With all of the technology available, I for one, am having a helluva time keeping up with it all. It is as if too much information is being thrown at me all at once. Just as soon as I learn one new trick to make something work on my computer or smartphone, then something else comes along. It is a never ending learning cycle.
I suppose this is a good thing. Isn't this what great teachers taught us at school? As adults we must grab the bull by the horns and get on board with all of the latest tech knowledge before we get left behind. Based on one of our granddaughters, I am pretty sure that I have been left behind, although not totally. There are others that are so much less savvy than myself. I am not being critical or judgmental. Perhaps they do not need to know at this stage in their life. My desire to continue to write and be published requires I stay up to date. Scanning documents and going on line for investments, insurance, banking, bills, etc. is very important to me and makes my life easier. At some point in time, I believe that this method of getting information will be the only way. It already is the quickest way.
One sure thing is that if you don't know something you need to ask for help instead of whining about it. My daughter uses these words with her two girls. Especially when something is wrong and they are not communicating the problem to her, just crying about it and through the crying uttering words that are not understandable. Her saying is, "Stop crying and use your words so that I can try to help you." Usually this works.
For me, I am not afraid to keep trying to solve my tech problem before I get to the point of crying and trying to ask for help. I remember when computers came out in the classrooms for the teachers to use and then a few set up in a daisy chain for students to go to the classroom computer center. So that the few tech support people of the district could work on the BIG problems, each grade level designated one of the teachers to be their tech "go-to person." Every year I was chosen. An honor? YES! Was I deserving of it? NO! It was to my very techie son's horror when he learned of this. He was proud, yet in disbelief that there were others that knew even less than I did. What he didn't understand was that I was not afraid to push buttons. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't and made matters worse. One thing is for sure...I kept trying until there was nothing left to try. All techies first go to question for the user having problems is, "Did you reboot?" This I have learned solves so many problems before you even start to become frustrated.
Definitely, it helps if the computer is user friendly. Not just the computer, but the programs installed on the computer. Let me give you an example. My desktop was sort of, kind of on its last leg. I use it everyday to write. After all, I am a writer. Yes, I have a wonderful laptop that I use, also. When I first got it, I had to relearn quite a few tricks. There was a whole new Windows program and the set up was totally different. I feel that I can brag and boast some in that once I ask for help and am shown what to do, I usually retain that information. I have even been known to write it down for safe keeping, especially if I have to go through trying to find the process that I needed.
We have two desktops and two laptops, two smart phones and two tablets in our household. Therefore, it is critical that we know how to use them. Lucky for us, Steve found this marvelous techie, who quite rightly calls himself, "The PC Guy!" He most definitely is the Memphis PC Guy. He is reliable, trustworthy and can speak in our language. We try to solve our problems ourselves but when we can't, we go online to book an appointment. It is all done so easily that you are already amazed at how he has it all set up. We highly recommend him.
We had him out to check on my desktop and Steve's laptop. He gave us the possible solutions. One was that he would come out and install a new 'what-cha-ma-call-it' on my hard drive. Or we could go to Costco and get a new one and then he could come back and try to fix the old one or set up all of the stuff from the old computer to the new one. As far as Steve's laptop, he got some of the programs to work again, just not all. It had basically seen its day. Actually, both of them had. We already had to have Mike, the PC Guy install something in the motherboard. Once you have to continue to replace things, you really are better off just getting a new one. (This is also our philosophy on cars once the warranty has expired.)
This whole blog started when I was up quite early and thought that I would get a head start on my blog, yet all of a sudden it was not where I had it before. I did the reboot thing. I went over to my laptop to be sure it was still there. It was. I could access my blog to write in two different manners. Neither way worked on my new desktop. It simply was not there. Before I started to hyperventilate, I worked on slow and easy breathing to help keep me calm and collected.
Just as I was ready to throw in the towel and ask Steve to look, or call my son and last resort send Mike a question on his website about getting my blogspot to return, I decided to reboot one more time. This time? It worked. I can't explain why it worked this time and not before. To be honest, I don't know if I will have to go through all of this the next time I want to check on it or write. All I know is that it worked this time.
CHEERS TO ME!
"Everything is figureoutable!"
Marie Forleo
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