What Would Our Ancestors Have Done?

Lately, I’ve been having my share of technical problems with my computer and peripherals. I now have two computers in my home office, along with three printers. One would think that I have all the bases covered. One would be wrong.

I won’t bore you with the details of my problems but basically it is that I now cannot scan photos in my HP Photosmart All-in-One Printer. I suspect it has something to do with the printer drivers changing when I tried to print a photo. Hewlett-Packard is so hot to get their users plugged into their continual stream of updates and ads; it is now almost impossible just to use the printer.

So now my problems are:

1) My new computer doesn’t have AOL software on it
2) My wireless printer is hooked up TWICE on my new computer
3) Multiple screen repeats on some Google searches
4) I need to disable the wireless keyboard and mouse on the new computer
5) Where is the refresh key?
6) How do I change icons on the new computer? Ain’t Vista great?
7) How do I use the flash drive on both computers?


A few nights ago I was reading about my ancestors in the book “History of the Toe River Valley.” My paternal ancestors lived in the hills of western North Carolina from the early 1700’s to the 1920’s (when my father’s family moved out to Pennsylvania.) Some might call them hillbillies but the correct term is “Appalachian pioneers.” Their occupation was farming. They grew and raised their own food. The woman, who I believed worked much harder than the men, “kept house.” This involved washing the clothes at the nearest stream, using a stick to beat the dirt out of the clothes. A chicken dinner meant going out in the back yard to grab the unfortunate chicken and chop its head off, dip the chicken in boiling water to pluck the feathers (I’ve done this), and gut it. Vegetables came from the garden, or in the winter time, from the vegetables that were canned from the summer’s produce.

Somehow they managed without to live a full life without electricity, indoor plumbing, and PC’s! Yes, they managed without PC’s. This knowledge has put my technical problems in perspective, to say the least. I sit in a warm and comfortable house, my refrigerator is stocked full, and I wash and dry my clothes (as I did this morning) while I’m on my computer updating my genealogy files. What I really appreciate is when I have to use the bathroom, it is warm and comfortable. I’ve used an outhouse. Not a pleasant experience, especially for someone as fussy as I am.

Now I wonder a hundred years from now will one of my ancestors wonder about me and my generation? Will they marvel at the hardships we have had to endure? No doubt they will. Our ancestors probably didn’t realize that they were enduring hardships. Oh, maybe the washing the clothes down at the stream. What we take for granted now will probably amaze our descendents that we even endured such “hardships.” I predict one “hardship” that will never disappear, PC problems. As Benjamin Franklin said: “Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes. “Add to his quotation “PC glitches.” I wonder what my ancestors would have thought of my “problem.” Even more interesting, I wonder what my descendents will think.

The New Dell

Today was the day I have been awaiting with great anticipation. Tom, my P C Guy (Tom is not politically correct – “PC” stands for personal computer) was coming over today to complete the setup of my new Dell computer. He asked me to prepare a list of things for him to do. I had that list ready for him.

First item on the list was to get some sound coming out of the speakers. Tom turned the volume on the speaker up. Duh. Well, I wasn’t totally at fault here. Dell’s speakers have the volume knob the opposite way. I’m not sure if there is a standard way. I just knew Tom would dispatch that problem jiffy. Tom is pictured above, fist on the old Gateway (not his body language) then on my new Dell (again, not the body language. It's almost as if the new Dell commands respect.)

Then it came time to connect me to the Internet. Tom asked for my encryption key code and the ESSID number from when he set me up on Verizon DSL. Uh, what? I search and viola! There it was. A slip of paper I saved from the last time Tom saved me. I won’t tell you the encryption code (a code which prevents passersby from hacking into my computer) but it is a number extremely difficult to guess. Oh, maybe one in a billion and a half.

Two down and now the wireless printer. Actually, I didn’t need the wireless printer. Turns out there are more wires with a wireless printer than the standard setup which is just a power cord and a cable cord from the back of the printer to the PC. But you know me, I have to have EVERYTHING. A wireless printer makes sense in an office, where all can share the printer. I’m not sharing anything. Man, that Dell salesman was really good because he also sold me a Dell printer. What was I thinking? I’ve always had HP printers. To me they are the standard. But hey, I have a black Dell printer to match my black Dell computer and keyboard. I’m color coordinated. My gay gene is alive and well.

Now, here is the biggie. I have to transfer most of my files on my Gateway to my new Dell. That would be an easy task. Since I have a wireless connection, I don’t have to connect the two computers across the room. First order of business was to transfer My Pictures. I knew I had a large file but I had no idea how large. How does this sound? In the My Pictures folder I have 25,231 files and a size of 21.2 GB. The files are transferring as I type this blog. They’ve been transferring for about two hours now. I’m down to 20.3 GB. Estimated time of completion? How’s 3 days and 5 hours sound? Yeah. That’s what I said too. WHAT? THREE DAYS? If it’s three day, that’s the way it will have to be because I have to transfer those files. That’s one of the main reasons I got the new computer. I was afraid of my old computer crashing.

With my new computer I also have an external backup drive of 1 terra byte. That should hold all of my picture files and take the constant worry that I would lose those files to a computer crash. Other files I have to transfer are my genealogy files, AOL saved mail files and some word files. Also some software files, including my Canon camera software. I’ll still be pumping out those pictures.

With my new PC I have a scanner that will scan negatives and slides. Now there is where I have a LOT OF PICTURES. I’ve been taking pictures since I was 10 years old (57 years for those of you who can’t do the math.) This is going to be fun.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Setting Up The New Computer

Well folks, this was the day I set up my new Dell computer. The day I was dreading. Now I wish I had taken my good friend Lar's advice and bought a Mac. At least with that computer, all I would have to do is take it out of the box and plug it in and I'm ready to go. Not so with my new Dell Inspiron. Early this morning, at the first crack of daylight, I laid everything out on the floor of my home office. Which plug goes where. I'm going to make this story short because I have company coming for dinner in about an hour and a half and I have to make preparations. Here is what happened. I couldn't get the wireless mouse and keyboard to work. The instructions that came with the PC didn't match what I had to do. I called the Dell help line. I will give them credit, they did answer right away. However, I was connected to India. COULDN'T HEAR HER! Her voice sounded like she was talking on the other end of a tin can connected by string between me here in Delaware and her in New Dehli. Finally, after many "I can't hear you?", she switched to another phone where I could hear her. I don't know if this was much better. SHE HAD THE ACCENT. Lots of "What did you say?" from me. That sing songy Indian accent. I thought when the tech support job were outsourced overseas, they taught those folks to speak Engie. After about an hour and a half I we succeeded in getting the wireless mouse and keyboard to work. However, she told me that I was on my own as to getting my Internet connection up and going. I thanked her for her time (she was trying her best I'm sure) and hung up. I put a call into my Computer Guy. He's coming over next Tuesday at 1 PM. He speaks English. Maybe he can help me to get the sound working too. I plugged the green sound cord in the back of the computer in the green female input. DIDN'T WORK! FRUSTRATED. I've been dreading this. That's why I'm running dual computers. I'm keeping my old computer until I'm good and comfortable with the new one. I also have to get the wireless printer to working. I haven't even taken that equipment out of the box. I can't get that image of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin giving an interview to a local news reporter that she was setting free one lucky turkey for Thanksgiving while others were being slaughtered in camera range right behind her. I hope I didn't get one of her turkeys.

New Computer

My new computer is here! It's a Dell. Yes, I'm taking the plunge again with a Dell. My last Dell purchase, back in 2001 was a disaster. I purchased a brand new Dell with all the bells and whistles. After setting it up, I discovered I couldn't turn it off. Oh I turned it off, but it came back on by itself without any help from me. Yes, it booted itself up. So, knowing that I paid for "premium" service, I call Dell support. Oh, the "premium", it wasn't so much. I still had to wait a long time on the phone and go through all the menu options. The "premium" service was in name only, not reality. When I finally got through to the Dell help line, I get a woman who tells me that I have to reformat my hard drive. Say what? I just got the computer. Reformat the hard drive? I finished that conversation and called again, hoping to get another person with a more reasonable solution. The new person I talked to said that I had too much on my desktop. Well, I guess she should know. It came with a bunch of crapola that Dell installed. She advised me to take off some items. It did. Now I could close the computer, sometimes. Every fourth or fifth time the computer would again boot itself up. To make a long story short, I went through the torture of calling Dell's help line again and again, informing them I had "premium" service which included "at home service." Didn't mean a thing to the folks I was talking to at the Dell help desk. Nada. While I was fighting Dell, trying to get my new computer to work, I brought a small, inexpensive Gateway computer as a temporary replacement. That “temporary replacement” computer is the computer I'm using now. Yes folks, I've been using this Gateway computer since 2001. I eventually gave away my Dell computer to a good friend who did have the hard drive reformatted. Now it works for him. He only had to pay $100 to have it reformatted and but new software. It was a bargain for him. I stayed with my Gateway because it has a small LCD screen instead of that monster cathode ray tube of the Dell. My Gateway is seven years old. I don't want to push my luck so I gave it a lot of thought. Should I get a Mac, like my good friend Lar? I would love to, but I couldn't afford it. So, after a lot of thought and comparing, I decided to go with Dell again. Over the past three days a bunch of boxes were delivered to my front door by UPS. I'm ready for a new computer. I need that 2.0 USB port. I want to copy all my photo negatives to the computer for conversion into digital pictures. Also, I plan to convert my old VHS tapes to DVD's. Most of all, I need a faster computer. My Gateway has been a great workhorse but I'm ready for the new features that my new Dell Inspiron will offer. Only thing I'm not looking forward to is setting it up. I called my good friend Tom, my PC Guy to arrange an appointment for him to set it up for me. This is a win-win situation. I give him the business and avoid getting myself all frustrated. I just hope he doesn't have to call Dell's help desk. The Dell salesman I talked to on the phone when I made the purchase assured me that I would have no problems. He also told me he had a bridge to sell me……………………… cheap.

Day Two of the Crash

This is the second day of my computer's hard drive crash. Tom, my Computer Guy, took my computer's tower yesterday. I haven't heard from him since. I put a call in to him today and left him a voice mail. I think it's time for a new computer. The computer that crashed was a Gateway that I purchses in 2001. It's been a good computer. I have absolutely no complaints about it. It's lasted a good long time. In fact, I have known I've been living on borrowed time with this computer. My previous computers only lasted three years before they crashed. I'm now shopping for a new computer. My head is swimming with all the choices. Basically, all I want is a fast computer that for my photo collection, genealogy records, e-mail and using the Internet to pay bills and searches. I don't do games so I wouldn't need one of those space shuttle computers. I've used Dell before but have been disappointed with the quality of their computers and their customer service. I keep hearing that I don't want a computer with Vista. Decisions, decisions. Maybe Tom will call and all will be alright with my old computer so I won't have to make this decision. Maybe not.