I am not as intelligent as my smart TV. I do not multi-task as well as my smart phone. And auto companies believe that a computer can drive better than I can.
I upgraded to Windows/10 on my work-computer in 2018, after support ended for version 7. I skipped Releases 8 and 9, but Microsoft urged (maybe threatened is a better word) me to “upgrade.” Within a year or two, I had learned it all – I became a Windows/10 guru, learned all the tricks. Windows/11 was released in 2021. I kept Windows/10.
But my laptop gave out a year ago and the new one arrived with Windows/11 installed. I hated it then; I hate it now. You can’t go back.
The new version changed how some functions work, added extra steps to tasks I used to do in one, and eliminated some capabilities altogether, although they may be available somewhere. Who knows?
I worked at IBM for ten+ years a hundred years ago; I was a techie, a fact that some of today’s friends may find hard to believe. But in the 80s, a computer responded the same way EVERY time you did the same function.
What if you have a computer problem today? Turn your device off and then turn it back on and see if that fixes whatever problem you might be having. Didn’t work? Turn it off and on again. You gotta love tech support.
Mrs. Mac and I got new cell phones last year. The old ones worked fine but they would not hold a battery charge. It took three months before we got text-messaging to work, and we had to go to a cell phone store to find voicemails (luckily no one leaves voicemails anymore). It took the Verizon guy 30 seconds to fix voicemail – he loaded a new app. It’s always good to get more apps, more sign-ons, more passwords.
Three months later, our texting app was discontinued, and we had to download a replacement app. Today, we still can’t do some things we did with our last app, but by the time we learn, there’ll be a new release.
We bought a product online last month and to return it, we had to download the company’s app. Then, while attempting to print the return-UPS label (on a printer that I have used for five years), an error message displayed instead, indicating that I had a corrupt toner cartridge. Yes, the same toner I used earlier in the day was now corrupt. Turn it off and back on? Yep, that worked. Only took an extra ten minutes.
Have you bought a new car lately? In November, we hit a deer, and our eight-year-old car was totaled. So now we have a new car that vibrates, flashes, and beeps if we get too close to the edge of the road. It shuts off when we stop (is that really saving gas? Or good for the starter?), it slows down when the cruise control thinks we are getting too close to a car in front. We loved that old car.
And GPS now is routed through our cell phones (another app), and blue-toothed (is that a word) to the car, while the map displays on just half the screen. I don’t have time to figure it out, so I look at a tiny map.
I don’t go to the grocery store often (thank you, Mrs. Mac). But I stayed calm when the supermarket self-checkout machine refused to let me finalize my purchase until I placed my last purchased item into the bagging area. People watched, as I patiently tried to explain to the machine that I already placed the last product in the bagging area three separate times, and, in fact, it was already IN THE DAMN BAG.
Admitting my defeat, I begged the attending register-cop to help me pay for my groceries. “Just start over.” Really?
After a particularly frustrating series of technical frustrations, Mrs. Mac and I went out for a relaxing dinner at a nice restaurant. After asking for menus, we were told “scan this QR code and you can view the menu on your phone.” Nothing like viewing a four-page menu on a 2-inch screen. Progress.
I think that tech can be good, but let’s not overdo it. When something works, just let us keep using it; don’t send us a new release. As I write this column, my virus software just indicated that I have to shut down to run an update. I’m sure I can finish this before anything bad hap#@!$%$#%.
Curt MacRae is a resident of Coldwater, MI, and publishes his opinions regularly.
To be notified when a column is published, or to share feedback; rantsbymac@gmail.com
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