A bit of computer trouble today
My computer is old, and I should probably get a new one. But one thing I really hate is making technological transitions.
I bet some people love it. They love learning about all the bells and whistles on a new gadget. They love learning new ways to do the same old things.
Not me. I’m a creature of technological habit. My fingers do the walking and they like to walk on well-worn paths. People laugh at my computer with its keys where quite a few of the letters have been rubbed off and obliterated over time.
I don’t care. I touch-type, thanks to the NYC public junior high school system circa you-know-approximately-when. Typing was a mandatory class, and it was one of the hardest of all. The teacher was a tiny but incredibly strict woman. We had to learn on IBM machines with blank keys. No cheating for us; it wasn’t even possible.
But I digress. Today my computer decided to get slow and then slower and then freeze, so I just restarted it and it seems to have healed itself for now. I’m a firm believer in self-healing electronics, too.
So, back to blogging…
The sun was heavy with sunspots today and that could have been part of the problem.
I hate new techno stuff too. I had to get a new washer and dryer a while back, and just cleaning out the fuzzies requires reading a 30-page instruction manual. I don’t need any of this junk. It’s almost like they want to sell you a $300 potato peeler.
I got a new laptop a couple months ago after having the same one for ten years. It was getting old and having issues but I dreaded the entire process so much I kept putting it off but as often happens the entire thing went smoothly.
When it comes to machines, I’ve always been a strict utilitarian. In some ways, I’ve envied the techno-affection held by many engineers, mechanics, electronics hobbyists, etc. I’ve known guys who, for very good reasons, trust their dogs more than their wives. Techno-enthusiasts have much the same relationship with their machines, but I just don’t feel it.
I can remember when personal computers first came out. I took a bunch of short courses on programming, DOS script writing, and basic hardware modification/repair. It turned out to be about 99% useless. After that, I reverted to strict computer utilitarianism. If it’s clear that I need to learn something, I do so. Otherwise, the computer has to work for me, not me for it.
If your computer is windows based and old, beware of Windows updates, they can wreck all sorts of havoc on the older systems. Hopefully you have updates turned off.
I hate it when I have to get a new mobile phone or a new laptop. I am currently dragging my feet about the phone, because I am afraid the newer iPhones lack the button at the bottom center which I know how to use. My husband bought an 11 and it doesn’t work the same way.
And no, politics or not, I’m using Mac products because I know how they work. I had a Motorola Droid phone a long time ago and hated it.
I am a dinosaur – I admit it.
My son got me a Macbook for Christmas (because they’re easier to use than PC) and I still haven’t switched over.
I refuse to update my phone because I use it to listen to music when I run and garden and the new ones don’t have an earbud jack.
Now that my husband has pulled rank and ordered a Tesla – I’ll probably never drive again.
I am with you Neo. I hate tech transitions as I am not very technical.
Physics Guy
I particularly hate the Patch Tuesday (second Tuesday in every month) updates some of which take forever. I think updates create more problems than they solve.
With me the troubling changes are not so much the machine, I have built my last three myself, but the daily used software. Browsers, email programs, image and video programs, and word processors.
I’m currently being pushed to get and use Microsoft Edge for my browser. Starting in the late 90s I used various IE versions and then Firefox until they went woke. Then found and liked a Firefox clone called Pale Moon. Now places I use daily/weekly are making that an unrecognized browser and I have to return to Firefox or IE to use them and they want me to use Chrome or Edge preferably.
What is Edge like? I really hate learning a new browser.
Geoff,
Edge is OK – works pretty well, fast, etc.
But I’d suggest you look at Brave first. I ended up with it after leaving Pale Moon as it became less useful. Brave is hated by the Left that is familiar with it, since Brave was founded by Brendan Eich, who was cancelled at Mozilla (after being one of the founders) for his centrist views.
Brave is based on Chromium, so very compatible with Chrome, and works with almost all sites. Fast, stable, and much more focused on privacy that the others.
Try it and see what you think!
OriginalFrank, Thanks.
You can always keep your keyboard with a new computer. It’s much easier to get a new one up and running these days because of the cloud, as long as you have everything you need backed up.
My PC is nine years old. I’ve already replaced the hard drive and the fan. I see no need to replace the entire PC. From what I’ve read, the rate of computer innovation has slowed down, so I doubt that a new PC will be as different from the 7 year old PC I replaced 9 years ago. ( Improvements on my 9 year old PC compared to what it replaced: A lot quieter, better internal design to reduce dust buildup, much bigger hard drive…)
I changed my browser from Firefox to Brave. I needed to figure out how to transfer my bookmarks before I made the change.
I’m late to this thread, but since I recently migrated from a 10 year old computer (you can get a lot of life by maxing out the RAM and installing a SSD hard drive), I would like to state for the record that PC Mover makes it almost seamless. And no, I don’t work for the company or anything, I’ve just used their product 4-5 times.