It’s definitely not right that the letters are cutting off—and it's not a browser issue since everything looks fine on my other laptop. I'll drop it off at the repair shop and see what's actually going on.
I downloaded Speedtech and it's showing some crazy high temps, so yeah, it's probably time for a thermal paste refresh anyway.
I can tell you from experience—my old laptop is about 5 or 6 years old now, and I’m already on my fourth charger. They all seem to die after a while. The first original one bit the dust after just a year, then I started grabbing ones for $117, and later moved on to the $50 ones... honestly, they're all pretty much the same.
The good news is the laptop itself barely moves—it's still solid. But yeah, looks like you'll need to pick up a new charger. You can find them for around $120-$50, and most come with a warranty anyway.
Just make sure you grab the exact one for your specific model and double-check that the wattage matches up perfectly.
I’m looking for some advice or a second opinion if anyone knows their stuff. I’ve got this General Electric laptop that’s about 5 or 6 years old—never taken it to a repair shop, hasn't even had the thermal paste swapped out once since day one. It seemed fine.
But over the last month, certain parts of letters on the screen have just been... missing. I attached some photos so you can see what I mean. It first jumped out at me on the Google homepage—the very first letter was chopped off, but then the same letter would show up perfectly fine just a bit further down. Now I’m noticing those missing fragments all over different websites.
My other, newer laptop works perfectly fine, so it’s definitely not an issue with the websites themselves.
I already checked the graphics card and the drivers—the computer says everything is running smoothly and is totally up to date.
I’m planning to drop it off at a repair shop soon—maybe it’s just time for that thermal paste replacement—but I’d love to hear what you guys think is actually going on here.
Could it be the screen?😲
Hopefully, the photos make the problem clear enough. > >
The photos aren't super clear, but look where the search bar is in the first shot—the "T" in "Search" is missing its top vertical part entirely. And on Google, you can see two "j"s written differently—the first one is cut off.
Joseph Watson3 said:Honestly, if someone is getting worked up over some mindless article about a total stranger, they have an issue with themselves—not with the news cycle. I find it hard to wrap my head around why an adult would let stuff like this bother them, whether the stories are true or not.
But, if what you're saying is actually true—that there are people out there feeling miserable (or maybe inadequate, or jealous, etc.) when they read success stories about others—then these articles are actually doing a service. After all, cognitive behavioral therapy suggests that the best way to handle those kinds of negative reactions is through exposure therapy to the very thing triggering them.
And the worst part is that there are plenty of genuinely successful people out there who never get featured, because apparently there's no need to write about people like Miranda when there are "actually" successful people available. The internet offers endless opportunities these days.
Truly successful people don't feel the need to promote themselves on trashy clickbait sites.
"I honestly don't get..." Yeah, I can tell you're struggling to get it.
The passive aggression is practically dripping off your words—honestly, maybe a little CBT would do you some good.
Michelle Davis15, starting up an Iskon just to flip it to HT later is a totally different ballgame than what Miranda is doing—it looks like her jewelry line isn't even gaining traction right now.😲
But hey, I'm with you—nobody sees the full picture. You can't know everything about Sobol either.😁
At this rate, Miranda might actually end up looking like a failure.😲 So what? She’s been all over the world—even in China.
Gerald Palmer66 said:It looks like people have already jumped in to reply to you. 😁
What kind of talent or expertise is she actually bringing to the table to be marketed this way in the "mainstream world"? I'm genuinely curious about what specific designs she’s produced and what they actually sold for—show me the money, as they say.
says: "major global corporations are practically fighting over her jewelry and furniture designs." Which ones, specifically? Give me names, and tell me what their annual revenue looks like.
"They hired me even though I mixed up the time and did the interview in my pajamas with my camera turned off" — so, despite all that unprofessionalism, she still landed the job. Hmm, she must have had an incredibly strong recommendation.😉
"We were with the biggest Chinese architects specializing in design." Who exactly? These "biggest companies," these "top designers"... who are we talking about?
"I met a guy who works with wood, and together we produced a wooden bag..." Maybe they don't want to burst her bubble, but someone should probably let her know that such an invention already exists; it's called a chest.
"The opening act was the incredible Chinese band Soul Pollution, playing Chicago Blues... once those Chinese folks heard me play, they invited me to perform with them. And they are the best blues band in China." — Honestly, someone ought to report this to YouTube, because the Soul Pollution I find on YouTube barely gets triple-digit views.
"Miranda was heard by a producer who offered her a deal to record a CD. Even though the producer suffered a heart attack in the middle of the album recording, Miranda recounts..." Okay, now we're entering territory that's just plain ridiculous; she's basically just making up stories at this point.😁 😁
This is a very bad article that will likely mislead any naive reader unfortunate enough to come across it.
That’s exactly my point. If you’re a serious designer or an entrepreneur who’s actually built something tangible, you’re going to insist—and any decent journalist would happily oblige—that your specific products get mentioned and even photographed. Because that article is free promo! It’s your work and it represents your career achievements.
I can't think of a single legitimate jewelry or furniture designer whose feature wasn't backed up by actual portfolio pieces and hard numbers.
And this bit about the guy making her a bag? That’s like me saying I met a kitchen designer who built a kitchen based on my vision.
In reality, I just found a carpenter and paid him to build a custom kitchen for me. Suddenly, there are tons of "designers" that carpenters are fighting over.😁 Anyone who orders a custom kitchen is an incredibly successful entrepreneur. I wouldn't dream of putting something like that on my resume.
A sensible question from a journalist (who isn't just her buddy) would be: "So, how many of those wooden bags did you actually sell?"
Glad I'm not the only one who thinks this kind of smoke and mirrors is harmful—not just for kids, but for adults too.
If you aren't sharp enough to read between the lines, you're going to end up feeling totally screwed.
The worst part is that there are people out there who are genuinely successful, yet there's zero coverage of them. There's no need to write fluff pieces about Mirandas when there are truly accomplished people doing the work. The internet offers endless opportunities today.
I didn't mean they were "unstable" as in someone’s gonna spiral because they don't have everything handed to them, Miranda 🤣 —I meant more generally that kids as young as 16 or 18 read this stuff, and honestly, these narratives aren't doing anyone any favors.
Smart people reading these interviews will see the gaps—like how getting into a top design school in Chicago isn't just some magic trick; someone has to foot the bill, just like that forum user pointed out.
There are always holes in these stories. Look, I’m not against it at all—I mean, what else are you going to fund besides your kid's education? There’s nothing wrong with starting a business using family money or a little help. I’ve read plenty of interviews with actual mature, grounded people who just mention that fact plainly. There's zero shame 🤣 in getting a leg up from your family to get a venture off the ground.
But in articles like this, they skip over those totally normal, logical details because they need to hype the story up as much as possible.
Everything has to be flawless. But newsflash: nothing is perfect. It would be way more useful if Miranda and people like her just gave us an honest account.
Every life and every entrepreneurial journey has its pros and cons.
Off topic—out of 10 people I know with really solid jobs (not entrepreneurs, just employees), 9 of them landed those roles because their parents pulled some strings. And that's just here in Chicago.
I'm not even counting the ones working at their parents' private companies.
That one guy out of the ten? He's still shocked he ended up at such a massive corporation and is perfectly happy about it.😁 He’s still surprised the job wasn't already reserved for someone else.
And that's just my immediate circle.
Success is definitely possible—plenty of people pull off miracles—but I’m worried we’re just reading about the wrong people, which makes this useless.
Thank God we have the internet so you can choose your own sources; there are plenty of entrepreneurs out there willing to share the real deal—the wins and the crashes. They're a lot more credible than Miranda.
What kind of motivation can you actually get from an article where everything is just made up?
Zero. I mean, lies about someone’s fake "perfect life" don't inspire anyone.
And look—I didn't say *only* Eph writes stuff like that—just that they do it all the time.
There was this one little feature about a girl who finished her design degree at University of California, Berkeley, entered some international competition while she was still a student, and got scouted by a global firm that offered her a job on the spot. Now, *that* story is legit because you can actually track her real career path today. There was absolutely no need to fluff her journey with nonsense like this article did—her actual success speaks for itself. She's a lead designer for a major corporation now.
She doesn't need these kinds of write-ups, and honestly, she doesn't even need the press coverage.
This other person, though? They're out here in the US hunting for a job, hoping someone will be impressed by these overseas achievements that probably can't even be verified.
Oh, and for the record—the story about Sobel really *is* inspiring. The guy knew how to spot an opportunity when he saw one, which is everything.
You can learn a lot from people like that. I've read plenty of his interviews where he goes into detail about those early days at Verizon and how he kicked everything off. Super interesting stuff. And when it comes to truly successful people, there aren't any holes in their stories.
Ryan Thomas7 said:I know plenty of people who have genuinely transformed their lives—graduating from top-tier universities and landing incredible careers through nothing but pure grit... yet, I still find it hard to buy into these kinds of articles.
The reason? Most journalists just babble on, overusing superlatives to make everything sound life-changing. Take, for instance, this young woman who was all over the news last year, hailed as some kind of rising American entrepreneur who had expanded her business across several states. Turns out, her "company" consists of exactly one employee: herself. Last year, she pulled in less than $3.25 and ended the season essentially at zero. That’s why I struggle to take these grand tales of brilliant success at face value... sometimes they just don't add up. 🤷
Totally agree—I think I know exactly who you mean, that lady with the planners.
It turns out she barely makes any pocket change $200 a month. An average college student working a part-time gig at Starbucks would probably pull in more and be more successful than her.
That's my point—it's honestly depressing when people read these articles and feel like failures, when the reality is totally different. Half the time, those regular folks might actually be doing better than these supposed "young entrepreneurial stars."
Personally, I don't believe even 10% of this crap.
Some woman has connections within that EPH mess—they love running pieces like this, especially when it’s about "successful young female entrepreneurs."
The people I actually know who are killing it—real winners—never do interviews like this. They don't need these fluff pieces; they just don't care.
Gloria (yet another EPH thing) is basically reserved for these fairy tales—they write these myths about women, like the wife of that guy Goluža. He funded her whole company—any smart person reading a "major entrepreneur" profile will realize her biggest achievement was just showing up at an international trade show. Big deal, right?
How many actual contracts did she sign? Zero. It’s always that vague wording: "Foreign investors from Israel and the USA have shown interest," and so on and so forth...
In reality, it's just one big nothingness launched with her husband's cash. But hey, the article paints her as this incredibly successful young powerhouse.
Then you've got them singing praises about Velina—that former dance star—acting like she's some massive business mogul with her own cosmetics line.
They conveniently forget they were writing about her a year or two ago as a huge entrepreneur running an exclusive flower shop—which tanked in the meantime. Both businesses were bankrolled by rich old guys.
And now, here they are again, presenting her as this wildly successful young woman. Of course, they’ll mention things like a one-year certificate in decoupage design or whatever.
There was also that story about the daughter of that woman from America, Nina Oberaiter Gluhak.
The kid decides she wants to do jewelry design, finishes a quick course, and boom—immediately there's an article about a "successful jewelry designer." How much she actually sold? They’re never gonna tell you that. Real results never make the cut.
But she gets portrayed as this incredible success story, and we’re all supposed to be impressed.
Don't be naive. You see these articles about male entrepreneurs too, but since I don't know their specific business backgrounds, I can't call them out. Most of them are just as hollow.
People who are truly successful don't need these write-ups—unfortunately, you won't even hear about them. And those are the people we should actually be reading about, because that's where the real lessons are.
Honestly, I think these kinds of articles are socially toxic. For more naive readers, they trigger depression and resentment toward their own lives. They start thinking everyone else is doing better or is somehow superior. Usually, they aren't.
EPH has specialized in this exact nonsense. Everyone is a superstar in EPH publications. It's a total fantasy land.
You're not the only one who sees through this. There are plenty of genuinely successful people—some even more successful than her—but you won't find fluff pieces like this written about them.
[No input provided for rewriting] kaže: Did the Win32 versions come pre-installed on this Apple? Not activated? Pirate software? evo
Alright, finally registered—got my desktop setup all ready to go!😁 The Apple was totally wiped when I first picked it up.
It said that you don't get access to all the Windows features without registering—but I don't really get why it felt like I was just missing the desktop itself.🤷
So, it told me I had a month to get registered, but that deadline already flew by—even though the registration actually went through.🤷
Noah Sanchez39 said:Go to Control Panel, System and Security, System and check what it says under "Windows activation" 🙂
---------- Did I miss something, or did you just not mention which computer or laptop you're running? Asking because of the drivers—it’s usually way easier to update everything if we know the hardware, right?
BTW, is that Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit or 64-bit? 🤔
Yep, they aren't activated—I'll get on that! Everything was working fine, then I totally blanked on it. It's a new laptop, a Toshiba, with 4GB of RAM, and I'm running 32-bit Windows. The whole setup is brand new and Windows was just installed, so it's possible I'm still missing some pieces. I knocked out all the drivers right at the start. Hopefully that's everything—once I ran Slim Drivers, it didn't give me any more alerts about missing stuff.
I tried looking, but I honestly can't find Application Data or Roaming anywhere. I head over to the user folder—you know, under the username—but there's no AppData or Roaming in sight. Plus, when I try typing "Transcoded Wallpaper" into the search bar on the Start menu, nothing pops up at all.
Is it possible my PC just doesn't have those folders?
On the bright side, I ran Slim Drivers (thanks!) and it updated everything, so now Windows is booting up totally fine.
Sean Moore77 said:I usually grab my driver updates through Slim Drivers www.driverupdate.net—and for keeping everything else current, I use Update Checker www.filehippo.com/updatechecker.probaj. Here's another way to tackle your "main" issue. This time, it actually HAS to work. Just follow these steps carefully: 👋Go to Windows Start/Computer/WINDOWS(C🙂/Users/your-username/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft/Windows/Themes. You'll see two files there—don't touch the first one, but go ahead and delete the second one called "Transcoded Wallpaper." It should basically be a copy of whatever photo you have on your desktop. Restart your PC, and once it's back up, Windows will just give you a solid color background (like black or blue). From there, just head into your normal desktop settings and set your picture again.
Thanks! I'll give it a shot and let you know how it goes.😉
Sean Moore77 said:did those Microsoft tips actually work for you?
Tried them—nothing worked, honestly. Looks like it’s definitely a driver issue. I ran the update, but now Windows won't even boot properly—I have to jump through hoops using Safe Mode and Recovery every single time just to get things running normally. The Recovery option basically just wipes everything back to how it was before I messed with the drivers. So yeah, that's my life right now.🤣 Hey, learning something new every day, right? 😁
But yeah, it's clearly the driver. I'm gonna try installing it a different way this time—I used Windows Update before, so I'll try a manual approach and let you know how it goes.
quiethound10 said:If I remember correctly, isn't that how it works with unactivated Windows versions?
What does "unactivated" even mean here?😕 I'm using them just fine—they must be activated, I guess... I'm not totally sure...😕 I'm no expert, but they look activated to me.😁
Sean Moore77 said:Check out this site and give it a shot—hopefully, this actually fixes the issue for you! Check out this Microsoft support link: www.support.microsoft.com/kb/2504610/en-us
Alright, I gave it a shot, but unfortunately, nothing changed. Now under data it shows 0x00000001(1), but the wallpaper is still stuck—no change at all.
It’s driving me absolutely nuts—I can't believe I'm having this much trouble just changing a background. Thanks for the instructions, though; they were super detailed. 🙂
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