Of Computers and Other Issues by Konnie Enos

 

Well, this is fun. Not.

My computer died.

I suppose it could be worse. I’ve been using OneDrive exclusively for over a year now and have all my files saved there. Meaning I didn’t lose anything. I’ve also been using my tablet for most things so I can get on all my social media and check all my email accounts. It’s the important things that I still need my computer for that’s at issue.

Last I checked it had about 30 minutes of power left and no way to recharge. So, I’m left with trying to figure out what I’m going to do now for a computer. My first option was my tablet.

First, I checked Word. I could open new, blank documents and probably type on them, but I was unable to control the font and type size. Not that the program didn’t have that capability but because my tablet is old and doesn’t function as well as it should.

Second, see if I can work with our blogging program which wasn’t on the tablet. It turns out, I could get it. I even managed to open it and find what to click to create a new blog. Then I found out that I could not control the font or type on it. (I can from the computer.)

Though my other issue was getting the document I typed in Word into that program. I usually just copy paste. Yeah, copy/paste is not working on my tablet.

Oh joy, fun, fun.

Then Royce had to remind me that the software I use to track our finances is on my computer.

Fun. Now I had to see if I had yet another password to ensure I could access my information from a new computer. Do you want to know how well that worked?

I have a password to access it, but it’s little use to me if I don’t have the program on a different computer. So far, my efforts to find the solution only take me to pages that require me to sign up for the program. I don’t want to sign up again. I just paid my yearly fees. So now, I also have no means to even access my records. I suppose I could try to contact someone, but for the time being, I’m completely without my financial records because, I absolutely need the program to access the information.

So more fun. Oh Joy.

Thankfully, based on the information I do have, my information is saved, I just don’t have all of it.

And then there is this issue of Grammarly. I have it on my computer. It’s not on this one. This means I don’t have my most trusted source to make sure all my words are spelled correctly, and the sentence structure is sound. I mean, I do okay on my own, but the extra help is nice.

After all this effort to find temporary solutions, there is the issue of a more permanent solution to my computer dying. Clearly, I’ll need a new computer, because using this one cannot be permanent. For one thing, there are already three other people using it. This works for the three of them because none of them spend a good share of their day on a computer. Their smartphones and/or tablets work for what they need.

I have spent most, if not all my day on my computer. I do have a tablet, but as noted, it does not do everything I need a computer for. I also cannot share my computer. If for no other reason than doing finances can take most of the day and when the muse strikes, having to relinquish my computer to another user who needs it would mean losing my thread and my muse.

With all the issues it has been giving me over this last year, maybe getting a new one would be a better option. Unfortunately, I can’t afford even a new cord.

Royce also says a newer tablet (mine’s old and slow) might be able to run Word better. If nothing else, it should respond easier than what my tablet is doing right now. Though I’d still have to solve the financial program issue. I may have to resort to going back to my longhand records, which currently aren’t as up to date as they should be, though they aren’t off by much. Meaning I could take the time to manually update them.

Sigh.

There is also the issue with our car. It’s is still in the shop with no clear idea when we’ll get it back. It has all the parts it needs; however, they have been unable to reprogram needed parts to function in our car. So, another computer issue.

More heavy sighs.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.