Thursday, December 08, 2011

Thursday Thirteen

I have computers on my mind this morning.

1. My computer, a Dell, has developed a hiccup. It has stopped reading my external hard drive and the fonts changed in Internet Explorer and I can't figure out why or how to change them back. When my computer isn't working right, I get very frustrated.

2. The first computer I ever used was a Commodore Vic 20. My mother bought it when they first came out, which was about 1981, and I immediately took possession of it. I learned a little BASIC programming on it and played a few games with it.

3. My next computer was a Commodore 64. This actually met my basic needs at the time; it ran a dot matrix printer and I had a word processing program that I used with it. I wrote articles for the newspaper on this computer. This was in 1985 or so. Oddly enough, in looking this up I discovered that there is a new Commodore 64 out, one that will run Windows.

4. My next computer was a Tandy T-1000, which was sold by Radio Shack.

5. That was followed by two computers that were built by a computer dude who had opened a local shop. This is probably the best way to go, but it is hard to find this as option around here anymore.

6. Then along about 1998, after the guy closed his shop, I bought an HP. I might have had two HPs, I can't recall for sure.

7. I know I had two Gateways somewhere in there. And then I bought the Dell.

8. I end up purchasing a new computer every three to five years, mostly because something starts malfunctioning. Either a piece of hardware stops working or the software configurations become frazzled that the computer thinks it alive and should get up and walk around the house. I don't know what happens to the darned things when all I do is turn them on and type on them.

9. Personally, I think I should still be using the Commodore 64 from way back when. Or at least my first HP. Shouldn't the things last longer than three years? I mean, that's about $300 a year when you get right down to it. I don't know about you, but I generally spend a $1000 every time I replace one.

10. At the moment, I have my old Gateway computer with Windows XP on it sitting on the floor of my office. I have a Toshiba laptop in a closet, and a Gateway laptop sitting on my desk. I have a Nook Color in the living room, and I'm writing this on the Dell. My husband has an HP computer in his home office. Shouldn't that be enough technology for two people? Shouldn't this damned Dell work right?

11. In spite of all of that, I do not have a smart phone. I have a six-year-old Nokia phone that doesn't take pictures, have a keyboard, have applications, or any of that stuff. I could text on it if we were signed up for that, but we're not. All I do is talk on it and I don't do much of that. We have lousy cellphone reception in the house so the phone stays in my car and I mostly use it for emergencies, like calling home to see if I need to stop and pick up a loaf of bread. My husband and I have 550 rollover minutes between us and we roll about half of those over every month.

12. I suspect if I bought a new phone, it would work better in the house. Other people's phones work okay when they are visiting here. I know because they came to see me and then sat and played with their applications instead of having a conversation. Which is why I have resisted purchasing a smart phone. I prefer to interact with people face to face.

13. This is a lame Thursday Thirteen, but what do you do? When you have something on your mind, it's on your mind.

Damn computer.


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 219th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

10 comments:

  1. I think this is a good post. I really like my computers too and I enjoy reading your blog. Happy TT!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like this post. I have my iMac which I LOVE, a smartphone and an iPad. I guess it's true that I like to stay connected. Erik has a Sony which is a few years old and doesn't do much for him anymore. And he has my hand-me-down HP laptop which is a good computer except it has Vista (ugh). And now he has a dedicated work laptop from his client to access their very secure system. And he has an iPhone. Yes, I think that's enough. It's kind of crazy when you add it all up.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I generally manage to stretch mine to four years before I run into something I want to do with it that the computer can't support (like when USB ports became all the rage). Sometimes I can even go six between new systems.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I want a newbie what to get what to get

    ReplyDelete
  5. I had a Commodore 64. I was thrilled to have it to write a thesis on.

    I would try another browser.

    Have a great Thursday!
    http://harrietandfriends.com/2011/12/happy-or-sad/

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have only had two computers, no cell phone, no ereader. I do have a Nintendo DS and ipod now, but both were presents from my sister and BIL. Some days I think I might like a laptop, but they are just too expensive.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm writing this on my second laptop, both were desktop replacement models. My Sweetie is a gamers so our first computer was a custom built desktoop that we shared. Then I got him a Dell for Valentine's Day years later when he complained about lag while gaming.

    A few years after that, I took the Dell and got him a new Dell with better graphics. When my Dell kicked it, I got a desktop replacement laptop from Acer. I kept that for four yeas until it could no longer multi-task and got the HP I'm writing on.

    We have a kindle, but don't have smartphones yet. Our current phones are 4 years old. Our MP3 players need upgrading, they're five years old and only hold 2g, so we'll be upgrading to 8gig for Christmas.

    Ahhh...the things that become indespensible, huh?

    Happy T13,

    ~Xakara
    13 Pieces of Eye Candy

    ReplyDelete
  8. I never wanted a computer but then someone gave me one somewhere in the mid 90's. It sat for a few years before I started using it. I was slow to come around. I almost forget what life was like before them. I don't remember the names of any computers I've owned. Just now they were not Macs.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm a Mac girl, but I completely understand your post. The CD drive was all erratic, ejecting discs and the thought of taking my laptop into the shop literally filled me with dread.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for dropping by! I appreciate comments and love to hear from others. I appreciate your time and responses.