I've never had the need to deal with the Geek Squad at Best Buy (their service division) but I know a few people who have. I've heard mixed reviews from these people, depending on the Best Buy location they're dealing with.

I came across an interesting article today on The Consumerist website that is apparently from a "Geek Squad insider" spilling some of their secrets. Most of the secrets are not entirely surprising - Best Buy hires technicians based as much or more on their sales skills than their technical skills. They also set sales targets for them.

While it may seem like sales goals shouldn't be a factor for technicians servicing your computer, the bottom line is that Best Buy wants to make as much profit for every hour their staff is being paid to work. Unfortunately, you're going to run into this mindset at most computer shops where the service center is used as a "benefit" of buying your computer there. They'll tell you the service center lets you get your computer serviced by the same people who sold it to you, and they'll know all the ins and outs of the computer.

The reality is, it's simply another profit center and the top priority is earning more money as a result of having the service center than they would otherwise. If it's just breaking even (or worse, losing money) for the store, it will be gone no matter how helpful it is to their customers.

Economics of the Geek Squad aside, the point that made me cringe in the Consumerist article was this:

They outsource some of the repairs via a remote access application (AKA AJU or Agent Johnny Utah). These people are in countries that have no similar privacy laws that are in the US. So in other words, your computer with your saved bank passwords, government contacts, ETC; are being accessed by "Bob" in India, Pakistan, and various other countries around the world.

If true, that is reason enough to never deal with Geek Squad again. I'm sure that the vast majority of the people they deal with in other countries are honest and would never do anything wrong but just the chance that someone could do something with the information on my computer is enough to keep me away.

I have enough trouble keeping my system free of spyware, viruses and other malware. I certainly don't need to allow total access to someone who may not be completely honest!

You can read the entire article here: Geek Squad Insider Speaks Out

One of the things that has bothered me with Windows Vista is that the networking doesn't seem to work as easily as Windows XP did.

I have one computer that I use for storing all my files, music, photos, etc. That way my wife and I can both access all the files from each of our computers.

Under Windows XP, the sharing worked flawlessly for us. The only time we had any trouble sharing files was if the power went out and the central computer wasn't turned back on.

Since I've installed Windows Vista on the main server, the file sharing has been hit and miss. It works, but every now and then it disconnects one of the other computers that's connected to it, for no apparent reason.

I'm guessing it has something to do with the added security in Vista but the bottom line is that it is annoying and just causes problems.

I'm hoping that Microsoft improves the networking functions in Vista soon but in the meantime I heard about a program called Network Magic that is supposed to make setting up your network much easier.

I heard about it on the Geek News Central podcast and thought I'd give it a look. (If you listen to podcasts and have an interest in geeky stuff, check this one out at www.geeknewscentral.com - lots of cool stories and products).

I am amazed at how easy it is to get everything set up with Network Magic. It managed to get all our files shared with no glitches and it makes setting up a wireless network a snap. You can even use it to log into your computer remotely, so if you're away from home or the office and have access to the internet, you can access stuff on your computer.

Read more at the Network Magic website. There's a 30 day trial version if you want to give it a shot, and you can get 20% off the regular price from this link.

Well, I've been using Vista for a little over a month now, and I'm getting used to the changes. Some are for the better, others seem to be for the worse.

First, the things I like. The new "Aero" interface is probably the most obvious and widely talked about new feature in Vista. Things like semi-transparent windows, 3-D windows switching and other "eye candy" have gotten a lot of press.

Having used it for a few weeks now, I like the new look. It took me a little while to get used to it though. At first, I thought the windows looked a little clunkier than they did in Windows XP. And I've never been a big fan of a lot of animation and special effects - I would rather have a computer that runs a little faster at the expense of all the extra processing for this stuff.

Well, Vista uses the processor on the video card to do a lot of this stuff and I was pleasantly surprised how fast it runs. I tried turning it off as a comparison, and it didn't really speed the computer up noticeably.

I also like the new layout on the start menu. It's close enough to past versions of Windows that I didn't have to retrain myself to use it, but the layout has changed for the better. Things are much easier to find and the way it works is much more efficient.

The one thing I don't like about the start menu though is the pause whenever I open a subfolder. I like to keep my start menu organized in folders according to what they do - utility software, graphics software, office programs, etc.

I haven't been able to find a way so far to shorten the time Windows pauses before opening a subfolder. I find this slows me down enough to be annoying.

As far as what I don't like…

I've got a couple of programs that just don't work in Vista. It has some "compatibility" features that let you set the way certain software runs.

It will run it as if it is an earlier version of Windows (XP, 2000, 98, etc.) or with certain settings for the resolution, number of colors or other things.

So far, these compatibility settings haven't made a bit of difference to any programs that aren't working in Vista. They won't work with or without these settings.

The networking setup in Vista is something that was supposed to be much improved, but I find it's still not as good as it should be.

I have a mix of Windows and Mac computers, and Vista still doesn't recognize them all properly.

It also seems to disconnect my other computers - Windows and Mac - from the shared drives every so often, requiring me to reconnect and login again to get access back.

I don't use wireless on my Vista system, but I've been reading some poor reviews of its wireless networking as well. Hopefully Microsoft will get these issues sorted out with an update or service pack before too long.

Overall, I'm happy with Vista (unlike some other high-profile Windows users like Chris Pirillo). There are still a few things that need to be ironed out, but overall I haven't seen anything that would stop me from recommending it.

The only warning I would give you is if you're upgrading and you have any older hardware (especially scanners) you should check for Vista drivers before making the leap. A lot of people are having trouble using older drivers under Vista.

If you're buying a new system with Vista preinstalled, this shouldn't be an issue.