tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post637780310065820376..comments2023-06-28T22:58:28.247+10:00Comments on Sixth In Line: A luddite on the rampageElisabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-61486626285419849592014-07-03T05:54:11.093+10:002014-07-03T05:54:11.093+10:00I've been to computer hell and back twice and ...I've been to computer hell and back twice and with no Audie Murphy to save my hard disk's ass. Third time's a charm, as they say. <br />vazambam (Vassilis Zambaras)https://www.blogger.com/profile/14515165428574974933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-43795621458924479742014-06-30T06:45:40.012+10:002014-06-30T06:45:40.012+10:00Computers: I love 'em and HATE them.
We, and ...Computers: I love 'em and HATE them. <br />We, and I mean the developed world, are so dependent on these wondrous inventions and all that goes with them. <br />The software, the hardware, the internet, the smartphones, the tablets and soon wristwatches that can do wonders... it's all non-stop and ever-growing, much worse than topsy!<br /><br />And the scary bit, the REALLY scary bit is that when these things go BANG we are lost.<br /><br />If terrorists want to wreck our lives no need to kill people or use bombs. Just cripple the systems that govern our everyday life. Trains, planes, banking, electricity ad infinitum. You name it and you'll find a dependency on a huge computer system.<br /><br />There is no fallback system. We cannot live life using pen and paper or using books and stuff. We are hopeless without this technology<br /><br />I hope you can retrieve your files and stuff and that your life is soon back to as normal as possible. Good luck.PhilipHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-70022043746480364742014-06-29T20:20:53.929+10:002014-06-29T20:20:53.929+10:00I feel sorry for your experiences here. On the oth...I feel sorry for your experiences here. On the other hand I’m feeling I not the only victim of a computer death☺ I find myself in this situation every three to four years. <br />Anthony Ducehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17476865809734682418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-6503116654360217272014-06-29T19:58:21.822+10:002014-06-29T19:58:21.822+10:00My wife and I once were experts. At least that’s h...My wife and I once were experts. At least that’s how our peers saw us. We weren’t but we were computer savvy. I, as you know, taught computing which makes me sound awfully clever but I only taught people up to NVQ Level II and you really don’t need to be that bright to do that. But that was years ago anyway. When I started we were still using 5¼" floppy disks—that’s the big black ones. Now I’m as ignorant as the next man. About the only tweaking I do with a new laptop is change the size of my screen display and set the background to black. I’ve a couple of macros in <i>Word</i> that are helpful but that’s about it. Mostly I can’t remember how to do anything anymore. I had to do my wife’s taxes a few weeks back and that involved me having to teach myself how to do several things in <i>Excel</i> that I used to be able to do without batting an eye. The good thing is that I can teach myself these things quickly but it’s sad how much I’ve lost. <br /><br />I backup everything. I use Dropbox constantly but I also have several external hard drives with backups and backups of backups. I hate that things don’t last like they used to. Thankfully the only technology I’m reliant on are my computers. My main machine is a Samsung Chronos Series 7. It’s a high performance laptop and was not cheap—about £900 as I recall—but then it’s an important tool. I spend hours on it every day and I need it to work and continue to work for years to come. I will have to replace it someday but I do, seriously, expect eight or nine years out of it; £100 per annum for computing power doesn’t seem like an unreasonable outlay to me. I have an old Dell in the office as a spare. And an Asus netbook which Carrie replaced and runs Linux. Plus my tablet which is an Android device. So I’m never in a panic about losing connectivity or data. What’s not in Dropbox is in Evernote or in some black box.<br /><br />My dad had a phrase—built in obsolescence—and I see it more and more these days but especially with mobile phones. I don’t even own a Smartphone and cannot see me buying one… ever. If mine dies—and it’s easily eight or nine years old—I’ll use Carrie’s old one (which is the same model) since her brother gave her his old phone but as I rarely leave the house what do I need a mobile for? In fact Carrie’s phone’s locked itself and we’ll have to phone our service provider to let them know the phone’s not been stolen. I had to do that with mine a few months back. THAT’s how often we use our mobiles.Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-51439441677305866032014-06-29T14:26:09.939+10:002014-06-29T14:26:09.939+10:00This, too, shall pass. Elisabeth. I hate computers...This, too, shall pass. Elisabeth. I hate computers even as they make our lives so much easier. I am scared of them because things are just slightly out of my control. With a typewriter, I roll the paper in. I control the process. But computers are a necessity and therefore, we must get used to their quirks and foibles. I do know exactly how you feel and I empathize with you completely. I hope your problems are resolved and you can get back to work. Take care.Paul L. Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16571449117336295156noreply@blogger.com