And, It Was My Birthday Present

Computer problems put me in a place unlike any other. I whine. I can't concentrate on anything else. The angst permeates every piece of every day. I'm not exaggerating. The Cuters know to steer clear, but that only makes it worse. I ought to be the grown-up. I ought to be able to fix it.

It's not my fault that this new Dell won't recognize my Nikon or my Ipod or my GPS. How could it possibly be my fault? The machine was delivered. I unpacked it. I plugged in the cables and connectors correctly. It turned on (which was somewhat of a miracle since the unit it was replacing never did turn on -- even after I spent 2 hours dissassembling the green boards in the back of it with the tech guy urging me on from somewhere in southern Asia).

I uploaded the necessary software - the newest iterations, which came directly from the products' websites. When the first USB port didn't work, I tried another. And another. I plugged the keyboard into the offending ports and it worked just fine.

I chatted with tech support and they think I should pay Dell to help me with this problem since it's a "3rd party issue".

Bear in mind that I waited for 3 years and endured countless slurs regarding the state of our old computer before I finally broke down and bought a new one. I'm feeling like I should've waited a little longer.

I wouldn't put up with this behavior from a toaster. If it burned the bread or didn't accept the fat bagels it promised to crisp to perfection then I'd take it right back. And the store would accept it, as long as I had my receipt. But this machine has been recalcitrant since the day it arrived, and yet I still try to coax it along. It seems that I ought to be able to fix it or figure it out or work around it but I can't. Really. I can't.

And what makes me maddest is the memory of Princess Myrtle taking her cranky laptop into the Apple Store while she was here on vacation and, in the time it took her iphone to charge - right there in the store, on their chargers - she was presented with a repaired and polished computer. For no charge. In 10 minutes.

I think there may be a lesson here.