Sunday, June 15, 2014

The Tale of a Naughty Laptop




My morning started with coffee and cursing.  The cursing was emanating from my husband who was thoroughly peeved off with our laptop that was not behaving to his liking.  To his insistence, the computer was making decisions on its own, such as opening pages and pushing command buttons on various websites.  Of course, I scoffed dismissively and returned to my coffee.

Fast forward to the afternoon following on from a wonderful lunch, it was my turn at the keyboard.  I began working on the outline for a future post when suddenly, what were imaginary problems when they involved my husband earlier in the day, suddenly became my reality.

It seems our laptop saw fit to publish my working model gibberish, a fact that escaped my notice for five hours.  Upon returning from a visit with friends, I was mortified to discover this rather red face inducing development and swiftly deleted the posting.

I suppose this is all my fault as there have been plenty of warnings in the media of late regarding the fact that Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft, thus subject to some rather nasty digital illnesses.  I think mine just caught a bug. 

This was definitely the straw that broke the camel's back so we are now in the market for a less vulnerable laptop.  Please stay tuned as normal service will resume shortly.

Have all of you non-Mac users updated your computers from Windows XP? 



8 comments:

  1. Too bad about your computer problems. I liked XP better than Windows 7, and I am not looking forward to the eventual forced upgrade to Windows 8.

    I hope that all gets resolved soon--I am looking forward to your resuming your regular posts.
    --Jim

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  2. Windows 8 is horrible. My poor 89-year old mum got it because she was worried about XP not being supported. W8 is totally non-intuitive and difficult to manoeuver, especially for someone who's not completely computer literate. She's so frustrated and disappointed in the new computer.

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  3. Don't be afraid of Windows 8. My daughter gave me a new HP laptop for Christmas and it came with the dreaded Windows 8. After cursing a bit, I got the hang of it in a week. It is really terrific, although it is very sensitive. Keep your fingers off the keyboard once you have given a command. Once you get "the big picture" behind it you will learn to like it. I kept my old laptop with xp plugged in just in case and it now sits in the closet. I will be more than happy to help. You really have no choice so grin and bear it!!!!

    I can see how an 89 year old mum would be frustrated. The thought process is quite different from XP. yet I'm sure if someone walked her through it she would get it. I am actually really impressed she's even trying on her own! Wish I could help.

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  4. Dear Chronica,
    We reluctantly purchased a new desktop and installed Windows 7 just for the reasons you mentioned. So far, it seems fine. We did not select Windows 8 because that operating system is ideally designed for touch screens and we prefer a keyboard. I fear we will have to move to a new system sooner than we would like because MS tends to "obsolete" older versions necessitating the purchase of more MS software. As my husband likes to say (facetiously I might add), "they have to make money for the shareholders."
    Karen

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  5. If you're going to buy a new laptop, why not get a Mac? I use both a Mac and a PC and there's no contest.

    Spud.

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  6. Hello:

    Computer problems of any kind cause immediate panic with us and so we identify completely with your situation and sympathise greatly.

    Before replacing your present computer, do you not have the proverbial 'little man' who might be available to come and look, fiddle with the unknown parts for a while, and then pronounce you up and running?

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  7. Thank you everyone for sharing in my grief and for your recommendations and suggestions.

    As the Hattatts know all too well, when disaster strikes the "little man" is called upon to examine and hand down his verdict, which in this case requires us to upgrade to a modern system. I blush with embarrassment to admit to you how old our Windows system is. All shall be remedied tomorrow. For now, I muddle through with the aid of a tablet.

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  8. I’ve had the Samsung Chromebook for nearly a month now, and it has proven to be fantastic. It boots up in seconds and shoots from website to website with no delay.

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