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As you may recall, I was not having very good luck with updating the license for my CherryPal Bing. If you aren’t sure, you can read about it here ( the-bloom-is-off-my-cherrypal .)

Well today I tried the last thing I could find….. actually using a Microsoft solution for their own problem and believe it or not it worked! Now whether it worked because of, or in spite of all my previous “mucking about”, I honestly cannot say. But based upon my previous experiences, and this current one, if ever I run into the problem again, I will try Microsofts solution first.

The biggest problem with their solution was finding it, I actually had to stumble around a lot on the web to find it and it wasn’t until I added “Windows Advantage” to my search query, that it actually popped up!

So for those who are in quick need, just go here and download their Windows Product Key Update Tool ( after clicking on their  box to acknowledge the fact that it will send some information to Microsoft ) and then run it! The page also had instructions on how to exactly run the program and enter the data, but it’s pretty straight forward..,

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Well nothing like a blown power supply to slow all my plans down…. Took some time to put everything back together and up grade the storage space etc etc…. now onward and …. well… 👿

I have yet to tell you the whole horrid story behind the issues with my CherryPal, I promise it’s coming… the biggest problem, and the one that  I am now trying to fix is a licensing issue…. It would seem that a batch of computers, of which mine was one, had invalid/improper/fake license codes installed. Which, after “Windows Genuine Verification/Advantage” gets installed, flags the whole operating system as being invalid and possibly counterfeit….. Great…..

After Windows Genuine Verification checks the system and finds an issue ( like my unauthorized codes ) it goes along it’s merry way putting banners and messages all over your desktop ( many unmovable or removable ) screaming at you ( and anyone else who may pass by ) that you have been a victim of a fraud. They even go so far as to block the view of windows you may have open… Wonderful….

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I’ve been avoiding this article for too long now. It must be the Canadian in me… or maybe I’m just too much of a procrastinator.  I am (  for now at least ) still a big supporter of the CherryPal computer concept. You can still click on the link under Favourites on my  right side menu to get to them ( and no I don’t get paid for it. )

It all  started with my buying my wife a CherryPal Bing for her birthday. I have to tell you she was some excited to see it. It’s extremely sleek, light and just plain sexy. Even today, in-spite of the problems/worms we have run into, she loves it.

CherryPal’s idea is brilliant. They promise an amazing computer for an even more amazing price. Their focus is on 3rd world countries, but they also make their computers readily available for buyers in North America and Europe. They promise you a computer with a guaranteed minimal configuration, so that you know what you would at least be getting, and then deliver either that or something better… again all for an unbelievable price.

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I was lamenting my lot today. CBC radio has this wonderful show called “The Age of Persuasion” which has tons and tons and tons of insight into the advertising world, how it works, where it came from etc etc. It’s one of my most favourite CBC radio shows. And of course I yet again caught the last 5 minutes of the show again today…

Unfortunately, ( I’m assuming here ) because of all the commercial content played which has been  created by the various advertisers, CBC has yet to release a Podcast ( a subscription service that allows recordings to be automatically downloaded via software ) available.

They do allow one to manually go in and download the current session, and they do broadcast the most current session several times a week on both the radio and the Internet, but I just don’t have the time  ( or the memory if truth be told ) to remember to go in and download and save each session when it is released. Even if I remembered it would be a lot of work….. and yes while I am retired I DO have other things that I like to do, and yet others that NEED to get done… 😯

So today, I yet again tested the magical waters called Google…. and hit pay dirt!

There is actually someone out there who seems to like doing this as a hobby AND he has made all the past and future recordings of CBC radio that is not available as a Podcast yet, into their own Podcast – Brilliant! So now my little software is happily churning away picking up all the full episodes that I previously missed and I will be putting them onto CD so that I can listen to them on the long drives that we still do.

If you are looking for the Podcast for “The Age of Persuasion” the go to cbcpodcasts.wordpress.com, you’ll be glad you did. There is very little personal information about the individual(s) who are making this available – so I have no one to thank personally. So in general, let me just thank them and those like them who go the extra mile in making such a service available for free. It is greatly appreciated!

Every now and then I come across a problem with Ubuntu which once again re-affirms my belief that it isn’t quite ready for the general user. In this case it was something as simple as selecting an icon for a program that I added that wasn’t part of the Ubuntu library of programs.

Don’t get me wrong, I was given a choice of icons that I could have selected for it ( instead of the boring default one ) but I didn’t think any of them properly reflected what the program was really about. So I went out and found an icon library – there are thousands of them out there…. and found an icon it it that would suit, but for the life of me I couldn’t get the icon selected. Every time I went to the directory that the icon ( or for that matter any other icons ) existed. I found it empty…. I knew I was missing something but REALLY! It shouldn’t be this difficult!  👿

So I’ve been looking on and off, for solutions for months and most of them said the same thing.

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