I’ve spent the better part of the day on various web sites, trying to get answers to questions about the new technology I received for Christmas. (New technology always requires a learning curve!) I got a Z22 PALM and a new Dell 1300 laptop, as well as a couple gift cards. This means that there are install challenges, as well as login-in-to-spend challenges.
I’m not sure I’m up to it.
I tried to install the new PALM, only to find that my computer and the handheld could not communicate. So I went to the PALM web site to ask for help. I wanted to talk with someone out there in the ether world, but the web site never offered up a telephone number. In fact, when I tried to send a message, as a second resort, I was referred back to the web site. This is circular thinking at its best. If it hadn’t been for my computer assistant, a whiz named Kyle, I would still be frustrated.
For the record, the solution to my problem lay in moving the handheld cable from one USB port on my CPU to the other. Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh! Who would have thought?
Next, my new computer is loaded with stuff I don’t want. I don’t want Google as my Internet connection. I don’t want McAfee when I have Kyle. Nor do I want a variety of other already-installed-on-a-free-trial-basis programs.
It makes me think the whole process is about marketing. Various companies agree to work with Dell and provide free programs for a limited amount of time so they can pop up in your face and scare you into buying their full package. In addition, the e-mail program I use needs to be installed on my new laptop, as does Microsoft Word (a pricey little program when you purchase it independently of a new computer.) So I’m dead in the water, until these programs can be installed.
I think I will like having a state-of-the-art laptop, which this one certainly is. I’ve already viewed a DVD and learned about MP10 options. I’ve customized my desktop and screen saver. And I’ve installed my new PALM software without a glitch.
It’s the first phase of the learning curve.
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