If you are buying a new computer be aware that most of them don’t come with “instructions” anymore. In most cases, not even a “Quiick Start” guide. I guess the manufacturers assume that we all know everything about computers – and it saves them three or four cents to eliminate the pamphlet that says “plug this cord into the wall socket.”
I just bought a $900 Dell which didn’t even have a “Thanks for buying Dell” card in it. Just a box with a computer in it. It works fine but, although I have been working with computers since the early ‘70s, I could use a tad of direction when setting up a new piece of equipment
For instance, I like to listen to my favorite jazz tunes while working on a web project or writing the next “best seller” piece of fiction. (That previous quote is the best fiction I’ve written lately). So burning my tunes to a disk seemed routine with the new Dell. But, even with two different and time-tested “burners” I couldn’t get the disks to play. Why?
By chance I looked at the one disk drive in the Dell and in its “Properties” found that it had to be “set to the region of the world” I live in. Clicking United States and checking the box did the trick and my disks play like they should. Another pet peeve – since most of these things are sold in the United States why do they put the U.S. way down at the bottom of the drop-down list just before Venezuela? Why don’t they put it at the top and save us a lot of scrolling? Thank God I don’t live in Zambia (for more reasons than just being alphabetically disadvantaged in Dell’s drop-down lists).
One of the neatest computers I’ve seen (and I just set one up for my wife) is the Asus Vivo PC which is not as big as a tissue box and is fast as lightning. It is an amazing computer with a 500 gigabyte hard drive, which can easily be replaced by a bigger one if you need more internal storage.
The most exciting computer news I have is that, after all these years, I am finally going to get my first Apple. I feel like a virgin. Yes, I may not make a million writing fiction about Jack and Amy in the Caribbean, but I have made enough royalties to purchase a top-of-the-line Macbook Pro laptop with the “Retina” screen which I will now use for writing the next “Great American Novel.” Or, I may just use it to play my music disks.
johnbeckmanbooks 