Fighting With Technology!

Thanks to a bunch of rain and stormy weather overnight, I woke up this morning to... no Internet.

It's amazing how dependent we have become on this electronic lifeline to the outside world, in the course of the 30+ years it has been with us! Of course, it is not made easier by the fact that I actually depend on the Internet for my work... it's what makes it possible for me to work entirely from home and not have to commute to some office, somewhere.

With a few calls to tech support, I managed to get the modem working again. Unbeknownst to me, one of our cats had evidently managed to nudge our wireless router "just so" that our wireless networks had suddenly become invisible.

It took me a good 30 minutes of troubleshooting to finally figure out that the fix was as simple as simply clicking the button that had been accidentally turned off. Ah, the joys of keeping cats!

But then I still couldn't get my aging desktop computer to connect. That took a fair bit more time to figure out, until I finally determined that the built-in network adapter in my computer must have taken a dive.

Thankfully, I should be able to fix the issue by ordering USB wifi adapter and run the computer from that, instead of from an ethernet cable.

So, time to fire up my (almost as old!) laptop, so at least I could work from it.

Alas, that didn't go as planned... on trying to boot it up, I was greeted by repeated loud beeps of protest! Thankfully not a "I'm broken" sound, but a sound letting me know that there's a small internal battery on the motherboard that needs to be replaced... of course, something I can't get until our local computer repair place opens tomorrow.

Generally, I'm not fond of taking computers apart because I don't really have the right tools to do so, but I'm not going to pay the service center $125 to install a battery. It is shocking how much the "minimum charge" to get anything done has become!

Anyway, this left me still stuck, so now I am going to work on Mrs. Denmarkguy's laptop until I can get my other broken gear to work properly again!

Of course, there is little doubt that I need a new computer... I have been patching up my current one since about 2011 which makes it a veritable dinosaur in the world of technology. But not as bad as my prior laptop, which I tried to start up, just for grins.

Windows XP? Anyone remember that? Yup, I still have a piece of gear that runs on Windows XP...

So much of my day went with troubleshooting the technology. I did spent a little time looking at what it would take to get a new computer, although I definitely can't afford one.

Well, unless I opt for a reconditioned used machine, which I could ostensibly get for about $150, and "make do" with until I could scratch together enough money for a new system.

Until then, though, I suppose I will just limp along as best I can! This stuff was all supposed to make our lives easier, right?

Thanks for coming to visit, and have a great week ahead!

How about you? Do you find technology frustrating, at times? Does it REALLY make our lives easier... or more complicated? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2024.11.18 00:19 PST
x875/2109