Computer Cure

Ever wonder if the cure feels more painful than the disease? Ever consider throwing your laptop out the window?

We have become so dependant on computers to communicate and conduct our daily business. We carry our laptop on trips with us and treat it as if it were an appendage to our body. But wait! It gets worse. We carry our i-phone or Blackberry clipped to our purse or belt. Every meeting opens with the announcement to please turn off all electronic noise makers as a courtesy to the speaker. It is automatically expected that the majority of the audience will be packing electronic hardware.

I even see people walk into church and the gym with their cell phone clipped to their waist. I understand “reach out and touch someone” but one hour? We have become hopelessly addicted. The next thing you know, we will see groups meeting in secret and calling themselves CAs – communication addicts or computer addicts.

Before you get paranoid or upset, let me confess; I’m guilty, too. This is spreading to epidemic proportions. My adorable 4 year old grandson already has a serious case of computer addiction. Kaden can’t wait to get his sticky fingers on my Blackberry and laptop. Don’t get me wrong, he actually knows exactly what to do with them as well. Of course he looks for the games first, but this little whiz kid knows how to find them and how to play them as well. We have created a generation of addicts. What is this world coming to?

Why does this topic occupy the forefront of my attention today? Slightly over a week ago, I wrote about my computer suffering from the terminal “blue screen of death.” The patient remained in the electronic ER and returned home with the new Windows 7 operating system. Good news and bad news. Good news that the data was recovered and reinstalled. Bad news that Windows XP died on the operating table. Windows 7 was transplanted and the patient lived. Major surgery and a thorough internal electronic enema added to the recovery period. Windows 7 is Microsoft’s newest “latest and greatest” operating system. Sounds exciting, right? Yes and no. Officially, Windows 7 will not be released to the public until about October 23.

Such an infant stage for an operating system logically follows that many programs and technicians are less than familiar with all of the complexities and adaptations. So far I have five one-half hours with Palm Pilot to discover than my Tungsten C refuses to play nice with Windows 7; I have a PDA with zero hot sync capability. Cyberspace help me if the PDA is lost or runs out of battery charge.

Today was four hours with my desktop check scanner reaching for the computer and touching fingers but failing to complete the electronic handshake. Thanks to wonderful patient techies at Treasury Gateway, we finally managed a stop gap work-a-round temporary solution.

Installing a new, almost released, operating system on a non-techie owned laptop computer requires patience, a pot of strong coffee and occasionally a bullet to bite on to suppress the thoughts and words which would sneak toward conscious expression.

Progress! Most programs are working. Currently I am able to work. Oh yes, I’m learning in ever so many ways. I’m also grateful for an inquiring mind and desire to learn.

Managing Your Challenges

Whether you are in a home based business and have been Google slapped or challenged by the economy, the fact remains that a challenge is a challenge. The end result is totally determined by your attitude. If you choose to label it as a “bad thing,” it will be a bad thing. If you choose to look at your challenge as an opportunity for growth and change, it will probably be a good thing.
Your attitude makes the difference.
At the moment I am experiencing computer challenges. Last Friday my computer presented me with the “blue screen of death.” To a busy professional who relies heavily on the computer, this was not initially greeted with thrills of happy excitement. Oh, no was closer to the reaction. I decided to approach it with the attitude of “What good can come out of this?”
My next move was to call my computer guru, Dave Glantz at Computer Cures in Steamboat. Since it was late Friday and Steamboat is a three plus hour drive, we scheduled Saturday morning to bring my electronic patient into the computer ER. Anyone who has ever encountered this situation knows that this is not always a simple task to prepare the patient (computer) for the electronic ER.
Locating every possible disk to reinstall the critical programs can be a daunting task. Most of these programs were preinstalled on the computer. The fact that I had moved from Steamboat to Castle Rock last year complicated the disk retrieval process. Fortunately, almost all of the crucial software was located. (Yes, to all of you who are also savers. It does prove valuable to save things sometimes even if you do not expect to ever need them. ) Packing up the computer, disks, back up storage devices – thank goodness for regular back up of the data – and power cords takes a few minutes of organization.
We are now ready to get on the road to the electronic hospital.
Once we arrived, Dave inspected the patient and diagnosed the problem as “a fried Windows operating system.” Oh how my MAC friends would have smiled; they have been encouraging me to buy a MAC for over a year now. Being a loyal PC user, I have resisted. The prescription was a new operating system and a larger hard drive. My 80 gig drive sounded quite sufficient 3 years ago; however, it is full. Since the operation and recovery time would be extensive, the patient needed to remain in ER for an extended stay. Hopefully, she will return home with the new Windows 7 operating system, a new 350 gig hard drive and total health on or before Friday.
Doing without a computer was unthinkable. It would be like having both legs in casts, not a pleasant thought. Fortunately Dave responded to my dilemma and loaned me his 17” Dell while my 17”Dell was in surgery and recovery.
Ok, I will be limping but functioning. To add to the challenge, my computer operated on Windows XP and Dave’s computer operated on Windows Vista. Another challenge. We transferred survival data and I’m on my way several hours later.
Unfortunately the USB for my cordless mouse stayed in Steamboat, my oversight. Now I am learning to use the mouse pad on the laptop. Hmmm. Amazing how spoiled I had become with an external cordless mouse. Ok squeaky will have to sleep until the USB returns home.
To add yet another challenge, last evening my internet went down. After 2 frustrating hours, I learned how to use my Blackberry as the modem for my computer.
What have I learned? I have started learning Vista instead of XP, how to use a laptop mouse pad with some degree of comfort, and how to use my phone as a temporary internet modem.
Challenge after challenge has resulted in new skills, new resources and an increased appreciation for techies such as Dave as well as appreciation for all the time my computer was reliable and predictable. Oh, another “thank you” for the recovery of all the data.
Life is an attitude. Choose to have a good one.