So I've been M.I.A. for awhile and the reason is because I've been having computer issues. You never know how much you depend on electronics until they're taken away from you. Granted, my recent issues were a nightmare of my own making but still, being "off the grid" is tough stuff. So let me recount the highlights (or lowlights as it were) of my computer odyssey. I have always been a good computer owner. The problem is that I'm also impatient so last week rather than set my laptop down on a stable surface and get up to go get something I needed, I set it down on the couch. And you know what? Couches are not stable surfaces. At all. And you know what else? I wasn't two steps away from that couch before my laptop slipped off of it and hit the ground, landing on the carpeted floor below but still breaking the piece where the charger attaches. I hoped it was something that could be fixed for not a lotta dough (think around $100) and got a few opinions that did me no good before I decided to take it to a big box store and see if their tech people could give me better news. These nerds didn't even look at the damage, they just said, "Oh yeah...that can't be fixed for less than like $700.". SEVEN-HUNDRED-BUCKS.
So now that I knew my old computer (which wasn't that old, only about 4 years and it still worked very well, the only downside of it was that the battery didn't hold much of a charge anymore) was officially not gonna be revived, I turned my attention to shopping for a new one. I decided to wait until Sunday to see if anything good went on sale and so I could do my research on what kind of machine I wanted. Armed with the knowledge that I knew exactly what I wanted, I made my way to another big box store to purchase it. And did I ever get lucky cuz even though it was like 10:30 in the AM, they only had two of my selected laptops left and only one of those was in an undamaged box (and I was a little weirded out by how unconcerned the sales dudes were about the damaged boxes, as if it was no big thing even though laptops do not come like expertly packaged these days). I did some final playing around with the machine, grabbed the last good box and waited for a salesperson to become available.
Trust when I say the epic back and forth that followed is worthy of its own paragraph. I knew that all I wanted/needed was what came in the laptop box itself. But, probably cuz it's a bad economy and it's part of his job, the sales guy was not content to let me outta the store with just that. Nooooo, he couldn't do that at all. Immediately he whips out this packet that has all these price plans (ranging from $200 to $350) for coverage of my new purchase. It covers this, it covers that...and that's all well and good but I had one of those plans on my last laptop (which was purchased elsewhere) and never needed it so I declined. Then dude asks if I have a printer and I say yes so he asks if it's a good one. It prints when I want it to so yeah, that's about all I need. Then he moves on to whether or not I have wi-fi and/or a "portable network" (think those Verizon or AT&T wireless cards they show on tv all the time) and I told him I was good on that front too. What kind of router do I have? Hell if I know, it's like five years old but it's never given me trouble. He tells me I should also buy a new one of those like right now and I tell him no thanks. How about anti-virus software, he says. I have that covered, thanks. Am I sure it's good software, cuz apparently the only thing that won't get my identity stolen by Monday morning is the most expensive software they sell. Seriously dude, all good on that front but thanks for the concern. Then he asks if I'm gonna be hooking it up to an external monitor cuz if I am then he can sell me that other monitor at a discount. Another swing and a miss for him since I wouldn't know how to hook that up even if I wanted to. Finally, I see light at the end of the tunnel when he starts pushing this set-up plan for my new computer; they can power it on for the first time, set up my data and virus software (he really wanted to sell me that software) for one low price. Not interested, I know how to hit the 'power' button and type in my name all by myself. And after all of that, he finally ran out of products to try and sell me (or so I thought) and led me to the checkout counter.
But it did not end there at the checkout. He still kept going on and on about how he really thought I should buy some protection and how dire the situation would be if I didn't and something were to happen. Over and over again he told me this. I mean, if I'd been in a dimly lit alley at night I woulda thought dude was making veiled threats about breaking my machine himself just so he could show me how badly I needed this coverage. I declined again (and again) and so he went back to talking about the importance of a quality router and wireless network. He talked to me like I was some 80-year-old man buying his first electronic typing gadget and the way he talked down to me really didn't help his case. I think he intentionally rang stuff up at an agonizingly slow rate so that he could try and sell me something, ANYTHING, else in the store. He mentioned on more than one occasion that he didn't get commission so it wasn't about that but the way he forced those products makes me wonder. Mercifully, it was about that hour where church lets out and all the holy folks hit the stores for their Sunday afternoon shopping so business picked up and he finally let me go.
So what did I learn throughout the past four days? Well, for one I learned that I need to be an even better laptop parent than I was before. I could still shoot myself for breaking my old one the way I did, it was 100% preventable, but I'm starting to move past that. I learned that it woulda done me a world of good to take an interest in tech stuff so I wouldn't have to rely on geeks to try and fix my stuff. I learned that even though my old machine was awesome and still worked great, I have seriously been left behind by computer technology. Every time I touch something on this new one there's a beep or some other kinda sound that makes me worry I did something wrong to upset it. Not to mention the keys are also lit up like a Christmas tree and that's taking some getting used to. What I have yet to learn is how difficult it is to switch over the stuff on my old computer (primarily my music) to this new one. I don't look forward to that but I'm gonna give it that good old college try and see how it goes. But I can tell you this much, I am so, SO happy to have a computer again and I'm not gonna take it for granted this time.
