Pound any key with a hammer to continue

Published 9:00 pm Monday, April 9, 2007

Ah, the joys of a shiny new computer. It’s got speed, power and a refreshing lack of strange crumbs in the keyboard.

Unfortunately, writes tech columnist Walter Mossberg, it’s also got unwanted ads, annoying trial software and scary security warnings.

This means setting up your new PC is a lot like buying a new house, only to discover the floors are littered with trash, all your neighbors are used-car salesmen, and there’s a bunch of sketchy characters casing the place.

We hear the typewriter is making a comeback.

Terrific news for Congress: A poll has found that lawmakers’ standing in the eyes of the public has improved, from 25 percent approval before the November election to 40 percent now (http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/04/10/100wir_a3congress001.cfm).

Just think: If Congress were in college, this dramatic improvement would indicate it had buckled down, gone to class at least once or twice, and raised its grade from a puny F- to a respectable F.

A gargantuan girder for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge will soon be on the road again (http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/04/10/100wir_b5tacoma001.cfm). And the DOT got so much interest — no, really —

in the voyage that it stuck a GPS unit on board. You can track the trek online

(http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr16narrowsbridge/track/). But if you can’t find something more interesting to do, there’s no hope for you.

— Katie Mayer and Jessi Loerch, Herald staff