The New Computer
(companion to When Technology Attacks!)
If you know me well, or if you have ever met me, you've heard my stories about the Microsoft mobile. It was always doing stupid stuff, like crashing, giving me the Blue Screen of Death, locking up in the middle of a good surf due to more than two windows being open, or simply slowing down to a crawl and forcing me to push the power button to turn it off. Then it had the nerve to blame me when it had to run ScanDisk next time I booted it up.
Those were the good old days, weren't they? I mean, as annoying as those little problems were, the whole situation did have one shining "pro": I learned a great deal of patience. That's right, patience. But when I realized that I could no longer install any programs on the Microsoft Mobile, I made a decision, one that makes wallets everywhere snap shut in fear:
I need a new computer.
That's right. I needed a new computer and, miracle of miracles, I actually got one (thanks to my lovely mother, who now has the venerable Microsoft Mobile in her possession). It's a beauty, too. It has Windows XP, a 1.2 gigahertz processor, 256 meg of RAM (necessary for avoiding lockups), a 60-gigabyte hard drive, a CD burner, and a DVD player. Even though it has to use a modem to get on the Internet, and it connects at the same speed as the Microsoft Mobile did, it moves faster just because the programs open faster. It just screams along. I know I'm bragging, but the Borgmobile, as I call it, is a magnificent thing. It even asked me to give it a name. That's right, it asked me. Right there on the setup screen: "Please give this computer a name." For those of you who know me, you'll understand when I say: WOW.
It does have its quirks, however. First and foremost: it believes it must be on the Internet at all times. This surprised me when I first got it online. Imagine: you turn on your computer, go to the kitchen for a drink, and when you come back you're online. I was not expecting this. It was nice for a while--very nice, saved me some button-pushing--but there are distinct disadvantages. Like, I can't be on the phone and the Internet at the same time, but the Borgmobile doesn't know that. It tries to connect, gives me an earful of modem static, and then gives me that error window: "The line was busy." Duh.
The automatic connect also became a problem a few days ago, when I installed Final Fantasy 7. I'm dropped into this intro, trying to figure out who I am and where I'm supposed to go and how I'm supposed to get there when I've only got the numeric pad to use, and what happens? The Borgmobile switches itself over to the desktop, where it is trying unsuccessfully (the modem was unplugged) to connect to the Internet. It tried twice, and the timing was bad both times. I think it's a Windows thing, because I looked all over my dial-up settings and Internet options and cannot find a way to make this stop. Any suggestions? I'm amazed and desperate.
The other weird thing it does, is that it won't let you turn off the computer without shutting down Windows. What's up with that? What if a program gets stuck, and you can do everything but shut down? That happened to me. I tried to install my scanner drivers and nothing happened, except I couldn't used the "Turn Off" command. So I pushed the power button, and the Borgmobile stayed on! Very weird, and kind of spooky. My only option was to reach down and turn off the surge protector. Then I got worried when it didn't run ScanDisk the next time I turned it on. However, I was able to install the scanner software without a hitch. Strange.
The moral of the story: Computers are weird.
(companion to When Technology Attacks!)
If you know me well, or if you have ever met me, you've heard my stories about the Microsoft mobile. It was always doing stupid stuff, like crashing, giving me the Blue Screen of Death, locking up in the middle of a good surf due to more than two windows being open, or simply slowing down to a crawl and forcing me to push the power button to turn it off. Then it had the nerve to blame me when it had to run ScanDisk next time I booted it up.
Those were the good old days, weren't they? I mean, as annoying as those little problems were, the whole situation did have one shining "pro": I learned a great deal of patience. That's right, patience. But when I realized that I could no longer install any programs on the Microsoft Mobile, I made a decision, one that makes wallets everywhere snap shut in fear:
I need a new computer.
That's right. I needed a new computer and, miracle of miracles, I actually got one (thanks to my lovely mother, who now has the venerable Microsoft Mobile in her possession). It's a beauty, too. It has Windows XP, a 1.2 gigahertz processor, 256 meg of RAM (necessary for avoiding lockups), a 60-gigabyte hard drive, a CD burner, and a DVD player. Even though it has to use a modem to get on the Internet, and it connects at the same speed as the Microsoft Mobile did, it moves faster just because the programs open faster. It just screams along. I know I'm bragging, but the Borgmobile, as I call it, is a magnificent thing. It even asked me to give it a name. That's right, it asked me. Right there on the setup screen: "Please give this computer a name." For those of you who know me, you'll understand when I say: WOW.It does have its quirks, however. First and foremost: it believes it must be on the Internet at all times. This surprised me when I first got it online. Imagine: you turn on your computer, go to the kitchen for a drink, and when you come back you're online. I was not expecting this. It was nice for a while--very nice, saved me some button-pushing--but there are distinct disadvantages. Like, I can't be on the phone and the Internet at the same time, but the Borgmobile doesn't know that. It tries to connect, gives me an earful of modem static, and then gives me that error window: "The line was busy." Duh.The automatic connect also became a problem a few days ago, when I installed Final Fantasy 7. I'm dropped into this intro, trying to figure out who I am and where I'm supposed to go and how I'm supposed to get there when I've only got the numeric pad to use, and what happens? The Borgmobile switches itself over to the desktop, where it is trying unsuccessfully (the modem was unplugged) to connect to the Internet. It tried twice, and the timing was bad both times. I think it's a Windows thing, because I looked all over my dial-up settings and Internet options and cannot find a way to make this stop. Any suggestions? I'm amazed and desperate.The other weird thing it does, is that it won't let you turn off the computer without shutting down Windows. What's up with that? What if a program gets stuck, and you can do everything but shut down? That happened to me. I tried to install my scanner drivers and nothing happened, except I couldn't used the "Turn Off" command. So I pushed the power button, and the Borgmobile stayed on! Very weird, and kind of spooky. My only option was to reach down and turn off the surge protector. Then I got worried when it didn't run ScanDisk the next time I turned it on. However, I was able to install the scanner software without a hitch. Strange.The moral of the story: Computers are weird.