Becca’s World

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It might be time for me to reinstall. I’m not sure how many months it’s been since the last one, and yet I still feel a tad bit surprised. I shouldn’t, having been a Windows user on and off for quite some time. (I’m proud to say our first family computer was a Commodore 64.)

It seems like problems with Windows, or a particular install of Windows, sneak up on me. I didn’t realise my main drive, which I’d allotted what I assumed was a generous 10 GB of hard disk space, would fill up so fast. True, I didn’t start watching where programs were being installed until a few months ago, but you’d think a regular computer user who mostly just reads blogs, does some Google research (my fave search engine and I’m not entirely sure I could spell out a list of reasons why) and dabbles in a bit of video-watching from her laptop would eat up that space as completely as I did.

I made a list of programs I could download or reinstall from disc again, this time intending to use the larger drive. (I like them separate, though it’s just a partition thing, not a physically different drive as on our Linux machine.) And even that didn’t clear things up enough.

So I asked Windows to compress the files to save disk space. (When did that option show up in the Properties of a drive? Have I overlooked that for years?) Hours later (and I do mean hours – at least seven of them), it was done and I had regained fourteen percent more of the space on the drive. Defragmenting still wouldn’t do much, since Windows insists that there are files it cannot defragment, but I was happy with the progress.

And then I just got a white screen when loading Windows. Great.

Back to safe mode (and unfortunately, it had been a while since the last defrag, so I needed a reminder to use safe mode for a more efficient run of that process). This time, I took an external drive we have (for occasions just like this) and saved everything on the larger partition – that is, all my important files. If Windows would never again load properly in normal mode, I’d have my files and could wipe the entire disk clean.

Et voila, now it loads up. (Computers!) I’m probably still going through with the reinstall. Just have to decide how to divide the space this time. Obviously, Windows is greedy and 10 GB isn’t enough. Even if I’m able to install most programs to a different drive, I suspect that Windows itself will demand more and more space with updates and system files. I’m really not impressed, Microsoft. Not that you’re listening.

Methinks it’s also time to start using the Linux machine more…

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z7EY1lAsC4]

It’s time for me to give my opinion about which Jane Austen adaptations are the best. I own at least one version for each novel, and I believe that’s enough qualification/experience to build a list.

In order of publication year:

Sense and Sensibility (1811) – I don’t actually recall if I’ve seen anything other than the 1995 movie, but I’m very interested to experience what will show up on BBC and PBS for a miniseries. Will have to update then, because I really do find Emma Thompson’s hysterical crying annoying.

Pride & Prejudice (1813) – The 1995 miniseries is the best of what I’ve seen, though if I’m in the mood for a shorter video length or want to watch Keira Knightley tell someone off, I put in my 2005 DVD ’cause it’s pretty good, too. Gotta love the options!

Mansfield Park (1814) – This is tough because there are no stand-out winners among the adaptations I’ve seen. The 1983 miniseries has sometimes laughable acting by Sylvestra Le Touzel, and yet it captures Fanny’s personality well and doesn’t rush to tell the story. The 1999 and 2007 movies try to make the character someone she just isn’t in Jane’s novel, so despite their superior acting in most places and better overall look of the costumes and settings, I just can’t recommend them. I think the major problem filmmakers face is that they don’t appreciate Fanny as she is and don’t understand why Jane wrote her the way she did. The sooner we all come to terms with this, the better for anyone who decides to tackle the novel next.

Emma (1815) – I have to admit that I don’t give the 1996 TV movie much chance; I’d much rather sit down with the other 1996 adaptation, partly because I find Gwyneth Paltrow much more suited to the character. Still, there are things to love with each version and I’d recommend watching both to decide for yourself.

Northanger Abbey (1817) – No question about this one. The hands-down winner is the 2007 version. Either the filmmakers perfectly understood the wit in this novel or they got extremely lucky – this movie is perfect, in my opinion.

Persuasion (1817) – Another easy decision: it’s gotta be the 1995 version. (We had two very good years with 1995 and 1996 for Jane movies!) The 2007 one isn’t awful, but it just doesn’t compare (and it also messes with the timeline of Jane’s plot).

Almost forgot to mention a couple of movies that I think are good at giving Jane’s stories new settings and interesting spins: Clueless from 1995, and Bride and Prejudice from 2004. You wouldn’t think that a high-school girl in LA would have much in common with the character of Emma, but it definitely works. And can you picture Elizabeth and Darcy in India, with musical numbers to boot? I wouldn’t have either, to be honest. Yet I love following along as Lalita and Will Darcy fall in love. (Aishwarya Rai is another actress I enjoy watching tell someone off. “I’m not good enough for your mother?” Priceless.)

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