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Fantasy Romance

New Computer

Update: A Set Back

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I am writing this on my phone as my very expensive Alienware laptop is currently unusable.

After restarting it for other reasons, it is impossible to open apps on it as it types 4 over and over again in the Windows screen. When trying to type anywhere else, it keeps backspacing, making it impossible to write a coherent word, much less a coherent sentence.

Windows10

 

I have taken it down to Geek Squad, and they are telling me the “4” key on my number pad is broken. One my one year old Alienware computer. That has never left the house until its trip to Geek Squad.

Now that’s some quality right there. #sarcasm

I am in the process of trying to get it fixed, but it will have to be sent back to Dell as it’s pretty specialized and no one has the parts. Dell has yet to decide if they will stand by their top-of-the-line computers, and if they don’t, we’re looking at hundreds of dollars to repair.

WindowsvsMac
This is no longer even a question for me.

I am trying to move things over to my Mac, but it’s going slowly. The learning curve seems less steep when you aren’t stressing out about it.

If I can’t get things all transferred to the Mac, I’m looking at being a month behind on everything as Geek Squad said they’re seeing four weeks or so for this kind of fix.

Fabulous.

I can promise one thing, though. Once I get switched over to my Mac, I will never, ever buy another Windows machine again.

Ailing Big Box Stores

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I’ve heard a lot of retail stores are ailing, and as I was doing research on purchasing a Mac, I decided to stop at Best Buy to do some of my shopping there.

monitor-1307227_640
Okay, maybe not this grand.

In our house, I’m the researcher. I peruse websites, look up reviews, and otherwise try to figure out the best way to spend our hard earned dollars.

As such, I’ve been responsible for over 90% of the electronics purchases over the last fifteen years.

I haven’t shopped at Best Buy in a couple of years. We bought our plasma TV there, but I bought our last TV and laptop directly from Dell.

My husband decided to stay home with the kids instead of dragging them an electronics store and trying to make them behave, so I was on my own.

toddlerstore

Taking what I’d already learned about a Mac and my small list of questions, I drove to the nearest Best Buy.

I was somewhat surprised at how empty the parking lot was. Last time I was there, I had to park in Famous Footwear’s lot to get a spot. But, I was in the front ¼ of the parking lot, and that was just pulling in. Granted, this was on a Sunday afternoon, but even Sundays used to be so packed you had to walk far enough that your Fitbit thought you were exercising.

Shrugging, I enter the store, get my bearings, and head back to the computer section. There are two couples in the entire computer section. Two. No one else is there.

The first couple appears to be in their twenties, and they’re shopping gaming keyboards.

gamerkeyboard
It’s going to look like this no matter what keyboard you get. I know from experience.

The other couple is probably in their sixties, and they have two salesmen helping them with a third watching the other two salesmen help them. There are two other Best Buy associates strolling through the computer area.

Interestingly, no one offers to help me or asks what brought me to the store.

I eventually find the Macs, and I take a few minutes lifting them (3 pounds in really light, by the way), and trying to decide how they’ll fit on my actual lap. As I’ve mentioned, my Alienware is a powerhouse, but it’s heavy. More of a portable desktop than a laptop.

After a few minutes perusing the stock, I still haven’t had a salesman help me, and I can’t figure out how to buy one. Is there a slip I take to the front? How do I get the configuration I want?

Finally, I chase down a salesman to ask the few questions I have. Like will Word documents play nicely between a Mac and Windows if both machines are running Word.

The salesman, who is literally doing nothing else, acts like he’s super busy and says he’ll see if he can get someone to help me.

I let him go and left the store.

I called Apple, asked them my three questions, then proceeded to order a computer and have it delivered to my home.

Not entirely sure what happened at Best Buy. Maybe the guy was genuinely busy. Maybe he didn’t know Mac products. Or maybe he was on his way to break, and I was interrupting him. Not sure, but if I can’t get a better experience in person, I’m going to enjoy the convenience of online shopping and buy stuff that way.

Just an FYI Best Buy. And based on your parking lot, someone needed to tell you that.

 

How about you? Ever had a frustrating experience at a retailer? What happened? How’d you handle it?

And So I Joined a Cult

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Or am thinking about it, anyway. At least, that’s how the Mac users I’ve talked to describe themselves. They’ve all told me once I buy my first Mac, I won’t ever buy another Windows machine.

MacBook
Looks innocuous enough, and no purple Kool-Aid anywhere.

I’m skeptical, as is my nature, but I’ve never known anyone who has a Mac that hates it.

 Ever.

 Yeah, they’re more expensive, but everyone I talked to who owns one was more than willing to fork over their hard earned dollars to get another one.

And this includes some very frugal finance professionals.

So, I started to research more about operating specs, performance, etc. You need to know all of this on a Windows machine. When I bought my Alienware, I had an array of processors to choose from, video cards, hard drive space, RAM, screen size etc.

techwoman
Researching.

It’s less daunting to order your computer from Dell than to build your own, as I did on my last machine (where then you have to worry about motherboards, cases, power supply, etc.), but there’s still a lot to sort out to make good decisions.

Not so on the Mac. You have desktop or laptop. Once you choose laptop, there are only three options. A bit of research showed me the MacBook Air was probably the best choice for me in terms of functionality. I am not a high end user, and using Pages and maybe some ebook creating software is not a big deal to a Mac.

Once I chose MacBook Air, I basically had three choices left to make. Which of the two processors did I want, 8MB or 16MB of RAM, and 128GB, 256GB or 512GB for the solid state hard drive. That’s it.

 I should be in awe of the simplicity. Instead, I’m wary. Can it really be this easy? Can it really work as well as the Alienware?

WindowsvsMac
Way too much truth.

We need to replace my husband’s computer so we can each have a machine to work on at the same time. But this is a commitment. A big one.

Am I ready for it?

How about you? Ever make a big change like this from one system to another? How’d it go? Any tips or advice?

Six Things I’m Still Struggling with on Windows 10

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As you know, I have a new Windows 10 machine. There have been few systems in my life I haven’t been able to open up and mostly figure out. For those things that did stymie me, a quick Google search once Google became a thing was usually able to fix them.

I admit, I have less time and less patience these days, and Windows 10 has been a steeper learning curve than I would like.

Windows10.png
Actual footage of a Windows 10 user.

Six Things I’m Still Struggling with on Windows 10

1. Shutting It Up

This thing cries more than newborn. It’s constantly beeping at me. I have no idea why other than it misses me. I have turned off notifications, but it still feels chatty. I have “solved” this by plugging speakers into the laptop and then turning those speakers off. But really? Who would want to be beeped at for every new e-mail, Facebook post, Twitter notification or whatever other reason it is that it won’t shut up?

 

2. Making It Less Needy

It needs me. It misses me. The moment I look away from it, the screen dims in sadness. If I walk away for a minute or two to stir something in the kitchen and come back, it’s already locked itself down. Seriously, WTF? Do you know how hard it is to make supper off Allrecipes when I can’t look away for even a moment? Yes, I’ve changed the time for when it “goes to sleep” to 30 minutes. Apparently, this control is hiding somewhere else.

3. Making It Work Without Supervision

Going along with the second point, the darn thing stops working if I walk away from it. So while I’m loading the 120 GB of data from my other computer on to this one, I had to sit in front of Windows 10 for it to allow the loading process to continue. I spent this time surfing Google to try to figure out how to make it work without supervision, but apparently Windows 10 is like the AR clerk we had a few years ago. If you weren’t watching him, he wasn’t working.

Windows10ruined
Okay, overly dramatic, I know. But frustration that turns to anger is seldom reasonable.

4. Finding What Used to Be in the Control Panel

I searched for the control panel. It’s gone. There’s a settings option now, but you have to hunt for some of the stuff that was in the control panel.

5. Easing It’s Jealousy

Windows 10 says it’s compatible with files you made in earlier versions, but it’s quite jealous of them and doesn’t make compatibility easy. There are several programs I’m still struggling to get to work, like iTunes. Because that’s such an uncommon program *eye roll*

It’s not even kind to all Microsoft software. For example, the Microsoft Money file would NOT import into the new machine. I saved it down a couple of different times and tried to import it. It kept erroring out. I finally had to create a new file in the Windows 10 version and hand-key in all of the information I wanted from the old Money file. Because that was a hour well spent.

6. Figuring Out Its Facial Recognition Software

I get that this is where security is going. I understand that. I don’t have to like it, but I understand it. Still, the facial recognition seems to work about 10% of the time. The rest of the time, I have to input my pin code. Thank goodness it at least allows for a pin code.

facialrecognition
Yeah, I know, but do you know what romance authors research?

I’m sure there will be more issues as I continue to work through this new system. Things have changed a lot in the almost eight years since I bought my last computer. I will say, however, that given the troubles I’ve had, my next computer may very well be a Mac.

A “New” Laptop Computer

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Once upon a time, my desktop computer was a monster gaming system. It could power through Stormwind without so much as a flutter of lag. But that was more than two children ago, and one of those children is now in kindergarten.

Electronics simply don’t have that long of a life-cycle. So, I knew it was time to upgrade the computer over a year ago when it was running slow while I was browsing for winter coats for my daughters.

computerwhy.png
I don’t want a new computer. Not really.

I saved up and bought a really nice Alienware laptop. I figured this would last me another seven years or so.

When it arrived, it was huge. Much bigger than I expected. My husband teased me a little, asking me what I did expect when I bought the largest screen they had available. Well of course I bought the largest. I want to be able to see it, don’t I? Especially as I’m spoiled at work with not one but two massive monitors that take up most of my desk.

But along with the large monitor came a lot of weight.

Not the best thing in a laptop, but this computer was never leaving my house, so not a big deal.

The track screen was also inconveniently located and quite large. My hand kept accidentally swiping it, and I’d end up typing hallway across the screen typing where I didn’t want to be typing. I solved that by purchasing a wireless mouse and keyboard for when I write as that’s the only time it bothers me.

Computerkeyboard
Classy set-up.

The big hang-up was any new laptop had to come with Windows 10 installed on the machine, and I struggled with the operating system. I just wanted to open the new computer, load my files, and go. But I couldn’t. It wasn’t that easy, especially on this new operating system.

So, I did what any writer with a full time day job would do. I stuck the new laptop in a corner, used it only when I had to, and kept using the old machine.

computercrash
And prayed.

Not ideal, I know. But I was much more interested in writing and editing than I was in messing with a new operating system. And, I figured we’d eventually get it at work, and I’d have to learn it anyway.

Only, we didn’t.

Then, my desktop’s main fan stopped working.

We tinkered with it, but it was dead.

A few days later, it started making strange noises.

Yeah, it was time to put aside my writing, move the desktop computer to an out-of-the-way location, and give the laptop the spot on my desk. Then I had to transfer files. And try to remember all my passwords for all the websites I frequent. And reinstall basic software like iTunes.

So, yeah, that took a whole day, and the laptop and I are still figuring each other out.

computer cat
Gratuitous Cute Cat

Combine all of this with how hectic things are at my day job, and I’ve not been nearly as productive as I would like.

But things should get back to normal here soon, and I should still be on track to get Crown Prince released this year.

How about you? Ever do a computer switch-over that didn’t go well? Or at least didn’t go as planned? What happened? How did you handle it?

He's How Big?

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Our Maine Coon has decided that my laptop is an offensive creature and should never claim my lap. It has been quite difficult for both my writing and my work.

Why do I care what my kitty thinks? Ah, you are also unaware that adopting a Maine Coon is quite similar to bringing a small mountain lion into your home. I was once, too.

cat4
Yeah, about the right size for a male Maine Coon.

But let me explain how this happened.

Several years ago, we lost a kitty to lung cancer. It was very hard as we’d had him for many years, and it came fast. From the time he started showing signs of being sick until we had to make the very hard choice was less than a week. In that time, he’d lost 1/3 of his body weight and couldn’t breathe without great difficulty.

We were also three weeks away from the birth of our second child.

We had a second cat, and he was incredibly lonely with the loss of his brother. So, I did a lot of research on cats to see what kind would be good with kids. The internet was all but unanimous in saying a Maine Coon was great with kids and perfect for families. The internet is seldom in that much agreement, and when I learned my mother was friends with a Maine Coon breeder, I figured it was fate.

So, I called my mom’s friend, put our name in for a kitty and sent her the deposit.

She did tell us that Maine Coon males were around twenty-five pounds, sometimes more, and were we okay with it.

I thought of my sister’s twenty pound cat and figured, yes, sure.

cat1

Some of you are thinking, five pounds is a large difference. It’s 25% more cat than your comparison point.

Others are laughing at my naiveté.  You see, the size difference between a fat 20 pound cat and a full grown Maine Coon who is not even remotely fat at 25 pounds is, well, you can see the picture above.

Yeah. The cat carrier we had for him? He doesn’t fit. We had to get him a dog carrier. He doesn’t fit in any cat bed we’ve bought him, but he has commandeered the toddler sofa. He can’t sprawl out in it, but he fits. Mostly.

He is a beautiful, majestic creature. By and large, their reputation as gentle giants is well deserved. He has been amazingly good with the kids, and it helps that he almost outweighs them. See, they can’t pick him up even if they want to, so there’s no carrying him around the house by his upper half without supporting his lower half.

He loves to be part of the family. There is no hiding under beds for this cat. Nope. He greets guests at the door and demands worshipful pets. He then sits down in the family room so he can be one of the crowd.

Some have told me he reminds them of a dog in a cat body.

But no. He is still an Egyptian god. Just ask him.

cat2

When he is displeased, it is not like displeasing an eight pound cat. Oh no.

He hates my curling iron. The other morning, he reminded me of this by sending it careening across the bathroom. He then looked at me, and I swear he raised a brow, challenging me to do something about it.

Normally, he’s good about being brushed or having his claws clipped. When he’s not, it takes DH to pin him while I clip.

This brings us back to how large and how sweet he is when I was trying to write on my new laptop.

Imagine being curled up on your recliner, snuggled into your favorite blanket. Now, imagine your Maine Coon has also decided it’s his favorite blanket, but only when you’re warming it for him.

Now, imagine the cat you see above coming bounding across the room on thunder paws and launching himself onto your lap.

He landed with enough force to send the recliner into the wall behind it and knocked the breath out of me.

He then proceeded to curl up on my “lap”, spreading himself from just under my chin to down across my knees. He then rolled over to give me his tummy to rub as he purred.

Fortunately for my new computer, I got it onto the side table in time. Barely.

So, while the computer survived, writing was done for the night.

And my Maine Coon claimed his rightful throne. Just ask him.

 

How about you? Have any pets that are less than fond of your electronic devices? How do they respond? What do you do about it?