you use such a subject term such as "crapware?"

      • Re:Lenovo (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Gerafix (1028986) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:19PM (#29913773)
        Probably because he spelled "responsible" wrong.

        Oh who am I kidding, it's because he flamed iApple iSoftware or whatever and the mods are furious.

    • Re:Lenovo (Score:5, Informative)

      by BumbaCLot (472046) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:22PM (#29913827)

      I can speak from experience that some of the Thinkpad software is not crap, but actually improves the operating of the computer.

      Under IBM the battery and power scheme setups were a lot better at maintaining battery life. Some of these hardware manufacturers actually know what their hardware does and the best way to manage it!

    • Re:Lenovo (Score:5, Funny)

      by jellomizer (103300) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:24PM (#29913855)

      Adobe Reader, and Adobe FlashPlayer isn't crap where. It makes sure you can actually do things that for some reason windows doesn't do nativly. Such as Read PDF files and open Flash WebSites. Relatively common things.

      • Re:Lenovo (Score:5, Funny)

        by Afforess (1310263) <> on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:36PM (#29914043) Journal
        Please, turn in your geek card on the way out.

        Adobe software = Defective by Design. Just ask anyone who has to use CS3 or CS4 for any length of time.
        • Re:Lenovo (Score:5, Insightful)

          by spinkham (56603) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:45PM (#29914185)

          Or anyone in the security community. MS used to be the industries' vulnerable software whipping boy, but they've cleaned that up to a large degree and outsourced the job to Adobe...

      • Re:Lenovo (Score:5, Informative)

        by Sperbels (1008585) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:58PM (#29914379)
        It's not crapware in the sense that it's extraneous crap you don't need. But it's crapware in the sense that you don't need to have all those EXEs in memory at startup. Windows is perfectly capable of loading the appropriate items into memory as they are needed.
      • Re:Lenovo (Score:5, Interesting)

        by KillerBob (217953) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @03:01PM (#29914415)

        Compare the performance of something like FoxIt PDF Reader ( [] ) against Adobe Reader, and then tell me with a straight face that Adobe's version is better. And if you leave Windows-land and get to Linux, then there's options like evince which are also significantly better than Adobe's offering.

        And honestly, the only reason that Flash is installed on my computer at all is for YouTube. If I had a choice in the matter, I wouldn't have that load of crap at all... more often than not, it's used for intrusive ads on websites, not anything of actual value. (gawd, I hate surfing at work, where I am in serious hock if I'm caught using anything other than MSIE 6.0... *shudder*)

      • Re:Lenovo (Score:5, Insightful)

        by RobDude (1123541) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @03:17PM (#29914663) Homepage

        The reason is mostly because the law says they can't.

        Trust me, Microsoft wants nothing more than to bundle it's own version of just about every application you can think of. But, the legal system says they can't. They were declared a monopoly and part of that has limited their ability to include things you want into the OS.

        I'm not 'Pro MS' or 'Pro Linux' or anything, I just don't care. But I do think that it's funny that, essentially, the same people who used to complain that Microsoft is an evil monopoly and is destroying small companies by bundling their own XYZ into the operating system are now the same people who still say MS is an evil monopoly but advocate Linux because it includes far more stuff you'll need than Windows.

        But yeah, it's really not that MS doesn't want it - it's that it's hands are tied. At least, that's been my understanding of it.

        • Re:Lenovo (Score:4, Insightful)

          by Runaway1956 (1322357) * on Thursday October 29, 2009 @03:58PM (#29915267) Homepage Journal

          But, RobDude - several other people have pointed out that there are alternatives to Adobe reader, that are lighter to download, lighter to install, and lighter on system resources, not to mention being faster AND better. Let's suppose that Adobe really is the end-all, be-all, ultimate shitzls for reading a PDF. Why does it autostart at system startup? Joe Sixpack might look at two PDF files a MONTH, but Adobe is loaded on his box at each startup and/or logon. Why? All he wants to do is play a game of Doom, drink his sixpack, and pat the wife on the ass, but he's forced to sit there watching the startup screen for 2/3 of eternity. By definition, crapware. Adobe can get in line, and wait for the user to call it.

          The OEM's need to install fewer of these apps, they need to find the fastes, lightest weight app to do the job, and they need to configure those apps properly. And, DO NOT add things in that EVER "phone home" - even for updates - without the owner's explicit permission.

      • Re:Lenovo (Score:5, Funny)

        by RedBear (207369) < minus pi> on Thursday October 29, 2009 @03:40PM (#29914993) Homepage

        Why the hell is the parent modded as +5, Funny? I don't think it was meant as a joke and I was going to make the same comment myself.

        Like it or not, most end users in the business world need to be able to open PDF files and use websites that have Flash interfaces, neither of which Windows will do on its own. Installing Acrobat Reader and updating Flash Player to the latest version is one of the main things I do on any office machine I hand out. Sure, they are minor security risks, but I don't understand why anyone would call them crapware, as opposed to all the bizarre manufacturer-specific pop-up control panels and buggy trial security software that is constantly running in the system tray. That's the stuff we're talking about as crapware, not common add-ons like PDF and Flash that are just applications that run when you need them. And like the parent said, PDF and Flash are pretty common things, regardless of anyone's opinions on the need for Flash for any specific purpose.

        The modding of the parent as funny makes absolutely no sense to me.

      • Re:Lenovo (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Thaelon (250687) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @04:14PM (#29915543)

        Adobe Reader is crapware.

        There are two well known alternatives of decreasing footprint, FoxIt Reader (which is about as bloated as Acrobat Reader 6), and SumatraPDF, which is tiny, fast and, feature light.

    • Re:Lenovo (Score:5, Informative)

      by piojo (995934) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:25PM (#29913883)

      When I bought a Lenovo R-series computer with Vista Professional, I didn't notice a lot of crapware that they'd installed. Was it because it was a "professional" computer?

      I installed Linux in a few days, so I might not have noticed everything that was there, but I actually liked some of the stuff they installed--like a driver for my hard drive's accelerometer (that would park the heads if needed) and a driver that let me configure Windows not to overcharge my battery.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by bigmaddog (184845)
        I bought a Lenovo laptop with WinXP this summer and would also like to say how pleasantly surprised I was by the near-total absence of crapware on it. I got the 30 day MS Office trial and some Lenovo firmware update thing but nothing else, not even Adobe flash and PDF reader (which aren't really crapware in my book, more like necessary evils). I was pretty happy with that...
        • Re:Lenovo (Score:4, Informative)

          by ColdWetDog (752185) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @03:10PM (#29914545) Homepage
          Generally "business class" PCs tend to have less crapware that 'consumer' PCs which in a way is ironic since a large number of business PCs get their HDs wiped and a company specific image installed anyway.

          IMHO, if it has a real uninstall script - that really uninstalls the damned program without magic incantations and four downloads from the manufacturers web site - then it's mostly harmless and I don't care. I can't for the life of me figure out why these companies don't do that....
          • Re:Lenovo (Score:4, Interesting)

            by kimvette (919543) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @04:08PM (#29915415) Homepage Journal

            MHO, if it has a real uninstall script - that really uninstalls the damned program without magic incantations and four downloads from the manufacturers web site - then it's mostly harmless and I don't care. I can't for the life of me figure out why these companies don't do that....

            It's one of three reasons:

            1. The release engineer who coded the installer is clueless about the registry, about windows standards, and is a void.

            2. They want to make it so difficult to uninstall that you decide to keep their scumware installed rather than go through the bother of removing it (or paying someone else to remove it)

            3. Product management refuses to let the release engineer do things the right way (see below)

            I've designed many installers, and I've inherited spaghetti-coded installer projects that had to be nearly completely rewritten (Installshield pro). I was always blocked by management from completely redesigning it but every time I had to add new functionality to a module I would completely rewrite and comment the code. The first release after I took on the project included fixes which made it clean up after itself on an uninstall (mostly hacks to work around code I wasn't allowed to rewrite). At one point I was so fed up with maintaining the shitty code that I wrote a whole new installer in Installshield Developer on my own home computer on my home time and brought it in and demoed it. I FINALLY won everyone over - except marketing, who put a stop to it. Why? Because "it's different" - the thing is, I made it compliant to Windows Logo program standards, had it self-repairing and everything. They (marketing) were so put off by the fact that it was different that they didn't care that it was modern and MORE marketable because the installer didn't look like it was for a 16 bit OS any more (keep in mind this was in 2001, and last I heard they were STILL using the same crappy old installer). So, I deleted the code. (justice was served though: months later they offshored development, I was let go, thank GOD - I was the only one they retained through the end of the year, and a few months later they gave me a generous offer to come back, and also asked if I happened to have the installer. I said hell no to coming back because it was DISGUSTING how they laid off all my friends the day before thanksgiving, and I also told them there is no way I am giving them work I did on my own equipment on my own time.)

            Speaking of which I really miss release engineering. I really ought to go back to it.

    • Re:Lenovo (Score:5, Insightful)

      by sukotto (122876) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:28PM (#29913915)
      Why the hate for Chrome?
  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:03PM (#29913511)

    • Even better (Score:5, Funny)

      by MrEricSir (398214) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:16PM (#29913725) Homepage

      You can remove *all* your crapware just by installing Snow Leopard and logging in as guest!

      • Re:Even better (Score:5, Informative)

        by DigitalSorceress (156609) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:38PM (#29914083)

        Well played sir, well played.

        I'm not a Mac, I'm not a PC... I own both, and I use Linux and Solaris for servers. I see my computers are tools, but I am not.

        As for the crapware, I tend to agree with TFA: My Macbook Pro had little (though, I'm an amateur photographer so I kind of think of iPhoto as a crapware version of LightRoom and PhotoShop). Dells that I've ordered through Small Business division (both for work and personal) have been free of it. Sony Vaios, HP Pavillions have been kind of loaded with it, and my Samsung netbook really wasn't too bad.

        Wow, I've got way too many computers.

        What.. have... I ... said? That's just the crazy talk right there!

    • Define "Crapware." (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Crash Culligan (227354) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:35PM (#29914023) Journal

      It can be said that Apples are among the smoothest running out of the box, but does that really mean there's no crap? This line of reasoning begs the definition of "crapware," and the #1 response would be "stuff you don't need on your computer." It doesn't have to slow it down, it doesn't have to have an enormous memory footprint when it's running or a huge disk footprint when it isn't, it just has to be stuff you don't need. And depending who you are, that can be quite a lot.

      Have you ever used iWeb? iDVD? Some would consider the whole iLife to be crapware because they plan to get higher-end, more professional applications through which to vent their creativity. And if they're thinking about office use, they're likely to go the route of Microsoft Office / OpenOffice, so bang goes Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Do you ever plan to serve web pages up from your laptop? (Well, I do, but then again, look where I'm posting.) You probably don't need that install of Apache or PHP. Not planning on doing any software development? Yes, XCode is an optional install and not part of the standard kit, but you've still got perl, ruby, python, pico, vi, emacs, and more shells, libraries, and frameworks than you'll ever need nestled down in /usr/local. Have a digital music library already? Then you might also have a preferred player, and probably won't want iTunes to re-rip it into that silly AAC format. A lot of people despise Quicktime on general principle. And a lot of people still eschew Safari for Firefox despite its HTML5 support.

      It all depends on your definition of "crapware." It's all assembled and designed by the mother company, so it's integrated so perfectly that you're never bothered by it if you never use it, but if you dig, you'll find something that'll fit the description.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by shadow349 (1034412)

        This line of reasoning begs the definition of "crapware," and the #1 response would be "stuff you don't need on your computer." It doesn't have to slow it down, it doesn't have to have an enormous memory footprint when it's running or a huge disk footprint when it isn't, it just has to be stuff you don't need. And depending who you are, that can be quite a lot.

        By that definition, the "crapware" winner would have to be most Linux distros. With the exception of machines that are set up for development / produ

  • by postmortem (906676) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:05PM (#29913547) Journal

    Personally, I build my own and install vanilla Windows, but sh** has hit the fan long time ago.

    This plus anti virus software resource hogs makes windows experience horrible on a brand new computer.

    Not a single manufacturer offers option "windows and drivers only".

    In other words, you need 4 core CPU and 2GB of RAM to open internet explorer.

    • by Machtyn (759119) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:08PM (#29913585) Homepage Journal
      Dell's business computers can be ordered plain vanilla or without the OS loaded, if you wish. I always recommend their business line, whether the person asking is a business or home user.
      • by Meshach (578918)

        Dell's business computers can be ordered plain vanilla or without the OS loaded, if you wish. I always recommend their business line, whether the person asking is a business or home user.

        Business lines can be expensive though and hard to justify to a home user who surfs the web three times a week.

    • by Meshach (578918)
      It is unfortunate but this is how PC manufacturers make most of there money.

      Here we say "just build your own" but to most of the world that is not an option. They have no choice but ot buy a pre-build system and manufacturers have realized that. People will be pissed off if you laden their machine with malware but they will not stop buying it.
  • by Explodicle (818405) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:12PM (#29913649) Homepage
    This [] will get 100% of the crap off your system or your money back!
  • Tough discussion.. (Score:2, Interesting)

    by skgrey (1412883)
    Boy, this is going to be a tough discussion. I wonder how many mod-points are going to be spent labeling items "flamebait" for talking about Windows vs. Linux vs. Mac..

    Anyway, I think Acer I got for my wife is the worst. I also recently purchased an HP, and it actually got a lot better in terms of less crapware. I was very surprised, although Vista disappeared ten minutes after I got it out of the box and Windows 7 magically appeared later..

    Any geek worth his salt gets rid of the current OS installati
  • by elrous0 (869638) * on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:13PM (#29913669)
    I bought an Asus EEE netbook a few months back and was surprised to see that Skype was basically the only app that was installed by default. It was otherwise a pretty clean install of XP. Considering the experience I've had with other notebooks in recent years, I was pleasantly surprised. Kudos to them.
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Itninja (937614)
      My Asus came with that goofy customized Xandros OS (complete with enormous cartoon-like icons). I considered the entire OS to be crapware.
  • Anonymous Coward (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:13PM (#29913675)

    The crapware installed on thses computers are advertisements. These computers would cost a lot more money if they didn't have all this preinstalled rubbish on the HDD, but I'd much rather take a couple minutes to remove Spore Creature Creator from my new HP than pay the extra money for buying an "ad-free" computer.

    Maybe this is why Macs are so expensive for the same hardware.

  • by DoofusOfDeath (636671) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:16PM (#29913729)

    When you order a computer with OS installation media, do those CD's / DVD's install the crapware as well, or just the basic OS?

  • PC Decrapifier (Score:5, Informative)

    by flyingfsck (986395) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:18PM (#29913763)
    The best one is not mentioned in the crappy article: []
  • In Store Techs (Score:5, Informative)

    by Ceiynt (993620) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:20PM (#29913783)
    Offer a service to REMOVE all that junk for you when you buy it, for almost $100. That's the crazy part.
    We bought my dad a laptop at Circuit City a few years back for Christmas, and the Firedog(sic?) tech was very persistent that we purchase the removal plan from them, as it's hard to do ourselves. I asked him what they do, and he said they take a vanilla Vista install disc and reformat the HDD with it. For $100, no thank you.
    As someone stated in an above thread, it's ads on the computer to lower the cost of it. If you buy off the shelf computers, it may be worth it. And with a laptop/netbook, you have no choice but to buy it off the shelf.
  • Just use decrapifier (Score:3, Informative)

    by Zarhan (415465) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:21PM (#29913809)

    I always use this first thing on new crap-loaded laptops that aren't going to get wiped with Linux. []

    Free as in beer for personal use.

  • by Neil Watson (60859) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:24PM (#29913863) Homepage

    It's not the installation that bothers me but the assumption by software vendors that their software is so important that it should auto-start.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by British (51765)

      It's not the installation that bothers me but the assumption by software vendors that their software is so important that it should auto-start.

      This cannot be stressed enough. Not everything needs a systray icon. Not everything needs to be so complicated to remove from startup without asking me in advance. Apple is a guilty party of this, even moreso with Itunes. Going to system.msc to try to remove a startup item(which is hard to read) is going to give you a guaranteed "access denied".

      To this day I sometime

    • Try to remember (Score:3, Insightful)

      by symbolset (646467)

      A bare Windows install isn't like Ubuntu or a Mac. It comes with only one browser, no way to play DVD's, no audio editor, no productivity applications. It doesn't even have an antivirus that we need Windows users to have from the start so as to delay their inevitable pwndom. It doesn't have shared repositories with thousands of free applications for every need. The poor users need some help bootstrapping from that to a useful platform, and the OEMs are driven to serve that need.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by dan_sdot (721837)

      the assumption by software vendors that their software is so important that it should auto-start

      It is not exactly that they think their software is that important... it is a way of cheating.

      When they "auto-start" the app when the operating system loads, they are pre-loading some memory and executing some initialization. So then, when you go to start their program.... BAM! It pops up so quickly! What a great piece of software, it is so fast!!!

      And yes, this trick works on about 99% of users.

  • iWork vs. MS Works (Score:4, Interesting)

    by XxtraLarGe (551297) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:25PM (#29913869) Journal

    But in other areas the MacBook merely mimics Windows' offerings: media software offers little functionality that isn't available elsewhere, and Apple's office applications can't compete with even Microsoft Works.

    I wonder if they've ever used the iWork suite? It can both read & save as MS Word/Excel/Powerpoint for the respective equivalent applications, which is something MS Works apparently can't do. I know this by the number of students I have to instruct to save their MS Works documents as RTFs so their instructors can view their papers.

  • by clone53421 (1310749) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:34PM (#29913999) Journal

    I just bought an HP laptop, and these are the observations I have to make.

    Bundled software isn't entirely bad. Bundled software that runs automatically is. I will disable this, although even so I might not uninstall it. The first thing I did was make the HP toolbar not run every time the computer boots up.

    If it doesn't run automatically, and it performs some useful feature (DVD burning, for instance) which I'll probably use in the future, I'll leave it installed unless or until such a time comes where I try to use it and discover it doesn't work very well or there are better free alternatives. It's just taking disk space. I'm more concerned with RAM and processor use.

    If it's something I'll never use, yeah, just uninstall it now.

    However, all in all, it's a new computer, and I'm not at all worried about disk space yet. So as long as it's not running, I'm not too worried about it. Sure, in a few years I may begin to run low on disk space, but at that point I'll be better able to determine whether or not I actually need the software anyway – did I use it between now and then?

  • Geek Squad Ripoff (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:39PM (#29914101)

    I was standing in Best Buy line one day at the computer desk. They were buying a brand new laptop (forgot the brand), but they got the complete upsale from the Geek Squad guy. Basically he told them that yes they could buy the laptop for the listed price, but that it would be unusable because of all the junk on it. They would need to pay geek squad another $149 to take the computer and clean up all the junk that comes with it to make it usable. And the poor people had to do it... They had no idea what to do or uninstall, and were being told that if they didnt do it then the computer would be near unusable.

    Sadly the geek squad guy was close to the truth. A new computer that isn't cleaned is booting slower, using more memory, and running slower than it should be. It just was wrong that it was necessary for the unskilled user to have to pay $149 on top of the cost of the device... I thought about jumping in and telling them it was a rip off, but then I'd have had to deal with it....

  • I'll tell you who (Score:5, Insightful)

    by snarfies (115214) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @02:48PM (#29914233) Homepage

    Who installs the most crapware?

    My mother does.

    • by that IT girl (864406) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @03:35PM (#29914917) Journal
      But she needs three different Emoticon Buddy programs, software for a dozen spyware-riddled, kitschy games websites, and four different antivirus trials! And dammit, if you delete them off, she's going to put them right back on as soon as you leave, because what good is this computer thingy without dancing smiley faces in emails??

      *cough* Er, sorry. I'm putting the chainsaw down now.
  • Samsung has it right (Score:3, Informative)

    by Lord Ender (156273) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @03:04PM (#29914463) Homepage

    My Samsung netbook is the only computer I've ever purchased which did not compel me to reinstall Windows due to pre-loaded crapware.

    The only stuff that runs by default is useful power-management software and a trial of VirusScan. I really hope Samsung continues to make netbooks and other mobile devices. They are a breath of fresh air.

  • by m.dillon (147925) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @03:18PM (#29914679) Homepage

    HP installs so much crap our machines often stop booting entirely, take well over 5 minutes to reach a desktop, and perform poorly once they are up. And they install so much junk it's almost impossible to properly remove and clean it out. I've stopped buying *anything* HP because of that. It just isn't worth the frustration.

  • by Animats (122034) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @03:25PM (#29914767) Homepage

    Autorun [], by Mark Russinovich at Microsoft, gives you a complete checklist of everything that's started at bootup or login. With checkboxes that turn it off. This is worth running just to see what's in there. You may turn too much off and break something, but you can run Autorun again and turn it back on.

    There's plenty of stuff worth turning off, like those useless programs that keep polling to see if Adobe Acrobat or Sun Java came out with a new version. Some of those programs are too aggressive, too. Adobe's poller seems to try to re-associate PDF files with Acrobat, after I'd changed the ".pdf" association to launch Sumatra PDF.

    It's annoying that even legitimate updaters seldom schedule themselves as periodic tasks, which Windows does well and which have no overhead when they're not running. No, they have to have their own little executable in memory.

  • by MaWeiTao (908546) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @04:19PM (#29915637)

    The Acer Aspire One I got recently was loaded with crap, but the biggest source of problems came from Google and especially McAfee. Every time I started that thing up from hibernate mode I had to wait for the Google apps and sidebar to load. Then McAfee anti-virus starts grinding away trying to scan the entire system. Even when I thought I had disabled automatic scanning I still found it cranking away.

    So every time I started it I'd spend a minute or so in the OS just waiting for it to be responsive. Eventually I'd get something like a browser open and would spend several more minutes for the computer to perform at a speed that was even remotely functional. The best part was how McAfee was only available for a 60 day trial.

    So I went through and uninstalled every last unnecessary bit of garbage and performance improved dramatically. In place of McAfee I installed AVG which doesn't seem to be nearly as taxing.

    It would be nice if the OS prioritized apps on start up, giving priority to the user, instead of this apparent mad dash to see who can get started first. And even better, it would be nice if these computer companies stopped cramming all this crap on these machines and at least paid some amount of attention to the performance capabilities of the machine. I realize this stuff helps subsidize some of the cost of these computers, but at least offer the option to get a machine with a clean OS.

  • roundtop-vjas (Score:3, Interesting)

    by RoundTop-VJAS (580788) on Thursday October 29, 2009 @05:13PM (#29916527)
    This is why I love my LG laptop & netbook. 0 crapware. Heck, if you want the LG utilities beyond the basic drivers you have to load them yourself.

Practical people would be more practical if they would take a little more time for dreaming. -- J. P. McEvoy


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$50 Sound Cards Impress Versus Integrated Audio 245

Posted by timothy
from the sounds-like dept.
crookedvulture writes "Most PCs have audio integrated right on the motherboard. There's much to be gained from upgrading to a discrete sound card, though. This look at a couple of sub-$50 sound cards from Asus explores what can be found at the budget end of the spectrum. In blind listening tests, both cards produced better sound than an integrated solution. They also offered superior signal quality, but neither had an impact on gaming performance. The days of hardware-accelerated game audio seem to be behind us, with developers handling positional audio processing in software."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

$50 Sound Cards Impress Versus Integrated Audio

Comments Filter:
  • by itamblyn (867415) on Friday August 10, 2012 @11:32PM (#40954505) Homepage
    Most of the improvement is likely due to increased distance between the amplification circuits and the noisy AC/DC power supply.
  • by ChrisMP1 (1130781) on Friday August 10, 2012 @11:37PM (#40954541)
    A decent ATX power supply really isn't bad. Distance from the noisy digital circuitry on the motherboard is important, though.
  • by slackware 3.6 (2524328) on Friday August 10, 2012 @11:38PM (#40954545)
    it would be on a cheap video card before a sound card. I never bought any sound cards after they started puting them on the mobo. Sure the sound could be better but I have a stereo for playing tunes and if i'm playing games at night I'm using headphones anyway. A better soundcard is a non-issue for most users.
  • by TheGratefulNet (143330) on Friday August 10, 2012 @11:39PM (#40954559)

    sometimes the circuit (board) does this work.

    case in point, ESI juli@ (hate the at-sign. how stupid!)

    this card is lab grade (test gear quality) in its a/d and d/a. some people use it for RMAA audio gear testing. not kidding! this is a low noise floor that you won't normally find on internals cards, yet it IS AN INTERNAL card! blows my mind ;)

    also supports balanced and unbal i/o as well as 'easy' i2s and very easy coax spdif i/o.

    it needs a full height slot and generally is pci-only even though some new pci-e version is supposed to be out soon.

    keep it in mind: if you find yourself needing to test audio amps, preamps, dacs, etc - the ESI julia card is about as good as it gets for under $1k or even higher. amazing for audio guys. stupid for gamers but we are not talking about gaming at all.

  • by TaoPhoenix (980487) <TaoPhoenix@yahoo.com> on Saturday August 11, 2012 @12:31AM (#40954797) Journal

    I'll reply to you.

    In Personal Computing in the true sense of Personal and not corp-crap or netbooks or whatever, if you're gonna buy a goddamn comp, spend a few hundred bucks to do it right. No one except the media wins with these "budget parts" stories.

    So forget the $50 sound card. What can you get with $80?
    Forget the $50 video card. What can you get with $80?
    Spend an extra $20 on the fan. Spend an extra $20 on a key cable. Spend an extra $60 on a better HD that has capacity to better meet your growth.
    Spend an extra $40 on a better casing. I added a special extra chip for data conversion like Audacity Sound Processing 30% faster.

    So yes, it adds a few bucks cumulatively. But you help mitigate stupid "cheap crap failures" that risks years of useful life. 6 years later into my op life I think I have a medium grade HD problem, but it's still ticking, so I have some time. Not like a total crash yet when some dumb part blows the whole board.

  • by spauldo (118058) on Saturday August 11, 2012 @01:17AM (#40954937)

    Just a guess, but I'd say it's because there's stories just like yours for every manufacturer out there*.

    Case in point: hard drives. Ask 20 people what hard drives they've had trouble with, and you'll find they pretty much average out as all of the companies having issues. I use Seagate, but you'll find a lot of people here who swear they're the worst drives on the market.

    Another example: T-Mobile. I had nothing but trouble with them. They would, for no reason, forgo the automatic draft from my Visa and then shut me off for non-payment. Their customer service was horrible. When I called them at the end of my contract and told them I wanted my service cut as soon as the contract was over, the sales drone threatened me that if I didn't pay the final bill, they'd sue me. I hadn't said anything about it up to then, so this was just out of the blue. (Of course, I knew he was full of shit, and intentionally didn't pay my final bill because of it.)

    With all that, T-Mobile has an excellent reputation for customer service and very few people I know have issues with them. Go figure.

    The article was about the difference between soundcards and integrated sound, and just happened to use Asus cards for the testing. Your last paragraph was on topic, but the rest of your post wasn't.

    * There are a few manufacturers that have earned widespread derision, like PC Chips for its fake cache chips or SCO for judicial douchebaggery. Asus isn't anywhere near that level.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 11, 2012 @03:50AM (#40955349)

    [Citation needed]. Seriously.

  • by MrL0G1C (867445) on Saturday August 11, 2012 @04:17AM (#40955417) Journal

    Actually their RightMark audio analysis's don't show this at all, frequency response, THD, noise, are all so close between devices that a human wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them, the ignoramuses at TechReport however don't know how to read the graphs/understand the limit of human hearing and came to erroneous conclusions.

    Their section on different peoples opinion of the various audio devices does not state the result of the blind listening test and so is useless, why even bother with tests that are not blind?

  • by gazbo (517111) on Saturday August 11, 2012 @04:43AM (#40955487)
    I think what's most telling about their analysis is on the 96kHz plots. The Realtek consistently drops to nothing around 20kHz, and yet apparently that didn't mean anything to them other than "look how well these results fit with out hypothesis". Anyone who actually knew something about didgital audio would think "either I've set this up wrong or the drivers/hardware are bust, because this thing is blatantly stuck at 44.1kHz".

    The only other thing to be gleaned from the graphs is that running at 96kHz is pointless because the supposedly better cards' performance FUCKING SUCKS past 20kHz.

  • by makomk (752139) on Saturday August 11, 2012 @05:14AM (#40955577) Journal

    Anyone who actually knew something about didgital audio would think "either I've set this up wrong or the drivers/hardware are bust, because this thing is blatantly stuck at 44.1kHz".

    Or it's just got a low-pass filter with the cutoff set at 20 kHz which can't be disabled. You need one for proper signal reconstruction at the 44.1kHz sample rate, and it's not like most people are going to notice that their onboard sound can't actually output frequencies above 20 kHz in its 96kHz sampling mode.

  • by ChrisMP1 (1130781) on Saturday August 11, 2012 @10:51AM (#40957121)
    As we all know, "audiophiles with trained ears" are not at all prone to misinformed bullshit regurgitation, confirmation bias, and elitism.

Practical people would be more practical if they would take a little more time for dreaming. -- J. P. McEvoy

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Review:alicia and anne says:
This is a very well written dark first chapter.
The monsters seem very terrifying and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to have them attack the person.
I'm very intrigued to see what happens next and who this person is, as well as fine out why he seems to be alone.
The way you managed to get everything happening in the chapter across in such a few amount of words was really impressive and you make me eager to read more from the information you gave.
Very well done. I can't wait to

Author's Response: Ah, thanks. Dark is me. Dark is love. :P

All of your questions will be answered in time. :)

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Book Trailer for Pilikia

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Story Acceptance

My latest short story, IFHC, has been accepted for inclusion in the second Shamus Sampler, an anthology of private eye stories by Jochem Vandersteen.

When I started this story, the intent was to find a Christmas market. IFHC stands for "I f***ing hate Christmas." Christmas markets, though, tend to want stories that are soft and warm, even if there is a murder involved. It soon became clear that IFHC was not in that category. There's a lot of blood and bad words in IFHC. I also considered the Murder on the Beach anthology, but the story came in at 8,500 words. Even after cutting it down to 7,500, it was still 2,000 words over the limit. It's still longer than the Vandersteen's preferred length, but he was kind enough to take it anyway.

I don't know when the anthology comes out. It will be an ebook on Kindle.

  1. Kevin R. Tipple said...

    EXCELLENT! The first anthology book he did was really good.


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Pacers’ future looks bright after signing George

Updated at: 09/25/2013 3:06 PM

(AP) INDIANAPOLIS - Now that Paul George has a new contract, the Indiana Pacers can focus on more pressing matters.

Training camp starts Saturday. The regular season opens in a little more than a month. The playoffs come in April, and that’s when the real challenge begins.

"We’re all in this year," Larry Bird said.

They proved it Wednesday by officially singing George to a five-year max contract extension that guarantees him between $80 and $90 million and could be worth even more if George reaches an escalator clause.

George’s deal comes after David West’s new three-year, $36 million contract, Bird’s offseason spending spree to improve the bench and last year’s expensive deals to keep center Roy Hibbert and point guard George Hill. The Pacers are almost certain to have their core nucleus together for several more years.

And with the Pacers coming off back-to-back playoff runs in which they pushed Miami, the expectations are soaring.

"It’s exciting," coach Frank Vogel said. "Since I took over here, we’ve been talking about having a similar era to what the Colts had the last seven or eight years, where they had a chance to win it all basically every year. We’re a couple of years into this thing, and to have this guy under contract for five more years gives us that type of confidence, that we can win a championship, our first (NBA) championship."

Bird gambled by paying the 23-year-old, 6-foot-7 forward before his rookie contract expired at the end of the season. If it had, he could have become a restricted free agent.

George appears to have everything it takes to become the face of Indiana’s franchise. He has improved dramatically in each of his first three years. Last season, he was an All-Star, earned third-team All-NBA and second-team all-defense honors, and won the league’s Most Improved Player Award.

George showed up for the news conference in a nifty gray suit, dapper shoes, trendy eyeglasses and neatly trimmed hair. But he didn’t sound different from the blue-collar guy who has been impressing Pacers coaches and teammates since he was taken 10th in the 2010 draft.

"I did a terrible job _ I was supposed to have a poker face through this whole situation, but I really wanted to be here," George said, drawing laughter. "They gave me a chance and now that I’m in this position, it’s really my job to do everything in my position, in my will, to get us to that next step."

This will be a different kind of pressure for George.

Last fall, after Hibbert cashed in his first All-Star appearance with a $58 million payday, he struggled early. Playing through a hand injury and dealing with more attention from opponents, he seemed to be trying too hard to live up to the deal. Eventually, Hibbert settled into his new role and showed he was worth every penny when the games mattered most _ in the playoffs.

George has thrived when the spotlight is on.

"I think he’s going to be one of the top players in the league. Right now, he’s in the top 15 or 20 players in the league. Do we think he can be a first-teamer? We do, and if he is, then we both benefit from that," Bird said, referencing the escalator clause that could top $100 million. "You always hear about players letting up after they achieve the money they always dreamed of. Not this kid; he’s the real deal.

"I don’t worry about Paul George. He’s an extremely hard worker. He’s dedicated to his craft, and he’ll be fine."

The looming question for Indiana is what the Pacers will do with their next two potential free agents _ former All-Star swingman Danny Granger and starting shooting guard Lance Stephenson. Both contracts are set to expire after next season.

Aaron Mintz, who represents George, also represents Granger, one of George’s biggest supporters and closest friends.

And Bird opened the news conference by acknowledging that Stephenson, who was standing in the back, would be seated at the front table the next time they hold this sort of gathering.

While it will take some creativity to get Stephenson’s deal done and stay under the league’s luxury tax threshold, Bird believes it can and will get done _ and that will make Indiana a perennial title contender.

"Look, the books are never right for us, but we’ll do whatever we can to keep the young man," Bird said. "He’s worked as hard as anyone that’s ever been here and you’ll see it when he plays this year."

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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NCAA tourney sparks basketball fever in New Mexico

Posted at: 03/19/2013 11:41 AM
By: RUSSELL CONTRERAS Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - With some of their strongest teams in years, New Mexico and New Mexico State are creating quite the NCAA tournament buzz across the state.

No. 3 seed New Mexico (29-5) is in the West Regional will face No. 14 seed Harvard (19-9), the Ivy League champions, on Thursday in Salt Lake City.

Behind Kendall Williams and Tony Snell, this is the best team the Lobos have had since Norm Ellenberger's teams in the late 1970s.

No. 13 New Mexico State (24-10) is the WAC champion. It's in the Midwest Regional and will play No. 4 seed Saint Louis (27-6) in San Jose, Calif.

While New Mexico can bask in having two teams in the NCAAs, things are very different next door. Not a single team from neighboring Texas is in the tournament for the first time since 1977.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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Ironwood Wolf Hunt Proposed

Posted at: 04/10/2013 12:32 PM
Updated at: 04/10/2013 3:23 PM
By: JOHN FLESHER, AP Environmental Writer

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - Michigan environmental regulators say they want to let hunters kill several dozen wolves this fall in three areas of the Upper Peninsula where they say other measures have failed to stop attacks on livestock and pets.

One of the three areas is in Gogebic County, including the City and Township of Ironwood.  The DNR has recorded 91 complaints of nuisance wolf behavior in the area since 2010, including wolves chasing dogs in residential areas and wolves traveling in close proximity to children.

The second area would include portions of Baraga, Ontonagon, Houghton, and Gogebic Counties, and the third area would include portions of Luce and Mackinac Counties in the central UP.

The Department of Natural Resources is scheduled to propose the hunt Thursday during a meeting of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission. The seven-member panel sets Michigan's hunting policies, including season lengths and locations.

DNR biologist Adam Bump says the proposed hunt aims to reduce conflicts with humans without affecting the U.P.'s overall wolf population.

Wolf-hunting opponents are seeking a 2014 referendum on a new law designating wolves as game animals. But regardless of the outcome, legislation introduced in the state Senate this week still might let the commission permit wolf hunting.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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02 Apr 2008  Research & Ideas

Four Companies that Conquered America

Any self-respecting global company needs to compete in the United States, but many have floundered on its shores. Professor John Quelch spotlights the strategies of four that succeeded: Royal Bank of Scotland, IKEA, ING, and Dyson. Key concepts include:

  • Royal Bank of Scotland built strong market share by acquiring regional banks and letting them maintain local identities.
  • IKEA offers a unique furniture buying experience coupled with category-killer prices.
  • ING gave its entrepreneurial general manager the green light to offer retail banking services exclusively on an online basis.
  • Dyson started with a great product, then found a big-bang distributor: Best Buy.

Editor's Note: Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a blog on marketing issues, called Marketing Know: How, for Harvard Business Online. It is reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge.

Accounting for almost 30 percent of world GDP, the United States is the world's largest and most demanding market for almost everything from oil to microprocessors to premium coffee. Companies around the world aspire to do business in the U.S., or at least with U.S. companies in their home markets. By doing so, they learn much about the latest management practices, they can be closer to the cutting edge of innovation, and they can boost their reputations by supplying well-known U.S. firms.

The market size of the U.S makes it an important target but, in addition, foreign companies often feel they have to crack the U.S. market in order to gain respect. No CEO can lead a global company if that company does not have a strong presence in the USA.

So how do you penetrate the U.S. market? The annals of business are littered with foreign companies that have never quite succeeded in the USA. But here are four companies that have. Each carries a special lesson.

1. Royal Bank of Scotland. This company built up a strong retail market share in the U.S., not under the RBS brand, but through a series of acquisitions of regional (not national) banks. RBS is adding value for its shareholders by letting these banks retain their individual brand identities, by focusing on improving back office efficiencies, and by having the highly respected CEO of one of the acquired entities lead the combined U.S. organization. Meanwhile, RBS is building its B2B brand with institutional clients on Wall Street.

2. IKEA. IKEA offers a furniture retailing value proposition and experience unparalleled in the U.S. market. There are no national furniture retail chains, making market penetration easier. IKEA's location selection expertise and their established global supply chains enable them to offer exceptional category-killer prices that are further keys to success.

"No CEO can lead a global company if that company does not have a strong presence in the USA."

3. ING. The Dutch bank converted its weakness (no retail branches in the U.S.) into a strength. Following a successful Canadian market test, ING gave its entrepreneurial general manager the green light to offer retail banking services to U.S. consumers but exclusively on an online basis. Taking advantage of its low no-bricks-and-mortar cost structure, ING was able to offer generous rates on certificates of deposit. Just four years on, ING is the third-largest holder of consumer CD investments in the U.S.

4. Dyson. The British home appliance maker earned a break when it managed to get a Best Buy buyer to take one of its vacuum cleaners home to test. The buyer was impressed. Fortunately for Dyson, Best Buy became the first U.S. retailer to stock Dyson vacuum cleaners—other U.S. retailers invariably follow Best Buy's lead. Electronics retailing in the U.S. is concentrated (10 chains control 60 percent of the market) and tough to penetrate. But Dyson could not have succeeded had its products not been superior to other vacuum cleaners already in U.S. stores.

A current case, well worth watching, is the effort of Tesco, the British retailer, to enter the U.S. market with the new Fresh & Easy chain of discount grocery stores. Avoiding geographies where Wal-Mart is entrenched, Tesco has so far opened 50 stores in the growth markets of California, Nevada, and Arizona. The question is whether Tesco's assortment and value proposition will be appreciated by enough consumers fast enough for weekly store sales to reach profitable levels. Stay tuned.

Join the discussion on Harvard Business Online.

About the author

John Quelch is Senior Associate Dean and Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.


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Role of the State in the Transition Period Moldova 1998

Republic of Moldova

The 1998 Moldova NHDR examines the topic "The Role of the State in Social Cohesion", the main idea being to analyze the impact of the Moldovan model of transition on the society.

Principal Contributors: Tamara GolencoIon SiscanuSerghei OstafDorin VaculovschiValeriu Isaico
Role of State


text:
After a long day at the office, there's nothing like coming home, changing into a comfy T-shirt and sweatpants, and taking off your shoes. Or, you might be the kind of person who likes to slip off your shoes under your desk or during long meetings. It only makes sense; when your feet are clad in socks and (possibly uncomfortable) shoes all day, it's natural to want to give them some air and wiggle room. And when the weather warms up, it feels wonderful to bare your feet in open-toed shoes, sandals or flip-flops.

You probably wouldn't give a second thought to exposing your feet in any of those ways, and nobody around you would think anything of it, either. Feet aren't the most attractive part of the body, but as long as yours appear clean and well-groomed, that's all that matters. However, the prettiest pedicure or cutest socks make no difference if your feet stink. You might not even be aware of it until your significant other -- or, even worse, a friend or colleague -- points out that there's a distinctly foul smell in the air emanating from your feet.

Maybe they just wrinkle their noses, and it's taken you a while to figure out that your foot odor is the cause. Now what are you supposed to do? Keep your shoes on forever when you're around other people? Never wear sandals again? That would work, but you probably wouldn't be very happy sitting around your house, or the beach, with shoes on all the time.

Foot odor can be embarrassing, and getting rid of it might not be as simple as just rubbing on some antiperspirant. However, there are lots of different things that you can try. Read on to find out what causes that stench in the first place. Knowing why you have this unfortunate problem can help you figure out how best to get rid of it.


text:
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Social Worker II

Social Worker II
Psychology/Counselling/Social Work
Regular Full Time
PCN Rural - Network Recoveries
2012-11-27  Time: 23:59

As Per Rotation
Minimum: 34.40 per hour Maximum: 45.75 per hour
This Alberta Health Services’ Social Worker II position provides services within the communities of Strathmore. The social worker will be responsible for assessment, counselling and consultation services for community members and ensures that social work clinical practice is evidence based and meets professional standards of practice. The position involves provision of patient and family care, group facilitation and education, consultation and collaboration with health care teams, and other referral and community groups. This position requires the ability to work independently with general review, consultation and evaluation from the Site Manager.
Formal Education
· Completion of a BSW degree or foreign equivalent.
· Eligible for registration with the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW).

· Experience in a health care setting.
· Experience in rural health preferred.
· Demonstrated clinical expertise and competence in dealing with health care issues preferred.
· Experience in working with an adult physically disabled population preferred.
· Experience in working in a collaborative, consultative manner with a varied interdisciplinary team preferred.
· Experience with adult education and group facilitation preferred.

Other Factors
· Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
· Ability to function as a member of an interdisciplinary team.
· Ability to establish positive relationships with a wide variety of clients/families and other care providers.
· Ability to collaborate effectively with various community partners.
· An ability to organize activities and set priorities.
· Must be able to work with health care providers and clients/families at various stages of illness and rehabilitation.
· Considerable initiative and ability to work independently and prioritize.
· Strong critical thinking skills.
· Must have valid driver’s license and own vehicle as travel is required.

  • Vehicle Required - Required to provide a vehicle for business use; along with acceptable driver's abstract and proof of business insurance

AHS values the diversity of the people and communities we serve, and is committed
to attracting, engaging and developing a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Please submit one application for each position desired as copies of applications will not be submitted for multiple postings on your behalf. Applications must include skills and ability for the position, since selection is based on information provided in the application. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Thank you for applying with the AHS!

All new offers of employment are subject to a Criminal Records Check satisfactory to the employer.
This information is collected by the authority of the Protection For Person In Care Act (Section 10(4)).


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Amlodipine vs atenolol

Common Questions and Answers about Amlodipine vs atenolol

I wanted to try beta blockers so my cardiologist put me on 25 mg of atenolol once a day in the morning.I can play tennis etc.with almost no extra beats,though I am slightly tired and have mild light headedness.The thing that concerns me is that I get headaches,for most of the day and they abate only at night ,I presume when the drug is wearing off.Are headaches common,and how long should I put up with them before I quit the atenolol,because right now the trade off is not worth it.
1. by taking the same mg atenolol as you did metoprolol you doubled your dosage of effective beta blocker.
im currently on atenolol 50mg in the morning 50mg at night for frequent main symptoms are just feel my heart pounding all day and night...i think the atenolol is causing me some side effects and i have and allergies and it might be making it worse and also want to start taking allergy shots but heard its not a good idea while on beta blockers. im looking for a list or names of a few calcium channel blockers that can also help my symptoms so i can talk to my dr about changing my meds..
It took me a while to find a drug (Atacand) that worked and didn't give me any side effects (cough, insomnia, etc.). A few years back when I asked for a cheaper drug vs. the Atacand I was on at the time my doctor prescribed Atenolol. She said it was a very old, proven drug that was actually good for my heart because it wouldn't work as hard. I don't really notice fatigue issues, but occasionally I get kind of woozy standing up and I can hear my heart beat it my ears.
Mom 72, Singapore. Diagnosed w/ HTN '92. 5/’09, hospitalized due to methyldopa induced cholestasis, diagnosed w/ A fib. 8/’09, 14 days into Warfarin, she fell (cause unknown), suffering a skull fracture causing an acute subarachnoid and subdural hemorrhage. Initially paralyzed left side & recovered almost 90%. On our request, switched to Aspirin. 12/’09, open cholecystectomy due to acute cholecystitis w/ pigmented gallstones. In 5/’10 , she had a minor stroke.
Regarding the Atenolol vs Metoprolol, Atenolol has no extended release formula, so the effect hits more immediately than what is the case with Metoprolol. On the other hand, half life is far longer (I believe I've commented this on another post). When taking Metoprolol 25 mg, it resolves through 20 hours and the peak "concentration" (compared to taking a non-extended release pill) will be approx. 6 mg.
It's weird i feel PVC's in my chest and PAC's in my neck. I am now taking atenolol which has helped though i still have quite a few PVC's. I am calmer and less aware of my heartbeat than before. I have always felt like i had too much adrenalin in my body, as i also have panic attacks. I was just doing some research and even though i have been told that everything i have is harmless, i have come across information that somewhat suggests otherwise. Does anyone here know which is true?
There is mild prominence of the hilar vessels, suggestive of mild congestion.” She was recruited into a Warfarin vs Apixaban double blind clinical trial & started the treatment on Aug-4, 2009. We later found out that she is on Warfarin w/ dosage unknown to us. 14 days after the Wafarin treatment, she fell (cause of falling unknown, according to her friend who was walking right next to her that my Mom stopped walking forward & dropped on the floor) & hit back of her head.
30 Amlodipine Besylate: 5 mg Lisinopril: 40 mg Atenolol: 50 mg Omeprazole: 40 mg Aspirin: 100 mg Medications AFTER 5/’10 stroke: Simvastatin 10mg Warfarin She has no other risk; CHADS is "1". 1. Her stroke symptoms indicate neuro problems. Shouldn’t a neurologist be her main Dr.? 2. Was her stroke most likely secondary to a blood clot (i.e.
MedHelp Health Answers


text:
Vomiting in dogs with diabetes

Common Questions and Answers about Vomiting in dogs with diabetes

She has been sick since Sunday and has been diagnosed with pancreatis, which apparently is a common problem in dogs with Cushings. Currently she is in the hospital on IV fluids and IV antibiotics. We are very fortunate to have a very good local vet and her condition does seem improved, but we always have the option of taking her to University of PA veterinary hospital. They are wonderful compassionate people there and have been life savers for some of our other animals.
there's been some controversy about sugar/diabetes/insulin with glucosamine; it can create problems with your dog's sugar production. HOWEVER, your dog will NEED some sort of sugar/glucose added to his diet daily. It would be best if the vet gave you a specific supplement geared to your dog's sugar needs. Otherwise...I'm not clear what your vet meant by a "low sugar episode". Is your dog diabetic? Frankly, it sounds like this may be the case.
It looks like either the vomiting is related to stress or a problem in the small intestine, in which case you'd have to do a biopsy to detect what it is. When the issue is related to food, a biopsy is usually the best approach. Pregnancy and newborns bring insecurities and stress to our cats. You need to introduce him to the baby slowly, step by step. First, allowing him to sniff the baby's blankie or a toy helps introduce him to the new smell.
Vet kept in touch with me and asked me to bring him back in because she didnt want my baby to be dehydrated , took him back and stay there for a couple of hours after another round of xray she called and said i need to get an ultrasound so we did (2days ago) and nothing was wrong just his intestine a little swallen wich she gave another medication and sent me home....hes hasnt had any food or water in a few days vet gave him fluids 4&3 days agoso i was ok ..
You need to read these consumer complaints about Purina.....Alot of them sound like what your dealing with or worse! These complaints come in on a daily basis & today is no exception......Please read----- Here's the link: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/ralston.
1 reason was the cost but also because I talked to other owners of dogs with the disease who did give the meds and their dogs did OK till the end. I guess my thinking is that nothing is going to make it go away and as long as she was feeling OK her life was not too bad. Shasta also started drinking a lot of water but according to the vet she was at the borderline on this. She does urinate more often but has not had any accidents in the house.
the prevention of vomiting due to motion sickness and the prevention and treatment of acute vomiting in dogs. Both products are available only by order of a veterinarian. Motion sickness affects many dogs, who can become ill as early as five minutes after the start of a trip.
and thats what Clary wanted was our different opinions or suggesstions. I agree 100% with Tribbles as my daughter, who lives in Texas, has the same problem with her Siamese of 11 years. Whenever she and her hubby, who is a doctor, take their trips to places for his medical conventions,their cat gets this problem, without question! Stress is an emotional problem for many diseases--human and animal !
Two weeks ago I had PMS/nausea and almost every morning since, I wake up, feel fine, hang out with my dogs and as soon as I try to get my day started (especially if any appt is involved) I vomit, experience acid stomach, hot/cold sensations. Compazine helps, I sleep for a few hours, then I am fine the rest of the day, am able to eat, and even exercise. I am trying to get back to my life after the heart attack and being sick again has been demoralizing. Thank you for your help.
My Heidi was in the hospital in ICU since last Thursday, do to complications of her diabetes... Severel days & several grand later she developed pneumonia... & we knew it was time to make the call....she went quick & painlessly.... she was ready to go... I sat with her a long while holding her & praising her.... even got up & gave her some water twice out of my hands by the sick....
However, in some people, those of us who are prone to allergies, our immune system responds to harmful things, but also things that are relatively harmless, and generally cause no reaction in people who do not have allergies. In essence, with allergies, our body is fighting itself, and this is bad. These harmless things that cause allergies are called allergens. Some common allergens are pollens released from trees, mold, hay, grass, dander, and food.
I have a nine year old lab "Sandy Grace". She is in fourth stage renal failure-Of course she has seen her regular vet for fluids-ultra sound revealed she has one kidney which is failing. Creatine was 13-subs at home-now using hollistic and homepatic treatment. Recently more bad days than good. I am giving her ice chips which seem to work better for her than lapping. Pedialyte ice is also better.
Hi We feed the dogs Costco brand dog food and mix in chef michaels with it. I give them enzymatic chews fir their teeth and just about any treat that I see.... I feed them table food as well, although not anymore if he pulls through this, since one of the possibilities is food allergy. At davis, they have him on an iv, a bunch of drugs including a pain med, and a tube in his nose to drain the fluid from his stomach and also to feed him a liquid diet.
I never worked in community health, or drug rehab facilities, and I was so unaware of all the signs and symptoms until recently. Last year in late July I was diagnosed with cancer. I am not allowed to work as a nurse, and I have been without any income for over six months. My husband works for himself. He chooses his own hours, and rarely gives me money to live on. I have no where to go. I cannot leave as I cannot afford to do anything until I get cleared from my oncologist.
I am 31 yrs old, and male. Both my mother and her sister were taking "BENEDECTIN" in 1977. I and my cousin was diagnosed with enlarged aortic valves with abnormalities, sadly he did not survive a 2nd birthday. As I survived a grocery list of defects began showing. My feet are flat, all 10 toes have fused knuckles (they dont bend), my fingers are increasingly curling down and toward the thumb. I've struggled with fainting, cesures, migrians, and bowel disorders since birth.
I don't have allergies of any kind and I'm in excellent health and I can learn to live with the smell of fresh baked bread in my nostrils.. I mean it could be owrse.. still I think I should get someone to check this out especially as I read about Phantom smells being a possible side efect of brain tumors...
I wake every morning with horrible pain in lower back (kidney area) that radiates to the front of stomach (rib area). I have had battery of tests and found nothing. I am only able to sleep 5-6 hours before pain wakes me, also unable to take a deep breath until I get out of bed (very painful just to roll over), once I stand and get out of bed the pain almost immediately starts to ease. After about 20 minutes of walking around and after first morning void, pain disappears for remainder of day.
believe me I had two of the absolute most stubborn kitties in the world to work with. She absolutely without a doubt needs to GET OFF dry food.
As I am sure you have heard, there have been numerous alerts, recalls and reports of food-borne illness reported in the last couple of years, associated with uncooked or undercooked meats served to human consumers in restaurants or sold to them in stores. The under-appreciated truth of our meat production industry, indeed of any nation's meat production, is that absolute certainty of freedom from sickness-causing bacteria in meat cannot be assured.
She gladly sucked up all the attention she could get, and peed all over the house, dug up every last flower bed in the yard, chewed anything within tooth reach (including the leg on my prized piano) and generally engaged in every bad doggy behavior with true gusto. I can say she never was malicious - just enjoyed everything life had to offer no matter what we had to say about it. Training was another adventure in getting to know Chica.
I am a 32 year old male with type 1 diabetes. On monday I started feeling a pain in my right bicept. Then on the next day I had some slight pain in my left bicept. My forearms also have pain. I am on 1000mg tylenol today and at the moment, those are the only real pain spots. In the morning I am aching much more. Its very hard to sleep. I am not overly tired and no headaches or joint pain. My arms and legs move fine without pain, but when I need strength they hurt.
My advice as a vet student is to always trust the vet, I have to dissagree with opus, at least I have a lot of subjects that have to do with nutrition because it's the most important thing when it comes to food production (cows, pigs and chicken mostly) and to pets health too because a bad diet causes tons of problems in cats and dogs that go from vomiting to hair loss, anemia and even death.
Similar adverse changes are true regarding insulin production by your pets pancreas. Insulin is needed to prevent the development of pet diabetes in dogs and cats. Studies in dogs with Lymphoma Cancer documented elevated blood levels of lactate and insulin, neither of which declined, even when complete remission was achieved in clinical trials using a chemotherapeutic drug called doxorubicin.
Your vet can give you prefilled syringes of antibiotics and can instruct you in giving the antibiotic. Giving needles is not difficult. Owners of pets with diabetes must give insulin to their pets, sometimes for the life of their pets.
We even changed vets and just before christmas we were told we would have to make a decision with him if no progress. He had the infection and was sick, vomiting when he had the infection but hasnt been since the infection cleared. The thing with him is that he stopped wanting his food so we have had to give him what we prepare for him like hamburger and rice, chicken, etc because of him losing so much weight. But he acts like he still hungry. He will eat treats and drinks lots of water.
However, within 5 minutes of taking the medicine she started to violently throw it back up with continued dry heaving afterwards. So we switched to Clavamax - with more vomiting and then to Amoxicillan - again more vomiting. The violence of the vomiting is less, but she still vomits within 5 minutes of taking any antibiotic. The vet then tried having us give her Gastricalm prior to the Amoxicillan, but that didn't help at all.
I cant say whether or not pesticides are the problem but continued episodes of your dogs vomiting and diarrhea can lead to Pancreatitis which can lead to Diabetes and daily insulin injections. Now is the time to take preventative pet health steps to try to avoid this. My recommendation would be to have your vet run a set of complete blood and urine tests. Then unless the lab tests pinpoint a specific canine health problem, consider a bland home made diet, digestive enzymes and probiotics.
I began smoking cigarettes and moved into a place where I could definately tell that I was allergic to cats and dogs in the environment. I began taking Zyrtec for my allergies. On March 13th I got sick. I got dizzy and nauseated, throwing up, skin flushed, sensations of having a fever without temperature, thick clear mucous, bright light sensitivity, sensitivity to loud sounds, rib muscles pulling, sensitivity to cold, pain in upper left abdomen, sharp chest pains, and tremors.
Thirst or a very dry mouth Frequent urination High blood glucose (sugar) levels High levels of ketones in the urine Next, other symptoms appear Constantly feeling tired Dry or flushed skin Nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain (Vomiting can be caused by many illnesses, not just ketoacidosis. If vomiting continues for more than 2 hours, contact your health care provider.
She only started vomiting after the meds were finished? It is not unusual for this med to cause vomiting and/or diarrhea so it is usually given with food. Does she have a fever or is she lethargic? Any swelling or odd breathing? I would withhold food but try to make sure she is drinking fluids. Not sure what time it is there now, but I would give your Vet a call in the morning. She just may need some type of probiotic or something to settle her stomach.
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Why Summer is the Most Toxic Time of All for Your Pet

September 08, 2009 | 27,430 views
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Dr. Becker explains why chemical exposure may overwhelm your pet during the warm-weather months -- even if you don’t spray chemicals around your own home. Also find out how to reduce your pet’s chemical load by using natural alternatives.

Dr. Becker's Comments:

Pets can be overwhelmed by toxins in their environment, just as people can. However, they don’t get a choice about where to hang out, which means that you and I, as their stewards, have the responsibility for keeping their living space as safe as possible.

Your pet’s liver bears the burden of filtering out the chemicals and toxic sludge, in the same way your liver provides that service for you.

Summertime Brings Pretty Poisons

Along with splashy annuals, cookouts and romantic strolls, summertime brings higher levels of chemicals in your environment due to the increased application of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.

Just because you avoid these noxious chemicals in and around your house doesn’t necessarily mean your uphill neighbor isn’t riding around on his lawnmower with a tank of Roundup strapped to his back -- like Weedkiller Man, dousing every weed in sight.

County agencies, such as Parks and Recreation, are known to use copious amounts of commercial pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers on parks, highways, and roadways.

Your dog or cat can be exposed to these toxins by visiting public places -- or even your neighbor’s yard. And you can’t see where these nasty-cides lurk. They are invisible and pervasive.

Your animals have another level of exposure from the medications they receive -- which their livers then have to deal with. Flea, tick and heartworm medications abound, particularly in the summer.

These pills, spot-on treatments, dips, solutions, shampoos and collars are not without side effects.

Please don’t assume that a medication that is just being applied to the fur of your animal is benign. What goes on your pet goes in your pet, being readily absorbed through the skin, as well as being ingested while grooming.

Tips for Lowering Your Pet’s Toxic Load

Fortunately, you have some control over your pet’s chemical burden.

Parasites are attracted to the weakest members of the species. Therefore, strengthening your pet’s immune system is crucial in helping him fight off opportunistic offenders, as well as flushing out toxins.

Implementing the following measures will help strengthen your pet’s immune system:

A major portion of the chemicals your pet accumulates is on his feet. You can actually reduce these with regular foot soaks, or simply rinsing his feet. Increasing the number of baths you give your pet in the summer will also help remove chemicals from his feet and fur.

The EPA is finally acknowledging that there are significant adverse effects to topical flea, tick and heartworm products. These adverse effects range from skin irritation to the worst possible reaction -- the death of your pet!

I cannot stress enough that you need to avoid the unnecessary application of these products, which are turning out to be every bit as toxic as we feared.

As usual, government agencies wait to act until it’s too late for many.

Safer Alternatives for Flea and Tick Prevention

Some pets are more at risk for developing flea and tick borne illness than others, depending on their location and habits. The indoor housecat in Canada does not have the same risk as the outdoor westie in Florida. You should discuss your pet’s risk with a holistic veterinarian, and together, design a parasite control program that is as nontoxic as possible.

The focus of any parasite control program should be creating healthy bodies that are naturally more resilient. Your holistic vet will have a large arsenal of natural products from which to choose.

Here are just a few possibilities:

  • Essential oil sprays can be very effective as parasite deterrents, making your pet an unattractive host. You need to purchase a pre-blended product or work with an animal aromatherapist to make sure you’re using safe oils at the correct concentration.

  • Cedar oil is a long-recognized flea eradicator, and products exist that are specially formulated for cats and dogs.

  • Natural diatomaceous earth helps to remove fleas and ticks from your pet’s body.

  • Fresh garlic can be given to dogs and cats to prevent internal as well as external parasites. Work with your vet on providing a safe amount for your pet’s body weight.

Of course, it goes without saying that you should minimize use of pharmaceutical topical flea and tick products.

If you do use them, there are some steps you can take to lower the probability for adverse reactions:

  1. You can use the natural products in combination with the chemical ones to reduce the frequency of application of the chemical products. Rotating chemical applications with natural deterrents every other month works well for many pet owners.

  2. Be sure to carefully follow the dosing directions on the label (and do not apply dog topical on cats!).

  3. Monitor your pet for adverse reactions after application, especially when using these products for the first time on your pet. Like people, dogs and cats can have severe acute allergic reactions (anaphylaxis).

If you are using flea or heartworm chemical preventatives, I recommend giving your pet something to help his liver detox from these agents.

One herb that is very good for the liver is milk thistle. Milk thistle helps with liver detoxification and hepatocellular regeneration -- meaning it stimulates regeneration of liver cells.

You can get milk thistle through your holistic vet, who can advise you about the dose. Dosing will depend on your pet’s age, weight, and what medications he’s taking. I recommend giving it once a day for seven days following any flea, tick or heartworm application.

The second product I recommend is chlorella, a super green food that is fabulous for detoxification. Your vet can also advise you about dose.

By using both of these products throughout the summer, you can improve your pet’s vitality and make her liver function more resilient in the months to come.

Thank you! Your purchases help us support these charities and organizations.

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Saturday, March 14, 2009

Roanoke or Rappahanok?

Today I found a possible validation of the Virginia-origins of the Sartor family proposed by Juanita Sample Taylor. Let me recap the critical foundations of research found in a letter attributed to William Sartor b. 1759 in The Sartor Search. He (allegedly) states:

The Sartors came from Wales in 1687 to Roanoke, Va. My grandfather attended law school in (name illegible) and while there met my grandmother who, I am told was Miss Mary Gray. The Grays were very prominent people. My Mother died when I was an infant. I want the people who come after me to know this little that I have gathered. My Grandfather after marrying came to South Carolina and settled on the Broad River and turned his attention to farming. He was also in the war with the Indians. My Father, John Peter Sartor was born in 1733. He had one sister, Elizabeth.

I would dearly, dearly love to see this letter or at least a copy of the original. I am working clue by clue through this letter trying to find supporting documentation. Other posts will address other points of the letter in the future as I continue gathering evidence.

The first statement, that the Sartors came to Roanoke Virginia in 1687, is pretty much impossible. This was at least 50 years before that general area was inhabited by colonists, and even then it remained the western frontier of Virginia until the Revolutionary War, at which time our Sartors lived in Union District, South Carolina. Eventually this area became a busy frontier hub when the Great Wagon Road was constructed, but in 1687 it was nothing but trees, chiggers, and bears with the occassional Indian family.

The question then becomes "Did William mean Roanoke, North Carolina?" This too is pretty much impossible. Following the late 16th century failure of the lost colony, Roanoke Island was not settled for several hundred more years. The Mosely map of 1733 shows a tiny settlement on Hatteras Island south of Roanoke, but no settlement, port, or other signs of life on Roanoke.

So, what does this mean? And what did I find today? Still no evidence, but an interesting possibility. It is possible that the Sartor family arrived in Rappahanok, Virginia in 1687. I examined Nugent's Cavaliers and Pioneers, the authoritative source on early Virginia land. Volume II covers the 1687 timeperiod. Nugent painstakingly lists the names of passengers transported by those to whom land was granted under the headright system. (Headrights were a land reward to patrons and/or ship captains for transporting colonists to the new world in efforts to create larger settlements and a stronger labor force.)

Before going into more detail, let me establish one more thing. In the course of research I have seen the Sartor name also spelled Sarter, Sorter, Sortor, and Salter. The Salter surname is particularly of interest because John Peter Sartor III's Revolutionary War Pension file (filed by Sarah Hughes) gives both the Sartor and Salter spelling.

Therefore, I went through a list of possibilities in Cavaliers and Pioneers and came up with one very interesting entry. A George Salter was in the company of Phillip May and Thomas Potts of Gloucestershire. They were granted land in Rappaannock County in 1687. This excites me for five reasons:
1. It's the right year, and it's the only entry so far that was in the right year. (according to the letter cited above)
2. Gloucestershire, England, borders Monmouthshire, Wales.
3. Rappahannock County was in the same general area as what later became Fairfax County. If the Union District Sartors did indeed come from Fairfax County, as The Sartor Search suggests, this is an exciting geographic proximity.
4. It would be easy for William Sartor to write Rappahannock wrong, mis-remember it, or for Ms. Taylor (or whomever first transcribed the letter) to have mis-read it.
5. George is a family name handed down through many generations. Most often it is given as George Washington Sartor, believed to be in tribute to "the" George Washington. But what if it was a family name to begin with?

So, I still have no concrete evidence that this is true, but it is a stronger connection than I have found elsewhere and cannot be ignored.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Sartor Branches Website

This month I created as a central storage place for Sartor family documents and research. I also created a Facebook group to reach out to modern Sartor descendants. I'm calling all Sartor descendants who may have documentation pertaining to their origins. It's a huge ongoing project, but it's a start. This way the various descendants of the Sartor family have a dedicated repository and handy solution for "send me everything you've got." Which is a lot. I estimate that I alone have collected approximately 500 documents pertaining to the various branches of the Sartor family.

So far, I have identified ten branches of the Sartor family who will be documented forward in time from the Revolutionary War, when John Peter Sartor and his sons John Peter Sartor Jr. and William Sartor lived in Union District, South Carolina. This much I have proven. Central to the project is the question of the Sartor family's colonial origins before the Revolutionary War. This I am still researching.

In The Sartor Search, Juanita Sample Taylor publishes a tantalizing letter which was attributed to William Sartor, son of John Peter Sartor Sr. In this letter he states that the Sartor family came to Roanoke from Wales in 1687 and provides additional family clues. I dearly, dearly wish to know where this letter came from and where it is now.

Ms. Taylor indicates that the Sartor family came to South Carolina from Fairfax County, Virginia. Unfortunately, she lived in a time when citing sources was cumbersome and unpopular. Therefore according to modern genealogical proof standards, I can't accept her conclusions without further evidence. While I was in Raleigh last year for the National Genealogical Conference, I visited the Fairfax County archives and copied documents which do show that a John Peter Sartor Sr. and John Peter Sartor Jr. lived there in the 1750's - 1770's. I am in the process of proving that this John Peter Sartor I and John Peter Sartor II. I believe that it is John Peter Sartor II who was John Peter Sartor Sr. of Union District, South Carolina, but belief is not enough to satisfy scholarly research standards.

If you have any information pertaining to the Sartor family's colonial origins please contact me. I am also interested in original documentation of the various Sartor family branches including those former slaves of the Sartor family who adopted their surname following the Civil War.

Hopefully if we all pool our documents, the true story will emerge.
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What Does BYOD Mean?

BYOD: Bring Your Own Device

We’re a poor company, you’ll need to bring your laptop to work :)

Ok the subtitle there is a bit of a misnomer: the main incentive of having a BYOD workplace is well, people like it. The upside is that people are using their home computer at work which may mean better performance (offices have older gear), and more accessibility and comfort. The downside, however, can be that letting employees use their devices at work can pose a security risk due to hackers and theft, for instance. In any case, if you’re going to have a party, you ought to make it BYOD (if it’s that kind of thing) as 44% of job seekers found a business more attractive if it supported BYOD policies.

Usage Examples:

• Dude, it’s BYOD day at work so I brought my Wii and got fired.
• I work at a BYOD business called Starbucks where I DJ using my ThinkPad.
• BYOB and BYOD for the lan party, it’s going to be a great time.

Check out other definitions of new words:
apols | a/w | babymoon | balayage | bitcoin | blondie | buzzworthy | byod | cake pop

chandelier earring | click and collect | dappy | derp | digital detox| double denim | emoji

fauxhawk | fil | flatform| FOMO | food baby | geek chic | girl crush | grats| guac | hackerspace

Internet of Things | jorts| LDR| MOOC | omnishambles | pear cider | phablet |pixie cut | selfie

space tourism | squee| srsly | street food | TL;DR | twerk |unlike | vom

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A second chance for Mississippi charter schools

Republicans in Mississippi intend to fight for charter schools during the 2013 legislative session, renewing a contentious battle from last year’s session.

Past charter school legislation failed in Mississippi after heated legislature debates over funding and teacher quality provisions. (Photo by Jackie Mader)

At a Mississippi Economic Council gathering in late October, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves vowed to support school choice legislation that would create more avenues for charter schools to open in the state, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported.

Proponents say there may be a better chance of passing legislation in 2013 because the state’s failing school system has received increased attention from the media, and lawmakers came close to passing a law during last year’s legislative session. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has touted charter schools in neighboring Arkansas and Louisiana as models of success, and said charter schools are “desperately needed,” especially in failing districts.

The renewed push for charter schools, which are publicly funded and privately run, comes after voters in Georgia passed an initiative on Tuesday that will allow charter schools to open. Ballots are still being counted on a similar initiative in Washington State, which would allow 40 charter schools to open over the next five years. Charter schools are currently allowed in 41 states and the District of Columbia.

A 2010 state law in Mississippi makes it possible for failing schools to be converted to charter schools beginning in the 2012-13 school year if more than 50 percent of parents vote in favor of the conversion. Currently, 35 failing schools are eligible to be converted, but none have begun the process to transform into charters yet.

Mississippi Learning

The Hechinger Report is taking a long look at what’s behind the woeful performance of Mississippi’s schoolchildren, as well as possible solutions to help them catch up.

Follow the series

But even supporters of charter schools say the current law wouldn’t change schools for the better, because it fails to give parents much power. A parent board can govern each converted school, but the local school board still has ultimate control and the State Department of Education has veto power over most decisions made. The parent board can hire a charter management organization, but that organization cannot control hiring of teachers or choose curriculum.

“It’s a parent trigger [law] that triggers nothing,” said Rachel Canter, the executive director of the non-profit advocacy group Mississippi First.

Canter says that new legislation would most likely preserve parent-triggered conversion, but would also allow new charter schools to be created from the ground up. She says a new proposal would let nonprofit organizations run charters and give them autonomy over decision-making.

Last April, a similar proposal failed by one vote after five Republicans in the House Education Committee broke rank and voted against the bill. And while Mississippi’s state Senate is majority Republican, there was resistance from Republican lawmakers who are concerned that charters will siphon money away from successful public schools in their counties. Canter says that the law also may have failed in April because many people didn’t know what a charter school was.

“I think people in the legislature have made a commitment to back up, and give people that time and space to talk about [charter schools] and think,” she said.

Under current Mississippi law, only failing schools can be converted to charter schools if a majority of parents approve. (Photo by Jackie Mader)

But opponents of charters in Mississippi are concerned that charter schools could become segregated if they end up catering to students who would otherwise be in private schools. Democratic leaders have criticized House Speaker Philip Gunn, who recently announced plans to remove a Democrat from the Education Committee and fill the position with a Republican, who is a known charter school supporter. Brandon Jones, a former House member, called the move “unprecedented,” and accused Gunn of changing the rules to ensure the legislation will be passed. Opponents have also protested parts of past charter school legislation that would have exempted teachers from holding state certifications.

“Lawyers all have to get licensed and certified and so do doctors,” said Kevin Gilbert, president of the Mississippi Association of Educators to the Jackson Free Press. “There’s not a hospital around here or a law firm that’s going to hire 50 percent of lawyers who don’t have their degree.”

The renewed push for charters adds to an increasing list of potential education initiatives up for discussion when the state’s legislative session convenes in January.

The state consistently posts some of the lowest test scores in the country, and Reeves called for higher academic standards at the Mississippi Economic Council meeting. Legislators will also consider requests to fund early childhood education for the first time in the state. Mississippi is the only state in the South that does not provide state-funded preschool, which many say could help reduce the achievement gap.

“We all know that public education in Mississippi is terrible,” Canter said, adding that although policy hasn’t changed yet, just seeing legislators focus on education has been encouraging. “We all know we have to do something.”

POSTED BY ON November 12, 2012