Guest post - 

Updating Your Older Home For The 21^st Century written by Cassandra Ali

Just because your home was designed and built prior to the rise of mobile technology doesn't mean you have to live like a Luddite. It is entirely possible to keep the classic charm of your home while integrating modern systems into it. You simply need to prioritize what you want, take great care in avoiding compromising the period aesthetic of your home, and work with professionals who are willing to hope you modernize your older home.

Find subtle ways to integrate modern systems 

For some people, concerns about needing to install monitors and similar devices can keep them from updating their homes to include the newest technology. Thankfully, you no longer need a console to control your smart blinds, modern kitchen devices, thermostat, and other forms of home technology. Almost any new technology, from your garage door opener to your fridge, can work with apps that you control on a tablet or smartphone. That way, you can reduce the presence of screens in your home that may clash with the classic look of the architecture and design. If app control isn't an option, it may be possible to install control panels that you can hide when not in use or that look like older devices and technology. Subtle displays that meld into your home's décor will fit better than overt displays of modern technology.

Focus on efficiency, use, and design

Just because you can purchase a fridge that integrates with Amazon and reorders eggs when you use the last one doesn't mean you need to. Instead of jumping on every new technological advance, focus on the ones that matter to you. Whether it's an adjustable, programmable thermostat with a high-efficiency HVAC system, an updated and eco-friendly fireplace, or a home entertainment system that allows you to hear your music in any room, there are technological advances that you want and others you don't care for in your home. 

Prioritize your updates on the systems and functions you want or need in your home. Eschew those that will complicate the appearance of your home without contributing to the ease of your life. Unless you're selling your house, there's no need to upgrade appliances you already use and enjoy.

Modern technology in classic style in older homes can work together brilliantly. You simply need to take the time to plan carefully before upgrading any components of your home. Everything from household lighting to your appliances may benefit from an upgrade. Provided that you do adequate research, it is possible to get the upgrades you want without destroying the look or feel of your home

The upgrade saga continues...

I've finally gotten all of the apps that I've been using on Windows XP installed on my new Windows 7 laptop and that required that I buy new 64-bit versions of some of them. I also discovered that about half of the printers that I used to be able to get to don't have Windows 7 drivers, so they are out of the mix. The hardware industry has got to love Microsoft for forcing hardware upgrades in other areas, such as printers, too.

Getting data over was relatively easy, using a large external disk as the go-between from system-to-system; except for old emails from Outlook Express. Getting them over and into Windows Live Mail is still a work in progress, it is do-able, but the process requires a lot of manual intervention, since the folder structure from OE doesn't quite come across.

There are also surprises galore when trying to use the new Office 2010 apps against the old Office 2004 data files. I'm not sure if the pain would have been less had I not skipped the Vista experience. The basic problem is that the apps people, in their enthusiasm to add new features sometimes obscure or remove the old features that I was used to seeing and using. I'm having a dickens of a time figuring out how to get the stuff that I do every month in Excel done on the new 2010 version. I can find most of the features that I used to use, but it takes a long while of sloughing through their new Excel interface to find them. My files from the old XP versions don't come over cleanly either. I'm not sure if there's a translation step that I'm missing, but it is frustrating right now.

I'm sure that once I get through this painful transition phase that I'll start to appreciate some of the new features; however, many of them I just don't need or want getting in my way. For now, in order to get stuff done; I've gone back to my old XP laptop. I can't let this upgrade just stop what needs to get done. So, for now anyway; the new machine is for testing and learning (when I get time) and the trusty old XP machine is for getting real work done.

Gettting something old on something new...

I got a new laptop computer a couple of days ago - a new, state-of-the-art, whiz-bang laptop with the latest Windows 7 operating system on it. I had held off as long as I could. Even though my old Windows-XP based laptop was still runing good, it was starting to show its age, especially on newer, more memory intensive apps. It had 1.5 GB of memory, which was a lot when I got it, but which pales next to the 8 GB of the new machine.
So, I've spent the last two days discovering which of my old apps will still run on theis new machien and which I have to buy again. Since this is a 64-bit machine, there are many old drivers and apps that just won't move over and run. At least it came with a stripped down version of MS Office on it.That wold have been another major $ hit to replicate.

Just moving all of the data from one machine to the other can be a fun challenge. And then there's the email and Internet bookmarks stuff. Bookmarks proved much easier to move that I had imaged; however, moving email files between my old Outlook Express environment to the new Microsoft Live Mail environment has proved to be a big challenge. Most other apps have Windows 7 versions, even if I have to pay for a license again.

Adding printers has been interesting, too. Fortunately I had upgraded my home print environment to a new HP OfficeJet Pro 8600 a couple of months back, so that worked out well. The offices that I work in during the week proved to be a different challenge, since they both have lots of older printers that don't have Windows7 drivers. I was able to find enough updated drivers for both sites to keep me going.

In addition to figuring out how to get all of te apps that I use regularly to work, I'm still trying to learn how the new MS Office 2010 apps all work under Windows7. What fun it is to upgrade when you've skipped a generation or two of Windows. I'll let you know how it's going from time to time.

The pump has rejected your card…

I just returned from a short vacation over to the Berkshires in Massachusetts. Carolyn and I went there to visit the Norman Rockwell museum and to take in the other local attractions, of which there are many. The area of the Berkshires that we were in – Lee and the Stockbridges (East and West) and Lennox – was in the late 19th century a favorite summer spot for the wealthy of New York. They would come in May and stay until September to enjoy the mountain vies and the cooling breezes that blow year around in the hills around the area.

We enjoyed the stay and the Rockwell museum. We also visit the home and studio of the man who created the Lincoln Memorial statue of Abe Lincoln that graces the National Mall – Daniel Chester French. It was fascinating to see the many variations that he tried before getting to the design that sits on the mall now. There were lots of other interesting historical building and homes to visit in the area, so we had a full three days of exploring and sightseeing. It’s a visit worth making, if you need a destination for a vacation.

It was in the return trip that I had the experience of being rejected by a gas pump. Perhaps I should say that my credit card was rejected by the pump, not me. What a frustrating experience that was. Now I hasten to add that I likely brought much of this on myself. We had been traveling for some time on I-90 in New York and it was time to get some gas. I pulled in to the Sunoco Station at one of the thruway service centers. It had one of the self-service pumps that we are all experienced at using. I pushed in my card and quickly took it out (as instructed) and then did the unthinkable – I took the hose off the hook before the pump had finished it’s authorization routine. Apparently that really ticked off the pump, because things went downhill from there.

After the pump cycled through a couple of more questions and indicated that it was “Authorizing” my transaction, it must have noticed that I had jumped the gun and taken the hose off the hook early. It got mad! It told me to replace the hose to the hook. Then it told me that it could not authorized my transaction. I suppose that I should have supplicated myself to the pump at that point; but, instead, I just put the hose back and tried to start the transaction over. No way, said the pump. Your transaction cannot be authorized.

Frustrated, I put the hose back on the pump again and went inside to speak to the attendant. His was response was “The pump has rejected your credit card.” Well, I asked, can’t you override it and let me charge this and get on my way? “No,” he said, “the pump has rejected your card.” Sensing that further conversation with this minion was worthless, I said fine and returned to the pump. Determined to get gas I used a different card and followed the instructions of the pump to the letter.

As a follow-up, I immediately called the card company and inquired as to why the credit transaction had been rejected. It had not. They had no record of the pump even trying to contact them. The pump made the decision on the spot and in real –time to reject me and my card because I had not followed its instructions. Of course the human on the scene had no authority or inclination to do anything to overrule the pump.

We got our gas and continued on our journey; but, it is a sad commentary on where we have arrived as a society when human-based common sense has been programmed out of the decision making process. The guy behind the counter is just there because the pump apparently can’t handle the register and the candy sales. Otherwise the pump rules.