For those of you who will recall, I hated my IPOD.
So today I call the parent of one of my students because she has a lesson today, but the email I received last night quite clearly indicated that everyone had a stomach flu. And there was NO WAY I was going anywhere near that house if that were the case.
But no, that was not the case, thank goodness. But the mother has a favor to ask. Now I'm good friends with her, so it's not the imposition you would think. Her brand new IPOD broke. It just one day died. The IPOD store replaced it with a new one, but she was unable to get her Itunes downloaded.
So she asked me.
She is technically challenged.
So she asked me.
Has she not been reading my Blog?
I spend the better part of an hour after the lesson screwing around with it. I finally grab mine and plug it in to her cable. It recognizes mine. That's good. that rules out the USB port AND the cable.
But it doesn't seem to be good new for the IPOD itself.
Which is new. Did I mention that? Brand new. And a replacement.
So I write down the serial number and we call tech support.
Thankfully the answer is a quick reboot. That enabled me to transfer her playlist. Now things work fine.
I wrote the reboot command down. And told the tech support that they needed better documentation sent with the unit itself. 6 pictures and 12 words AIN'T gonna cut it.
It just makes me crazy when they tailor technology to a generation that applauds the inability to read and follow directions.
Is that smart? Is that shrewd? or is it just STUPID? ( I can't take credit for this one - Jamie Lee Curtis A Fish called Wanda).
It's Stupid. I have lately noticed that people in my generation fall into one of two categories. Those who raise their kids to be good, upstanding citizens (and I would have to tell you that most of the people I associate with fall into this category) and those who do everything for their kids but their kids grow up with an unbridled sense of entitlement. I teach kids who have fallen into this category every year but this year. By and large the kids I teach fall into the first category. The ones that don't drive me banana's.
As a society I am concerned when things like reading and doing chores to help out in the household are tossed aside. This episode with IPOD only enforced it for me.
The ten year old could figure it out, but me with a minor in Information Technology couldn't? I was an IT director for 10 years, I could program in 6 languages and take a PC apart and put it back together in 20 minutes without one pause. But the IPOD directions were overly simplistic. What does that say? That we are a society of idiots? Obviously not, if their overly simplistic instructions were so ambiguous that I still had to call tech support just to learn how to reboot the thing. Meanwhile that was a tip I had personally learned from Jax, but I didn't think to apply it here.
The point is, I can admit when something is beyond me, but don't oversimplify and expect that I am going to read your mind. That implies that I am stupid and I am not.
What bugs me more, the kids have no problem with the instructions. I think I am more frightened by that than not. I have students who are too lazy to read. They are raised with excellent value sets but I write the instructions for them to practice with in their assignment book and I find that in order to make sure they read it I have to test them on it the following week.
It's a scary world out there and due to the information being so readily available in so many mediums, it's small wonder that kids today don't have to work as hard as we did to get the same answers. But I think that loses something downstream for these kids when they become adults. The propensity for demanding adults who expect their jobs to be handed to them on a silver platter is huge. There is a large population of 20 somethings who already fall into this category. The ones that I am close to are wise beyond their years and have an awesome work ethic, but I can't say that is the large majority.
I am not expecting to be a parent and not sure I would be up to the challenge. I don't know if I am brave enough. But I sincerely hope that all the things I see and learn about from my friends with kids would prepare me somewhat for that job should it arise. I have some fantastic role models around me, Maple Mama, The Digital Father, Peet Fointed, to name a few and I urge you to check out their sites. They are all easy to read, but make you think. I enjoy all three and I am always looking forward to the new ideas that are brought forth, the challenges, the opinions all of it. I find a lot of my answers to the things I encounter during teaching from these folks.
So my hats off to my friends and readers who are parents. You guys and your spouses do a marvelous job and I am always amazed and enlightened at the challenges that come up and how you all handle them with intelligence and class. The world needs more parents like you!
And Apple needs to actually write NOT DRAW their manual.
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Saturday, January 20, 2007
An update and recap
"I need some reader assistance"
Update: I bailed on the 2 kids. They went back into the pool to be picked up by some other unsuspecting schmo on my team. But I did ask that the management team advise whoever takes these kids what the parents are like. If they never experiencec it, great, but at least they won't learn the hard way .
OH - and I got paid for the lessons too.
"A new size"
The clothes are great. And I lost 1.6 today at Weight watchers. that leaves .4 left from that weird gain. I am doing a 30 minute power walk on a video every day.
"THIS is what I am talking about"
DVD player is the new joy of my life. I now use to work out with. My entertainment center looks strangely empty now. That I Can adjust to.
Another jumps over to the dark side. Now three of us in my crew of friends not only went over the IPOD darkside, but we did it without consultation of one another which, in and of itself is odd, AND all three of us got the same exact one. and we all had the same headaches. But we see light at the end of the tunnel. I do feel that 99 cents per song is an unbelievable rip off. Even Rhapsody at 89 cents was ridiculous. That puts entire albums more than the retail cost to buy it in the store. Sorry Apple folks - Apple = Arrogance. ( not that they haven't earned it, but they really make their users lives sucky).
"A weird reality"
I had my dress rehearsal today. I felt it went well. I loved singing with the orchestra. I enjoyed being part of the "soloists". Thats kind of a cool feeling. I did also like the costume discussion amongst the three of us at the end of rehearsal. We are all wearing all black. yay. I hate Black and White.
"Pre-performance Stress"
Well I know I am going through a portion of that now. I am also frustrated at the being criticized for everything - both right AND wrong.
Seriously I don't think that has as much to do with my music career as my day job. My boss in my job is highly critical and doesn't even know HOW to do what I do each day. He got himself in a world of trouble with my team on Friday and spent the day calling around to us to make sure we weren't mad at him.
So any criticism after the week that I have been through is too much. It's me mostly - not them. I am pretty good at taking constructive criticism - just not this week. I need to get some things wrapped up and then I will bounce back.
I have times where I just got frustrated and disgusted with everyone and everything. It's not personal, I can't tell you what one thing is driving the mood, it just is. When that happens, the best thing for me is to stay home and not socialize. Or socialize with very few people.
Today is one of those days.
Can you tell???
I'll bounce back tomorrow.
Update: I bailed on the 2 kids. They went back into the pool to be picked up by some other unsuspecting schmo on my team. But I did ask that the management team advise whoever takes these kids what the parents are like. If they never experiencec it, great, but at least they won't learn the hard way .
OH - and I got paid for the lessons too.
"A new size"
The clothes are great. And I lost 1.6 today at Weight watchers. that leaves .4 left from that weird gain. I am doing a 30 minute power walk on a video every day.
"THIS is what I am talking about"
DVD player is the new joy of my life. I now use to work out with. My entertainment center looks strangely empty now. That I Can adjust to.
Another jumps over to the dark side. Now three of us in my crew of friends not only went over the IPOD darkside, but we did it without consultation of one another which, in and of itself is odd, AND all three of us got the same exact one. and we all had the same headaches. But we see light at the end of the tunnel. I do feel that 99 cents per song is an unbelievable rip off. Even Rhapsody at 89 cents was ridiculous. That puts entire albums more than the retail cost to buy it in the store. Sorry Apple folks - Apple = Arrogance. ( not that they haven't earned it, but they really make their users lives sucky).
"A weird reality"
I had my dress rehearsal today. I felt it went well. I loved singing with the orchestra. I enjoyed being part of the "soloists". Thats kind of a cool feeling. I did also like the costume discussion amongst the three of us at the end of rehearsal. We are all wearing all black. yay. I hate Black and White.
"Pre-performance Stress"
Well I know I am going through a portion of that now. I am also frustrated at the being criticized for everything - both right AND wrong.
Seriously I don't think that has as much to do with my music career as my day job. My boss in my job is highly critical and doesn't even know HOW to do what I do each day. He got himself in a world of trouble with my team on Friday and spent the day calling around to us to make sure we weren't mad at him.
So any criticism after the week that I have been through is too much. It's me mostly - not them. I am pretty good at taking constructive criticism - just not this week. I need to get some things wrapped up and then I will bounce back.
I have times where I just got frustrated and disgusted with everyone and everything. It's not personal, I can't tell you what one thing is driving the mood, it just is. When that happens, the best thing for me is to stay home and not socialize. Or socialize with very few people.
Today is one of those days.
Can you tell???
I'll bounce back tomorrow.
Monday, January 15, 2007
THIS is what I am talking about
Now, I know you all sympathized with my plight on the Ipod.
What happened to me tonight not only vindicates me but will gain me further sympathy points.
I hooked up my new Toshiba Bi-directional Dubbing DVD-VHS player. In doing that I eliminated three boxed under my TV AND color coordinated the whole entertainment center to Silver which goes with theme in my living room which is pewter.
It took me exactly 20 minutes to unpack, unhook, rehook AND program the thing and it works PERFECTLY. The only thing I didn't do was the dubbing or recording onto a DVD because I didn't have any spare discs in the house right now. But everything else works.
The book was 30 pages long, detailed and complete on how to hook this up with one page per sub title ( Your Remote, setting the clock, etc). Clearly written - NO FREAKING PICTURES. More than 4 words and was at a 16-18 year old reading level.
THANK YOU TOSHIBA!
It also illustrates my point about Apple. Their target market is a third of my age. Which is fine, but most adults that I know who have recently gotten an Ipod ( and I know three for this year and we all got the exact same one in the same color) have run screaming from the room with frustration.
I will address this to customer improvement at Apple, though why I bother is a mystery to me. They aren't going to change. They have made a career out of not changing and being ridiculously proprietary.
I am not knocking Apple - not by a stretch. The people who have them love them and I am thrilled for those people. Being a former director of IT, its a technology I find infuriating. Because it's very stable but when it breaks it TANKS. Its also not a common platform in the industry that I work in so not really something I care to change to. Makes life too difficult.
Having said that, I still respect the niche they have. They just frustrate the crap out of me.
I spent most of yesterday and today in bed with some weird illness that caused me to have a fever but no other major symptoms. My mother will tell you that I have always been predisposed to fevers with no other symptoms. I don't feel warm to the touch, but I get glassy eyed and tired. My mom used to tell me that the pediatrician used to tell her it was my bodies unique method of fighting an illness before it blossomed into the actual illness.
Let's hope so.
Having spent nearly 24 hours in bed with roughly 18 of it sleeping, I am feeling kind of punchy. I want to do stuff, but I really get tired quickly. I am grateful that the DVD player only took 20 minutes because that's about all I had steam for.
I sat in bed though, with my Ipod functioning well and learned the tenor aria that I am singing in performance next week. I am singing it in my range rather than tenor range ( though I actually can which is weird.) It's gorgeous and I am sad that our tenor isn't doing it because I love his voice. ( Bernie you would kick some butt on it too!).
So I learned that, watched TV but I don't think I saw any show all the way through with all the naps I had. My cats crawled under the covers with me and we had a glorious sick day.
Seriously - I took an entire sick day today. Even I was shocked. I usually drag myself to the computer and work whether I feel like or not. I had a friend who had a very serious life threatening disease who worked through it until she truly had to be hospitalized by using a baby monitor for those times that she had to lay down. I kind of like that and may get one.....
I remember a time I was baby-sitting for Bernie's son. He couldn't have been more than 2 or 3 at the time. His Baby monitor had died so they got a brand new one. I have been going to their house for visits since before his son was born, but this was the first time that I was going to be alone in the house until very late. Bernie and his wife were going to a Concert and I was watching a courtroom drama movie that had been recommended to me. It was dark, it was quiet and though they live on a main road, traffic had died down. There must have been an accident because I heard the siren on the baby monitor before I heard it on the road. Then I heard it racing down the road. I can't tell you how all of sudden hearing something like that coming out of dead silence from multiple sources can freak you out. By the way - that's the only babysitting story that I have after the age 20. But that family has a very special place in my heart and babysitting was always fun.
I am starting to ramble just a bit and get off topic so I'll end where I began.
God Bless Toshiba and their detailed instruction Manual!
What happened to me tonight not only vindicates me but will gain me further sympathy points.
I hooked up my new Toshiba Bi-directional Dubbing DVD-VHS player. In doing that I eliminated three boxed under my TV AND color coordinated the whole entertainment center to Silver which goes with theme in my living room which is pewter.
It took me exactly 20 minutes to unpack, unhook, rehook AND program the thing and it works PERFECTLY. The only thing I didn't do was the dubbing or recording onto a DVD because I didn't have any spare discs in the house right now. But everything else works.
The book was 30 pages long, detailed and complete on how to hook this up with one page per sub title ( Your Remote, setting the clock, etc). Clearly written - NO FREAKING PICTURES. More than 4 words and was at a 16-18 year old reading level.
THANK YOU TOSHIBA!
It also illustrates my point about Apple. Their target market is a third of my age. Which is fine, but most adults that I know who have recently gotten an Ipod ( and I know three for this year and we all got the exact same one in the same color) have run screaming from the room with frustration.
I will address this to customer improvement at Apple, though why I bother is a mystery to me. They aren't going to change. They have made a career out of not changing and being ridiculously proprietary.
I am not knocking Apple - not by a stretch. The people who have them love them and I am thrilled for those people. Being a former director of IT, its a technology I find infuriating. Because it's very stable but when it breaks it TANKS. Its also not a common platform in the industry that I work in so not really something I care to change to. Makes life too difficult.
Having said that, I still respect the niche they have. They just frustrate the crap out of me.
I spent most of yesterday and today in bed with some weird illness that caused me to have a fever but no other major symptoms. My mother will tell you that I have always been predisposed to fevers with no other symptoms. I don't feel warm to the touch, but I get glassy eyed and tired. My mom used to tell me that the pediatrician used to tell her it was my bodies unique method of fighting an illness before it blossomed into the actual illness.
Let's hope so.
Having spent nearly 24 hours in bed with roughly 18 of it sleeping, I am feeling kind of punchy. I want to do stuff, but I really get tired quickly. I am grateful that the DVD player only took 20 minutes because that's about all I had steam for.
I sat in bed though, with my Ipod functioning well and learned the tenor aria that I am singing in performance next week. I am singing it in my range rather than tenor range ( though I actually can which is weird.) It's gorgeous and I am sad that our tenor isn't doing it because I love his voice. ( Bernie you would kick some butt on it too!).
So I learned that, watched TV but I don't think I saw any show all the way through with all the naps I had. My cats crawled under the covers with me and we had a glorious sick day.
Seriously - I took an entire sick day today. Even I was shocked. I usually drag myself to the computer and work whether I feel like or not. I had a friend who had a very serious life threatening disease who worked through it until she truly had to be hospitalized by using a baby monitor for those times that she had to lay down. I kind of like that and may get one.....
I remember a time I was baby-sitting for Bernie's son. He couldn't have been more than 2 or 3 at the time. His Baby monitor had died so they got a brand new one. I have been going to their house for visits since before his son was born, but this was the first time that I was going to be alone in the house until very late. Bernie and his wife were going to a Concert and I was watching a courtroom drama movie that had been recommended to me. It was dark, it was quiet and though they live on a main road, traffic had died down. There must have been an accident because I heard the siren on the baby monitor before I heard it on the road. Then I heard it racing down the road. I can't tell you how all of sudden hearing something like that coming out of dead silence from multiple sources can freak you out. By the way - that's the only babysitting story that I have after the age 20. But that family has a very special place in my heart and babysitting was always fun.
I am starting to ramble just a bit and get off topic so I'll end where I began.
God Bless Toshiba and their detailed instruction Manual!
Friday, January 12, 2007
I hate my Ipod less now
"I've crossed over to the dark side" I said into the phone... "I got an IPod for Christmas".
"Really ? I got one for my birthday - a silver Nano" said Eeman
" Really??? You sat on my couch and swore an oath over wine that you would NEVER get one! What made that change? " I exclaimed.....
Before he could answer....
"Do you like it?" I asked - tentatively - one never knows the reaction one will get to such a question.
"It's OK and since I didn't buy it, it doesn't qualify as going over to the dark side...." He said
"I don't know - I bought mine with a gift card as a Christmas gift - that might not qualify either" I offered.
"Oh yes - you knowingly purchased it so it counts. Do you like it?" he asked
" Like is such a strong word. I wanted to run it over with my car yesterday. I don't understand how a 12 year old can set this thing up with the 6 2 inch high pages of pictures with 4 words or less per page successfully! The damn thing froze yesterday after everything on the same freaking song!!!!! (Side note- Bernie - you'll love this - it was Sue me from Guys and Dolls - I SWEAR that song will be the death of me! I'm such a nogoodnick).... If it weren't for the fact that Jax was on the phone with me and gave me the reboot command that is evidently SO secret that they can't be bothered to tell you about it anywhere useful, I would be screwed right now!!!" I said peevishly.
"I'm loading all my between-sets music onto the thing after my nephew kind of screwed it up. I had to re-install after I got home. Otherwise it's ok. The jury is still out."
After this conversation I reviewed my comments on yesterdays post where I was declaiming the Ipod in a peevish manner. I have to say that all of you have been really helpful and supportive. So here's the progress I made today.
Bernie's comment:
"Have you tried "add to library" in the File menu? Also, if you let iTunes manage your library (preferences) it will gather all the music on your hard drive and put it in your iTunes library. for the Rhapsody stuff, you may have to burn it onto a CD and then import to iTunes. A lot of these music services don't play nice with one another. I know when I buy from iTunes, the first thing I do is burn a CD, just in case I lose the files or I have to use it on another device. Welcome to World 2.0! "
And I took his advice, I took my purchased Rhapsody tracks burned them on CD's. Then I transferred them to the Ipod through Itunes by loading the CD - long winded but accomplished the immediate need for those tunes without costing extra. Rhapsody uses Proprietary WMA files which means Itunes cannot convert them - yet another shining example of Apple not playing nice with the rest of the world. But the advise on burning was invaluable and I can't believe I didn't think of it myself. thanks Pahtner! ( I kept O Holy night on there though cuz I like it ;-) )
MapleMama:
What a pain in the iButt! Here is Rhapsody's iPod support page - it does look terribly complicated. Sorry! It will be worth it once you get it all figured out!! In the meantime, enjoy "O Holy Night!"
All I have to say here is bless you for finding the detailed instructions. They didn't work although I did see behavioural changes leading me to believe that it was at least trying. I think I am a step closer and will wok with tech support over the weekend to fine tune it.
Post- Doc: All I can say is appreciate your empathy here! I needed that most yesterday when I wrote that post.
I have hung in there per her words of wisdom and today I was happily listening to the Lord Nelson Mass ( I am the understudy for 1/21) and the Rossini Stabat Mater ( understudy and Soprano II Soloist). I also happily drove along singing Fugue for Tins Horns from Guys and Dolls as I am performing the role of Nicely Nicely JOhnson on this song only at a party tomorrow night ( I also get to be Annie from Annie get your gun and Laurie from Oklahoma!). I forgot that no one else could hear the tunes and was singing it in the hallway - I am sure my neighbors are thrilled to death with me!
So it's Slowly returning to "toy" status and leaving the " I need to run this thing over with my car" status.
Itunes also tends to run cheaper on album prices but more on tune prices. It'll be a crap shoot. I hate to pay more when I pay a monthly subscription. I am hoping they will find mutual ground in the sandbox so I can truly benefit from the two technologies.
Thank you again to everyone for your wonderful display of the Isupport!!!! I needed it!!!
"Really ? I got one for my birthday - a silver Nano" said Eeman
" Really??? You sat on my couch and swore an oath over wine that you would NEVER get one! What made that change? " I exclaimed.....
Before he could answer....
"Do you like it?" I asked - tentatively - one never knows the reaction one will get to such a question.
"It's OK and since I didn't buy it, it doesn't qualify as going over to the dark side...." He said
"I don't know - I bought mine with a gift card as a Christmas gift - that might not qualify either" I offered.
"Oh yes - you knowingly purchased it so it counts. Do you like it?" he asked
" Like is such a strong word. I wanted to run it over with my car yesterday. I don't understand how a 12 year old can set this thing up with the 6 2 inch high pages of pictures with 4 words or less per page successfully! The damn thing froze yesterday after everything on the same freaking song!!!!! (Side note- Bernie - you'll love this - it was Sue me from Guys and Dolls - I SWEAR that song will be the death of me! I'm such a nogoodnick).... If it weren't for the fact that Jax was on the phone with me and gave me the reboot command that is evidently SO secret that they can't be bothered to tell you about it anywhere useful, I would be screwed right now!!!" I said peevishly.
"I'm loading all my between-sets music onto the thing after my nephew kind of screwed it up. I had to re-install after I got home. Otherwise it's ok. The jury is still out."
After this conversation I reviewed my comments on yesterdays post where I was declaiming the Ipod in a peevish manner. I have to say that all of you have been really helpful and supportive. So here's the progress I made today.
Bernie's comment:
"Have you tried "add to library" in the File menu? Also, if you let iTunes manage your library (preferences) it will gather all the music on your hard drive and put it in your iTunes library. for the Rhapsody stuff, you may have to burn it onto a CD and then import to iTunes. A lot of these music services don't play nice with one another. I know when I buy from iTunes, the first thing I do is burn a CD, just in case I lose the files or I have to use it on another device. Welcome to World 2.0! "
And I took his advice, I took my purchased Rhapsody tracks burned them on CD's. Then I transferred them to the Ipod through Itunes by loading the CD - long winded but accomplished the immediate need for those tunes without costing extra. Rhapsody uses Proprietary WMA files which means Itunes cannot convert them - yet another shining example of Apple not playing nice with the rest of the world. But the advise on burning was invaluable and I can't believe I didn't think of it myself. thanks Pahtner! ( I kept O Holy night on there though cuz I like it ;-) )
MapleMama:
What a pain in the iButt! Here is Rhapsody's iPod support page - it does look terribly complicated. Sorry! It will be worth it once you get it all figured out!! In the meantime, enjoy "O Holy Night!"
All I have to say here is bless you for finding the detailed instructions. They didn't work although I did see behavioural changes leading me to believe that it was at least trying. I think I am a step closer and will wok with tech support over the weekend to fine tune it.
Post- Doc: All I can say is appreciate your empathy here! I needed that most yesterday when I wrote that post.
I have hung in there per her words of wisdom and today I was happily listening to the Lord Nelson Mass ( I am the understudy for 1/21) and the Rossini Stabat Mater ( understudy and Soprano II Soloist). I also happily drove along singing Fugue for Tins Horns from Guys and Dolls as I am performing the role of Nicely Nicely JOhnson on this song only at a party tomorrow night ( I also get to be Annie from Annie get your gun and Laurie from Oklahoma!). I forgot that no one else could hear the tunes and was singing it in the hallway - I am sure my neighbors are thrilled to death with me!
So it's Slowly returning to "toy" status and leaving the " I need to run this thing over with my car" status.
Itunes also tends to run cheaper on album prices but more on tune prices. It'll be a crap shoot. I hate to pay more when I pay a monthly subscription. I am hoping they will find mutual ground in the sandbox so I can truly benefit from the two technologies.
Thank you again to everyone for your wonderful display of the Isupport!!!! I needed it!!!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
I hate my Ipod
I probably won't in the future, but for the time being....
I hate my Ipod.
I seriously considered running it over with the car this morning. I didn't. I couldn't justify 150.00 under the wheels of my car. And it was too cold. I didn't feel like going out.
I was up until 2AM working on this thing and for all the music I own on my laptop - do you know what song it found? O Holy Night performed by Bernie. First off, I don't know how or when it ended up on my drive, second, I love hearing that song sung by him ( he can sing anything and frankly I would love it). So there's the questionable with the good part.
So I finally get Itunes working properly. I finally get some settings on this thing that make sense.
I already subscribe to a music service that supposedly allows me to transfer any music that I have already purchased through them onto my ipod.
It's a major tease though, because it shows the ipod on the screen, it tells me all I have to do is drag and drop the tracks onto it and that's it.
Alas But no. This is now looking bad. I have killed the software for the music service I belong to. So bad. So costly in terms of time.
This morning I call in and get a nice young man to help me through this. YAY this takes 5 minutes ad works perfectly.
Software works again. Ipod still cannot accept transfers but I happen along some additional information on this and I re-configured Itunes, Rhapsody and the Ipod itself, and it would seem that I am stsill clearly doing something wrong.
I will be calling technical support again tomorrow.
It's embarassing to be honest. The fact is I have worked at technical jobs most of my life. I am more than capable of doing these things. And it irks me to no end that a 12 year old has no problem with this thing and the little pictorial with 4 words or less instruction booklet that comes with it.
All in all I think I will like it, but I have to get this software crap ironed out because it's making me nuts and I KNOW the answer is there. I JUST KNOW IT.
So meanwhile I am adding my CD's that I want on there.
Oh and I added Bernie's World ( first! well after O Holy Night) .
I hate my Ipod.
I seriously considered running it over with the car this morning. I didn't. I couldn't justify 150.00 under the wheels of my car. And it was too cold. I didn't feel like going out.
I was up until 2AM working on this thing and for all the music I own on my laptop - do you know what song it found? O Holy Night performed by Bernie. First off, I don't know how or when it ended up on my drive, second, I love hearing that song sung by him ( he can sing anything and frankly I would love it). So there's the questionable with the good part.
So I finally get Itunes working properly. I finally get some settings on this thing that make sense.
I already subscribe to a music service that supposedly allows me to transfer any music that I have already purchased through them onto my ipod.
It's a major tease though, because it shows the ipod on the screen, it tells me all I have to do is drag and drop the tracks onto it and that's it.
Alas But no. This is now looking bad. I have killed the software for the music service I belong to. So bad. So costly in terms of time.
This morning I call in and get a nice young man to help me through this. YAY this takes 5 minutes ad works perfectly.
Software works again. Ipod still cannot accept transfers but I happen along some additional information on this and I re-configured Itunes, Rhapsody and the Ipod itself, and it would seem that I am stsill clearly doing something wrong.
I will be calling technical support again tomorrow.
It's embarassing to be honest. The fact is I have worked at technical jobs most of my life. I am more than capable of doing these things. And it irks me to no end that a 12 year old has no problem with this thing and the little pictorial with 4 words or less instruction booklet that comes with it.
All in all I think I will like it, but I have to get this software crap ironed out because it's making me nuts and I KNOW the answer is there. I JUST KNOW IT.
So meanwhile I am adding my CD's that I want on there.
Oh and I added Bernie's World ( first! well after O Holy Night) .
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Words of Wisdom for the day.....
"Don't spill juice on your laptop"
And yes, that's exactly what happened.
This morning, I had an early conference call, joined it and then the cat decided he wanted some love.
OK, I can multi task while I am listening.
I pick him up, put him on my lap, and his tail swoops out and knocks the glass of juice BEHIND me and it splashes on to the keyboard.
yes, from the table BEHIND me.
Not seconds later, the laptop fizzles and shuts down.
I don't panic or get mad, I call in my ticket. I told them that one of my kids knocked the juice. ( That's not a lie, my cats are my kids!). Then I get the hairdryer and put it on the cool setting and start drying out the interior of the laptop.
So I am awaiting for a callback from the tech, and meanwhile I am setting up backups for my work for the day possibly two. I had made three calls, when the tech called me back. He went in search of a motherboard for me, and would call me back.
I get in touch with my back up for Order Assignment detail. She's mad at me, and I had NO idea why. Then she told me that our boss decided ( without speaking to me at all) that she was going to pick up 100% of my work for the day.
Unacceptable. I have way to much work and there is no one person that can accommodate their own workload plus all of mine. So I have been making all these arrangements and in one fell swoop they are undone. So while she and I are working through the details of the tasks she needs to today( and happier about it because it is a one shot deal), I call our boss. I tell him what I've put in place and that solved the problem.
So now I have done everything I can do at this point, so being industrious, I decide to do my 30 minute 30 walking DVD. I reflect at this point, that as soon as I start, this guy is going to call me back. And three minutes in, that's precisely what happened.
So now it's noon. I need to meet him by 12:30. The Laptop is STILL not booting up and I tell a colleague as I am packing up to go into the office, the damn thing is going to boot up perfectly once it gets into the tech's hands.
And it does. I curse the thing silently. He takes it apart, cleans it up, puts it back together and send me on my way. Without a new motherboard. And since we really cleaned it up, the keyboard hasn't worked this good in years. the Space bar broke, so I gorilla glue'd back together and re-attached it and it's unbelievably sensitive.
I was back on line and working by 2PM. A minor miracle in this company. usually this is 1-2 day gig. So I am pretty impressed that we got things moving and I met the two major deadlines that I needed to today.
So my words of wisdom to impart: Don't spill juice near your computer.
And yes, that's exactly what happened.
This morning, I had an early conference call, joined it and then the cat decided he wanted some love.
OK, I can multi task while I am listening.
I pick him up, put him on my lap, and his tail swoops out and knocks the glass of juice BEHIND me and it splashes on to the keyboard.
yes, from the table BEHIND me.
Not seconds later, the laptop fizzles and shuts down.
I don't panic or get mad, I call in my ticket. I told them that one of my kids knocked the juice. ( That's not a lie, my cats are my kids!). Then I get the hairdryer and put it on the cool setting and start drying out the interior of the laptop.
So I am awaiting for a callback from the tech, and meanwhile I am setting up backups for my work for the day possibly two. I had made three calls, when the tech called me back. He went in search of a motherboard for me, and would call me back.
I get in touch with my back up for Order Assignment detail. She's mad at me, and I had NO idea why. Then she told me that our boss decided ( without speaking to me at all) that she was going to pick up 100% of my work for the day.
Unacceptable. I have way to much work and there is no one person that can accommodate their own workload plus all of mine. So I have been making all these arrangements and in one fell swoop they are undone. So while she and I are working through the details of the tasks she needs to today( and happier about it because it is a one shot deal), I call our boss. I tell him what I've put in place and that solved the problem.
So now I have done everything I can do at this point, so being industrious, I decide to do my 30 minute 30 walking DVD. I reflect at this point, that as soon as I start, this guy is going to call me back. And three minutes in, that's precisely what happened.
So now it's noon. I need to meet him by 12:30. The Laptop is STILL not booting up and I tell a colleague as I am packing up to go into the office, the damn thing is going to boot up perfectly once it gets into the tech's hands.
And it does. I curse the thing silently. He takes it apart, cleans it up, puts it back together and send me on my way. Without a new motherboard. And since we really cleaned it up, the keyboard hasn't worked this good in years. the Space bar broke, so I gorilla glue'd back together and re-attached it and it's unbelievably sensitive.
I was back on line and working by 2PM. A minor miracle in this company. usually this is 1-2 day gig. So I am pretty impressed that we got things moving and I met the two major deadlines that I needed to today.
So my words of wisdom to impart: Don't spill juice near your computer.