Computers
I don't consider myself the most savvy computer person in the world. When it comes to being computer literate, I think that I am very close to being Illiterate! However, I know enough to be able to stumble around like a drunken blind man and eventually find what I'm looking for. If not, I can usually find someone who can help me. I have a former co-worker, I'll call him 'Pete', who is even less knowledgeable than I am. Pete called me the other day in desperation and left me a unintelligible voice mail asking for help. What I got out of it was that he was having trouble installing a wireless router for the new Netbook that he bought.
Now, mind you, we are both retired technical people. We both worked for Verizon/Bell Atlantic/NYNEX/ New York Telephone (An AT&T Company)/New York Telephone Company for over 30 years. We basically were with the company from the two cans and a waxed string age right through the High Speed Broadband age... at least the start of it. And we were GOOD at what we did! No slackers, Pete and I. Anyway, he had the installation disk and he could not get the installation wizard to help him. I asked him if he googled the router for help. "What??" he said. I told him to hold on and, in a matter of seconds, I brought up Cisco Systems, LinkSys support. Everything that you want to know about installing this router, right there in front of my tired eyes.
I told Pete that I was sending the link to him in an email. He got it and said "What am I supposed to do with this?". I told him to click on it and, if that didn't work, to copy and paste it to his browser window. He didn't know how to do that, so I had to walk him through it. It took fifteen minutes, but we finally did it. Now, he had to update his browser. He really had a hard time getting to update and was at the "Where's my hammer?" stage. I had to talk him down several times because he was going to give the poor netbook a line hammer makeover. After being on the phone with him for and hour, we decided that the best idea was for me to go over tomorrow and help him install it. The worst that could happen is that we will look like two monkey's trying to screw a football in the process; or maybe, just maybe, we will get the damned thing installed.
My question is: Why don't they make these things easier to install? Hell, you've got an installation disk, why isn't that enough? I know, we are a couple of dinosaurs trying to adapt when we know that we will soon be extinct, but at least give us a fighting chance. A shelter that we can go in just before the computer meteor hits! Something. I know, we can take computer classes, but we're to old and too distracted to take classes now. Besides, I didn't go to class in High School, why should I be any different now? I would probably fall asleep because it's past my nap time.
They have that special cell phone for older people, the Cricket?? Why don't they have a special computer for us.... You could call it the Idiot! Just a suggestion.
Now, mind you, we are both retired technical people. We both worked for Verizon/Bell Atlantic/NYNEX/ New York Telephone (An AT&T Company)/New York Telephone Company for over 30 years. We basically were with the company from the two cans and a waxed string age right through the High Speed Broadband age... at least the start of it. And we were GOOD at what we did! No slackers, Pete and I. Anyway, he had the installation disk and he could not get the installation wizard to help him. I asked him if he googled the router for help. "What??" he said. I told him to hold on and, in a matter of seconds, I brought up Cisco Systems, LinkSys support. Everything that you want to know about installing this router, right there in front of my tired eyes.
I told Pete that I was sending the link to him in an email. He got it and said "What am I supposed to do with this?". I told him to click on it and, if that didn't work, to copy and paste it to his browser window. He didn't know how to do that, so I had to walk him through it. It took fifteen minutes, but we finally did it. Now, he had to update his browser. He really had a hard time getting to update and was at the "Where's my hammer?" stage. I had to talk him down several times because he was going to give the poor netbook a line hammer makeover. After being on the phone with him for and hour, we decided that the best idea was for me to go over tomorrow and help him install it. The worst that could happen is that we will look like two monkey's trying to screw a football in the process; or maybe, just maybe, we will get the damned thing installed.
My question is: Why don't they make these things easier to install? Hell, you've got an installation disk, why isn't that enough? I know, we are a couple of dinosaurs trying to adapt when we know that we will soon be extinct, but at least give us a fighting chance. A shelter that we can go in just before the computer meteor hits! Something. I know, we can take computer classes, but we're to old and too distracted to take classes now. Besides, I didn't go to class in High School, why should I be any different now? I would probably fall asleep because it's past my nap time.
They have that special cell phone for older people, the Cricket?? Why don't they have a special computer for us.... You could call it the Idiot! Just a suggestion.
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