Evidently I have a have a particular gene in my DNA that disrupts my interaction with technology. That’s the modern explanation. Traditional explanation: I am jinxed. To wit:
On Saturday, September 26th, AARP sent me a newsletter to my Hotmail account and I clicked on it. There was an article I was going to read and maybe comment on, so I wanted to log in. However, I could not find my password (passwords are all in a little notebook, but not very organized). AARP sent me a link, so I established a new password. But then I was told that I did not have an account with that email address. Of course I do! It’s where they send all the newsletter emails. Later I found the old password, but now I had a new password…or did I? I gave up for the time being.
Later I was on my Yahoo email, and saw a message from Google asking if my Yahoo email was still the back-up. I clicked and Google wanted me to log in. I actually found this password in my notebook, but now Google said it did “not recognize the device.” That is strange, as this laptop computer is the only “device” I use. Google wanted to text me—how annoying! I found the Help page, which list several options for verification, all of which require a cell phone. There is a response box, so I responded that they should think of another option, as not everyone uses a cell phone. [Actually, according to a Pew Research Survey done in February 2019, 98% of college graduates own a mobile phone. Well, I own one that I do not use, and some ofmy close friends do not even own one.]
A few minutes later, I received a Security Alert on Yahoo. It was from Google, announcing that someone had tried to sign in using my password, but Google had valiantly halted the intruder…Um, yeah, Google, that was me trying to sign in!
Even little things perplex me. I was scrolling through Yahoo mail and suddenly the cursor went wild and zoomed down to the bottom of the page. Possessed, I suppose.
You Tube also hates me. Often when I try to watch something—which is once or twice a week—I am confronted with an error message. The advice is to (wait for it!) “restart the computer” (why, if I just turned it on five minutes ago???), or to “get Chrome.” Hmph! I replied, “I want Help, not a sales pitch.”
At least I was able to do my weekly Zoom meeting. I look ghastly on Zoom, but evidently this is my fault. For financial reasons, I had purchased the cheapest webcam I could find. On the Zoom picture, I look old (well, I am old, but I mean really old) with yellow-green skin. I came across a video (on You Tube!) on how to look better on Zoom. I was instructed to place my laptop near a window for one thing—one impossible thing. The windows are all on one side of the apartment and there is no way to place the laptop near any of them--I mean, without totally re-configuring the furniture, and that is simply not feasible (if I included photos, you would understand). Furthermore, I’d have to disconnect the laptop (which I use like a desktop) and find a place for the speakers.
Later, that same day, the computer just froze. Even after restarting, was not able to use Outlook. I suppose Outlook is trying to badger me into converting. I mean, it wants me to acquire Microsoft 365. I’ve been toddling along with MS Home and Student 2007, which seems appropriate, as I have Windows 7 that came installed on this Toshiba Satellite. So I don’t get updates, nor can I access “help” for Word problems. Well, I recently looked up Microsoft 365. It costs $70 per year, rather than being a one-time purchase, as before. We are urged to use it with Windows 10. I looked up Windows 10 and was admonished that one should not install it on an old computer. So I am supposed to go buy a new computer and also pay a yearly fee…on whose credit card, I ask?
Lately one sometimes sees a post on Facebook from someone who wants to go back and live in the past. So I was thinking, maybe I should have lived 100 years ago. No problems with computer connections, no web pages slowing down my connection, no notices that I am disconnected from the internet, no television without sound or having other problems, no fuzzy or sporadic sound when talking to someone who’s using a cell phone, no company nagging me to upgrade and buy new electronics, etc. Yep, a simple life. Back then people just worried about fire, plague, drought, paying the landlord….
Except…now we still get to worry about those things…. plus the electronic woes.
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