The beloved husband is very handy with everything but motors and computers. He can build a house with a hammer and a crowbar. Give him a keyboard and a mouse and he is flummoxed. He thinks I am smart because I know the difference between an operating system and applications. (Let’s not ruin that, please!)
He is a very talented musician and a devotee of Gretsch guitars. My non-techy husband, who has a face book page he never uses and needed instructions on how to get to my blog (several times…maybe there’s more to that story), is very active on the Gretsch discussion board. Imagine that! He is a regular along with Duane Eddy and a bunch of other notable musicians.
The discussion board was recently upgraded which resulted in his Windows XP computer of eight years translating everything into something that looked like a combination of Chinese and Russian characters. After spending a day or two with the webmaster trying to sort things out, he decided that this was a sign that it’s time for a new computer.
We hate buying computers. There are new upgrades to learn. Our old shortcuts are gone…they say improved but they are gone! There are files to transfer and they never are right again. It’s a huge headache for about a week. Then you are into the swing of things and life goes on until you have to upgrade again.
All the research and the purchase were done while the beloved husband was in Gretsch withdrawal and that is not a happy place. Unlike me, he can’t be medicated with chocolate or margaritas. It makes him cranky with far more than the computer. (sigh!)
He eventually resorted to using my laptop for the Gretsch site. Thank God for laptops. We cannot share computers (that would be like sharing a toothbrush!) so using mine was out of the question.
The beloved husband bought an all-in-one. For those unfamiliar with that, everything is in the monitor – speakers, hard drive, DVD drive/burner, USB ports, everything except the battery backup and the external hard drive — but it is not portable like a laptop. The good news is that there is no “stuff” sitting all over and a lot less wires. I have had one for four years and I love it. The down side is if it gets fried, it takes everything with it and you have to start from scratch. Whenever I get a new computer, I want a new monitor (because the newer ones are way cooler) and keyboard and….you get the idea. For me it is a no brainer.
With the new computer in the house, we started the really tenuous marathon of backing-up files, changing cables (do you have any idea how much dust and dirt was concentrated around his stuff???? It’s a wonder we don’t have emphysema), reconnecting things, etc. If you are reading this on a wired desktop computer, you know exactly what I am talking about.
After many painful hours, it culminated in a call to Microsoft…Microsoft Pakistan to be exact. Some guy named Peggy took control of his computer and downloaded all his Outlook stuff (which was the big problem) and gave him enough information to put him back in a happy place.
Now I am in a state of envy. Until this upgrade, my computer has been way, way cooler than his. I have a big, rectangular screen, Windows 7 and some really neat apps and a purple (yes, purple) external hard drive. Now he has this big, kick-ass 23” monitor and I am sooooo jealous.
However, I am not jealous enough to go through another purchase. I am hoarding chocolate for when that day comes. It won’t be pretty. Hopefully by then they will have purple keyboards.
NOTE TO READERS: I have been remiss in not reporting that two great bloggers nominated me for the Versatile Blogger award earlier this month — Helen at RVingGirl and Judy from earthriderdotcom. They are both interesting and fun reads. Helen and I have been blogger buddies from my start in blogging but Judy is new. Please check them out and thank you!
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How funny, the part about not sharing computers – like sharing toothbrushes. I never thought of it like that but now that you mention it…yeah, I can see your point. Enjoying you always, T
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Sounds like you guys need to go to the dark side: Apple….
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We think about it now and again. People say it’s easier. It’s just that if we did, we would need to change both at the same time and probably some of our apps.
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We get so comfortable with our computers – changing to a new one is always a chore. Glad his is up and running. (and I know what you mean sharing a computer would be like sharing toothbrushes!)
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Your husband and home life sounds soooo familiar. I too had to call “Peggy” last week and when he told me it would be $139 to help me I told him where to stuff his price tag. I too am jealous of your husband’s nifty new computer . . . but sometimes there’s just not enough chocolate!
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I don’t think it’s exactly that I fear the learning curve of upgrades, but it’s just the knowledge that there WILL be disruption. Every improvement we ever make comes with at leat a few glitches first. Then I feel so smart for whatever hurdle conquered! Congratulations on your award…I think it is very well-deserved! Debra
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I think you are right. My husband spent two whole days figuring things out. Sometimes with computers you do one little thing off and you can’t figure out what you did or where the screen is to correct it. That’s where the frustration is.
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Thanks for the plug, Kate. I’ve enjoyed your blog and I can so relate to your issues with your computer. When ours was acting wonky – maybe, mid-December, it’s all a blur now – my hubby allowed me to use his laptop. I also went to the public library, logged on there and did some of my blogging. Talk about withdrawal. I was a computer-innocent up until last summer. Now, if there’s no viable computer about, I’d arm wrestle you for that chocolate and margarita. 😉
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I know exactly what you mean about learning upgrades. I have a desktop and laptop at work and a desktop and laptop at home and every one of them has a different version of Word on them. I’m constantly searching for buttons.
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I had that when I worked too. Now all of our computers are on Windows 7 which makes life easier. We do have different versions of Office though.
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Great post, Kate!
It is so true….when one just gets used to one computer or cell phone or GPS then it’s about time for a new one……arghhhh!
Thanks for the mention. I shall also look into this new “BBF” ( not to be confused with BFF) you have mentioned. That, by the way, stands for Best Blogger Friend
Have a lovely day……
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It’s even worse than that. I hate new TVs, new microwaves, new anything where I have to read the directions! Thanks again for the award.
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