Technological Bermuda Triangle

"I know there is a proverb which says, 'To err is human,' 

but a human error is nothing

 compared to what a computer can do if it tries."

~Agatha Christie

Hallowe'en  Party

Okay, so, out with the AT&T Uverse, and onto the Comcast Xfinity. It was installed on Wednesday, and thefore the headache is finally over... right? Umm... NOPE. Since the Xfinity was installed it has frozen, refused to record, and for some reason I can't get the same channels in the bedroom, that I get in the living room! The Internet connection is fantastic however, I haven't had a moments problem with that! So, even if I am waiting for a service call, scheduled for later today between 2 - 4 pm, I am still ahead of the game because at least the Internet connection is working! Why do I get the idea I have moved into some kind of technological Bermuda Triangle?

Alan and I never do things like other people.

We always seem to end up in sitcom situations.

Why is that? 

And yes, I did try turning it off and turning it back on!

Leaf Of The Day

December 12th 2015

Mood: Curious

~Me :)

 

The Leaf Of The Day For Tuesday, November 24th 2015

"The human spirit must prevail over technology."

~Albert Einstein

If only there were real geniuses like Albert Einstein around today! If only they hired ONLY geniuses, like Albert Einstein at AT&T Uverse, perhaps someone could finally resolve my TV and Internet issues! Someone was supposed to call me tonight, to reschedule my service call... they haven't... so here I sit, with only spotty connectivity. So, tonight I am simply posting the Leaf Of The Day for Tuesday, rather than one of my long winded, repetitive rants and about nonsense. Please... no applause necessary! LOL! See, I haven't quite lost my sense of humor about my TV tiling in and out, and the occasional full stop of my service all together. Hell, at this point all I can do is laugh. But there is a bit of serious involved as well. I have to pay my mortgage at the end of the week, and if I don't use the Internet to do it, I get charged an extra $12.00. And I would like to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, not capitalism, and by the way, we live in a very unstable time. God forbid... who knows how many more parades are in any of our futures? We don't. We really don't. 

Mood: Perplexed

~Me :)

Blame It On The Devil

"October proved a riot to the senses and climaxed

 those giddy last weeks before Halloween."

~Keith Donohue

The devil did it! Well, it's as good as explanation as any I suppose. The problem is my AT&T Uverse. You see, since we had it installed in the middle of September, it has gone our six times! We have had 14 different technicians out and they keep scratching their heads over it. Sigh. It's been just one more thing weighing on me. I will plan to relax in front of a wonderful old movie like, Arsenic And Old Lace, and poof... that little red light of doom will appear on the gateway box and out goes the TV and the Internet! 

It's not very helpful, especially when I hear tech after tech say they can't figure out whats causing the problems. The latest techs were out on Sunday and they say it is fixed once and for all, but they have said that before, so right now I just have my fingers crossed. In the grand scheme of things it's not the end of the world, but when you need a quiet little escape like an old movie, and suddenly the Uverse goes out, it can be the proverbial straw that breaks the camels back! I have already decided that if it goes out again I will simply call and exorcist... I mean we have tried everything else! LOL. 

And yes, I am kidding. 

 

Something Pretty...

 

 

Leaf Of The Day

October 25th, 2015

Leaf Of The Day

October 26th, 2015

 

Mood: Happy/Not Happy

~Me :)

 

Mumphf Lather Repeat... Mumphf

"I had a dream about you. I said green was blue and yellow, and you said green was yellow and blue. You were like that with everything I said, taking the exact opposite stance, 

yet completely agreeing with me. That's how I knew you love me."

~Jarod Kintz

The Titanic Would Never Have Sunk

 If It Were Made Out Of A Sink

I am having a love hate relationship with technology. I have been since my brand new camera went missing last October. I still can't imagine what happened, but maybe some technology mysteries simply aren't meant to be solved. Sigh. Anyway, as I count down the days until I upgrade my current phone, I am busy saving files, and pictures that I want to transfer to the new phone. I have been trying to decided if I want to keep certain songs, and PDF folders that seem very important right now, but probably won't in 6 months, as that is the usual amount of time I hold onto a file. Hmmmm. Mumphf.

It's going to be a weekend of scratching my head about what to do. 

Do I pay my phone off all at once?

Do I take that stupid Next plan of AT&T's?

Do I go with a brand new carrier?

It's down to the wire, and frankly, I would rather not think about it.

But at least when the sun comes up on Monday, and new phone will be on it's way to me. 

Why can't stuff be simple anymore?

"If I didn't care for fun and such

I'd probably amount to much

But I shall stay the way I am

Because I do not give a damn."

~Dorothy Parker

Enough Rope

Mood: Scattered

~Me :)

7 Ate 9

"I know there's a proverb which that says... 

To err is human, but a human error is nothing to what a computer can do if it tries."

~Agatha Christie

Hallowe'en Party

Okay, remember the other day when I told you that I will be getting a new cell phone soon, well that's true and it's only six days away now! I have it nailed down to one of the following three devices...

Samsung Galaxy S5

LG G3

HTC One M8 Featuring (Windows 8.1)

The last phone on the list has me intrigued, but I am going to be honest, overall I am NOT a fan of Windows 8.1. For me, it's an awkward operating system, and when it comes right down to things, the pretty of the build doesn't make up for the the stuff that just plain makes it a strange Internet ride. I have found a lot about it is unnecessary, like the stupid extra screen. What's that about? I mean I am sure folks who take the laptops to the movies, shopping, and the occasional romantic dinner like the extra step, but speaking as someone who can take days off from connecting to the web without imploding, I just find it annoying. I selected the Brooklyn Bridge as the face of that extra screen, in fact it's on all my Windows 7.1 devices, because, well, I know that if I should get frustrated enough to pitch my computer into a body of water one day, the Hudson River seems like it would be a lovely place to do so, especially in autumn. Everything is much lovelier in autumn!

Nah, I would never do that. But don't think the thought hasn't crossed my mind once in a while. I don't like Windows 8.1 the same way I don't like Window's Vista. Remember that gem of computer nonsense? Uh huh... don't feel bad if you don't, it's the operating system no one wants to remember. So we don't. Now when Microsoft came out with Window's 7, all was forgiven. Windows 7 was easy to make go with, it answered all the needs of Windows XP and it was much better thought through than Vista had been. Had Vista been what Microsoft promised it would be, that would have been awesome, instead it was... well... a turd. Well... a turd blossom. It was really pretty, I gotta give it that! Without the little search dog, and wizard, it seemed a little more grown up. That was a good thing, although I have to admit, I missed the doggie a bit. If only it could have been more grown up but keep a little of it's immature side, like the dog and wizard. But you can't pleasing everybody I guess.

Anyway, back to the phones. The HTC phone intrigues me because it is a great phone, above and beyond the Windows program, and I am familiar with the company. My current phone is the HTC Vivid. As I said before, it's the best camera I have ever owned, but as a phone it absolutely SUCKS. But the phone I had before the Vivid was the HTC Aria, which was an amazing little phone. It never gave me any trouble, it simply ran it's course, as all things will eventually. Still, HTC is promising to roll out the next generation of the M 9 later this year and will be getting a release date pretty soon. Just in time, I expect, for the debuts of other things that will be happening later this year, like the release of the Windows 10 operating system upgrade for PCs, and other devices.

You can upgrade to Windows 10 right now, if you sign up for their Beta program. It crossed my mind to do so, and I looked into it, decided to wait until the full version is ready to be rolled out. I did Beta testing for AOL some 15 years ago, and I learned a lot about computers, and how to fix minor things that go wrong, but I was testing on an older computer, and the whole project was really hard on the computer, and caused several crashes of my machine. That's how I leared about the ever important BACK UP thing. Live and Learn. Still, I am glad I did it then, but it's not for me now. So, we will see how things go, and in the autumn, when it's rumored to be released, I will probably give it a try on at least one device, but more than likely, not on my phone.

No, I think my new phone will definitely be an Android device. My Androids have been great. I am hoping whichever Android I choose, it will serve me well for at least 2 years, when my next contract will be up, and I will be ready to go through this all over again! Perhaps by then Windows 10 will be out long enough that all the bugs will be stamped out, and the phone will just behave like it should. At any rate, I will have had Windows 10 on my other devices long enough that I will know how to feel about it for myself, rather than having to go on some stranger's opinion. Do you know what's kinda strange though? Microsoft decided to call it's new operating system Window's 10, rather than Windows 9. I guess it's kind of understandable though, much in the same way Microsoft didn't want us to think about Vista when they rolled out Windows 7, they probably don't want us to think about Windows 8.1 either so they decided to just skip over 9 and go straight to 10 to make us believe that there is nothing attached to Windows 10 that resembles Windows 8.1. . Although from what I have seen, it combines the best of 7 and 8, at least regarding the Start menu. And I can live with that.

I Guess Windows 7 Ate Windows 9. :)

 :)

As for my new phone, I will keep you posted.

Mood: Hopeful
~Me :)

Windows 10 Preview ( Microsoft )

Windows 10 Ambitious But Realistic ( PC Magazine )

It May Just Be Everything Windows 8 Should Have Been ( CNET )

Smart Technology Verses Human Dumbness

"We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works."

~Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt

What a day yesterday was! When I woke up, and logged online, one of my email accounts began self generating emails and sending them to folks in my address book. Fortunately I realized it soon, and contained it. Changed all my passwords. Ran multiple virus and malware scans. And deleted the original email the started the whole mess to begin with! 

I knew as soon as I saw the mess, exactly where it came from. It can from the insurance carrier who handles my car insurence! Frankly... I am mad at myself, because when I asked them to send me over a quote on how much the new car would add to my overall payment, there was a strange attachment. It indicated a photo, which I assumed was part of the brochure, and when it loaded empty, I just didn't put two and two together. 

I know better.

Anyway luckily the offensive email opened in my business account, which has very few direct contacts. So, the virus sent emails, sometimes multiple times, but they ended up bouncing back as undeliverable.A lucky break? Well, yes and no. You see, when I jumped onto the WWW I did a lot of reading about online safety, and took those pointers to heart. One such being that it is never wise to do business out of an account you share social media with.

Keep friends and business separate.

So, all's well that ends well.

Mostly.

My brand new Samsung Galaxy tablet arrived yesterday, amid all the fun, but somehow it just doesn't thrill me! I have been wanting a tablet for a long time, so when I got that included in an offer from AT&T when I signed up for broadband and Uverse, I jumped at the offer. It was going to save us a few dollars every month, and it included a nifty tablet and a $100 gift card. Win... Win. But as it sat in it's box on my desk, I couldn't help but wonder what new wonderful trouble might come by way of it. 

Hmmm?

Still... it's a cute little thing, and I have ordered a new leather case for it, so I am sure I will get over the grr. I will. 

But you know... sometimes...

Mood: Not Happy But It Will Pass

~Me