Two days ago was pretty much like today. Except that I found out my laptop had a virus -- several viruses in fact. I also discovered that even though comments on my blog posts appeared in my E-Mail, I couldn't actually respond to them via E-Mail. To put it more succinctly, my most recent responses to people's comments have all ended up somewhere in cyber space -- orbiting a central absence like useless asteroid chunks."People will think you're rude," my daughter said, "if you don't respond."
I swear, I am not rude. Just incredibly technologically stupid.
Since beginning my blog, I have felt like someone who can't swim trying to stay afloat in ten feet of water. In over your head I believe is the expression.
Sometimes I'm tempted to discard my laptop and take up knitting or return full-time to designing scrap books. These are safe old-lady pastimes that are unlikely to offend or confuse.
How can a ten-inch wide machine with a keyboard and a screen come down with a virus? A virus is a microscopic organism that causes diseases, for heaven's sake! My laptop isn't feverish, so far as I can tell. It does, however, barf up ads and unwanted messages I'm obliged to mop up.
Apparently, the way a computer gets a virus is when the user clicks on something s/he isn't supposed to. How the hell is one supposed to know what's safe to click on and what isn't?
Once upon a time, I scribbled my deathless prose and immortal poems on a steno pad or in a notebook. Later I slipped a piece of paper into my typewriter and typed up the ones I thought might be worth saving. Neither my notebooks nor my typewriter ever came down with a virus. Some pages, though, were lumpy with scattered crusts of white-out. Like Calamine Lotion smeared over random patches of poison oak.
Not that I don't enjoy playing Wordscaper and reading other people's blogs. But is it worth having to click and drag and cut and paste, upload and download, slash and burn, tag and label and twitter and tweet without having the faintest idea what you are actually doing? Is it worth misunderstanding the techno terminology and having people look at you like you had wondered out loud whether people in Spain spoke Spanish?
Long ago I purchased a book entitled Computers for Seniors for Dummies. What I actually need though is the one called Computers for Very Dumb Seniors or an easy reader version of the afore-mentioned books.
"If you hope to be a published writer you absolutely must have a blog." So my friends and relations have instructed me.
Maybe I don't actually want to be a published writer. Or maybe if I do I'll just wait for the world to beat a pathway to my door.
So there!
Computer malfunctions are so frustrating! As for the rude part, people around here must hate me. During the school year, it's impossible for me to keep up with my blog visitors. I'm finally trying to catch up with those I've missed. Working backwards, I'm into February with a long way to go.
ReplyDeletehttp://joycelansky.blogspot.com
Thank you. I feel better now. Good luck playing catch-up.
DeleteI do try to respond to every comment I get, but I get behind now and then. I catch up when I have a day of nothing to do. :)
ReplyDeletePuters are the most fun and the most frustrating thing in my life. I have learned, self taught, some repairs for simple things, but virus removal that my virus program can't remove send me to the fixit shop in a hurry. The longer you wait the worse they get. ♥
I will be turning my computer over to my son-in-law this weeekend. Like you, he insists that waiting is a bad idea.
DeleteOnce some nasty hacker hacked my blog and ate away 5 years worth of posts! Mercifully I keep a back up. Had to install wordpress again, put all the posts back. For someone with little or no knowledge of techno stuff, it was really tough.
ReplyDeleteWow! In your place I think I would have torn my hair out.
DeleteVery interesting read. I must say I have learnt quite a few things during my time on the net. But I have a lot more to learn. :)
ReplyDeleteComputer problems can frustrate the living hell out of a person. Back when I was writing by putting pencil to paper in school I didn't really like doing it that much. I did because I was assigned to. Now it has become something of a hobby. It seems I learn something new everyday about blogging or the internet. It is ever changing!
ReplyDeleteKathy
http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com
I wish I had your attitude. Basically, I want technology to be simple and unchanging. I will try to think positively.
Deletehope the virus is all gone! Would LOVE to hear from you! http://bit.ly/NIQtJa
ReplyDeleteMy hubby bought me a tryprwriter just like in the picture..i LOVE IT...and liked reading your blog!
Thanks. I'm turning my laptop over to my son-in-law (who's an IT) this weekend. Hopefully, it's fixable. I guess I need to give up thinking that I'll ever be fully at ease with technology. I think it's great that you have an old fashioned typewriter. Did it come with a bottle of white-out and a pack of carbon paper?
DeleteInteresting post. I have had my share of troubles with computer technology. Learned some lessons. I am sure everyone something new is lurking to hit us in the face. Still a long way to go.. Liked your post.
ReplyDeleteThanks. "Hit us in the face" is a great way of expressing it. That's exactly how I feel about the mysteries of the computer. I am a long way from being what you'd call "an eager learner."
DeleteMy desktop has occasionally been doing a weird graying out thing. No virus, but I think it's showing signs of its upcoming demise. I really need to be a big girl and buy an external hard drive so when the thing finally croaks, my stuff will be safe and sound.
ReplyDeleteMy son-in-law (Mike Adams) instructed me to buy a flash drive and use it to preserve all my cherished photographs, documents, etc. I am grown up enough to buy the thing but not grown up enough to actually use it without someone hovering over my shoulder to make sure I don't blow up my laptop. Sometimes I feel like a Neanderthal woman compelled to live in a technological society.
DeleteHas anyone suggested a reason why your desktop is "graying out"?
Oh my the calamine lotion! This made me giggle, I understand your frustration with the terminology. I get things done, a few months later I am requested to do the same thing...and I'll be hanged if I can remember what it did to get there in the first place! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteSo great! I also am not that computer savvy so I get frustrated easily. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I think technology will always confound me. Today I'm turning my virus-afflicted laptop over to my son-in-law. He will wave a wand over it and all will be well. Yeah, right!
ReplyDeleteI'd wager I'm older than you, but I was forced into technology when I worked at Big International Corporation. Now I enjoy it. Love my computers, my smart phone, and my Kindle.
ReplyDeleteI picked up a virus on my PC in Las Vegas last year (not EVERYthing that happens in Vegas stays there) and had to have Hubby reformat it. But that was just my spare, so it wasn't a big deal. My main computer is a MacBook, so not quite as vulnerable. Nevertheless, I have an external hard drive that I back up on at least every couple of weeks. Any time I finish a new section of a novel or short story, I e-mail it to myself, so it won't be damaged by anything that wipes out my drive.
When I used to write on dead trees, I filled notebook after notebook of scribbled out lines interspersed with occasional lines left undamaged. Now I just type a scene into Scrivener, then move it to Word after I have it the way I want it. Much easier. but I will admit that when I'm having a lot of trouble with a scene, I carry it in a notebook with me until I work through it.
Hang in there--it's worth it.
Thanks for the information and moral support. Thanks to my son-in-law, my laptop now has a new (less vulnerable) operating system. Also, all my documents are on a flash drive and in google docs.
ReplyDeleteI do use my age as an excuse for becoming overwhelmed by modern technology, but -- to be honest -- I think if I were in my forties, thirties, or even twenties, I would still be struggling because somehow my brain just isn't wired for this stuff. However, I will (as you say) hang in there and hope to get better at it.