This and That: The Transition Continues

      by Elizabeth B. Wright       March 2004

When will it ever end? Some thought was given to changing to a new, more powerful desktop computer which would seem to be rather simple. Just get the operating system up and running, get all installed hardware drivers in the right places, install software and everything would be hunky dory.

Wrong !!

Everything is working to a certain degree right now, in fact I am writing this article on the new machine. However, it has taken weeks, if not months, to get enough on the computer to make it even half way usable. I have used my Drive Image files to return to previous installations so many times the 3.5 inch floppy startup disks  practically leap into the a: drive by themselves. But somewhere along the way, something has installed itself that causes major problems when trying to install new software. Everything comes to a halt on the next bootup and nothing comes up except a black screen and a message about Real Memory and Device I/O problems. I can't find anyone who has ever seen this message before. My reluctance to return to the very first Drive Image file means continuing to have this problem. Every time another failure occurs, the last reliable image is the one I use for restarting.. However, if the persistence of the difficulty causes a return to that first version, then there is everything to do from scratch, including hardware drivers to Internet connections and anything else needed to make things work. There are certainly "techs" out there who might be able to tell me where to look for the basis of, and solution to, this problem, but for the time being the plan is to keep plugging away trying to get my software installed. Who knows, I might get lucky eventually and the problem will solve itself.

As 2004 ticks away, thoughts turn to opening new venues of adventure in the computer world. For gamers, that is probably not much of a challenge. There are so many choices out there for them, it's a matter of the pocketbook rather than a limit on what is available. But for some of us, the "new" has worn off of word processing and some of the more utilitarian programs. We have reached our level of incompetence and are content to stay there. But we do have increased opportunities to spread our wings in photo, video and other image manipulating programs. Any trip to a computer store lets you know what hardware and software is currently on the market to achieve results in these fields. Anyone who has succumbed to the temptation of a digital camera knows the natural progression to a better printer, card reader, new computer, etc., etc.

There should be other, cheaper areas of interest to pursue if only we could get past the inertia of doing only what we have already learned to do. With that in mind, you might try desktop publishing. One great inexpensive program is "Print Workshop". It is usually available on discount racks in the previous versions, and for the latest version usually costs about $20.00 . Why would you want to learn it? Well, mainly to keep your learning skills honed. You may not actually ever need it (depending on your age), but isn't it fun to meet and learn a new skill? I guarantee it will help you with other areas of computing if you branch out into something totally different from your past experience. For young people, it can actually lead to job opportunities, although the industry uses the more sophisticated (i.e., expensive) programs.  But I have found that the basic techniques in the cheaper programs are not that different from the high-end packages in the desktop publishing field. As for people who might not be looking for another career, it is just wonderful to have a new area of interest and one that might bridge the gap between themselves and younger family members and or friends. And ladies, anything you can find to keep a newly retired husband busy cannot be a bad thing. One friend of mine has found that her husband’s new career as an industrial movie produce,r using his computer and some very elementary movie editing software, has more than kept him occupied. His former career had to do with chickens, although it actually did involve electronics and computers. However, being retired, he does seem to have usurped the cozy den they formerly enjoyed for quiet evenings together. Maybe the money he is making will help finance an addition to the house for his new enterprise. I'm not sure what the solution to that one is but I'll let you know if she finds one.

Hopefully all of us can keep moving ahead so that we don't feel totally left behind by others.

    Elizabeth Wright is a member of the OKCPCUG and a regular writer for the eMonitor