Hi! I'm a Mac and He's a PC

If you've been reading me lately, you know that I went back to the Mac format after years of sliding into the morass of PC hell. I have believed for years that Computers in general are harder to use than they should be and PC platforms are nightmares. My trek back to Mac didn't start with those stop the fast forward on my TIVO commercials, but rather with my purchase of an I-Pod for my wife. She told me how easy it was to operate, compared to other products like cell phones, PDA's etc. I know Mac's are easier to use, so I decided to go simple

In the very largest sense, I didn't go simple because while my computing got simple with my MacBook, my wife continues to use the PC and I have to help her deal with the problems that just will not go away. Now I'm going share some of our problems with you and I'm sure that a number of you will write and say that all I have to do is this or that and my problems will go away. But my answer in advance is, where were you or specifically where was that answer when I needed it?

The hell hole of PC's is the possibility of computer virus. Don't tell me they are a myth, I've had them. They are a messy, expensive, pain in the backside. The last time I downloaded my new edition of PC Cillian anti virus, firewall, anti snooping, cookie eating, spy ware preventative software, it was like soaking my machine in molasses. I knew what the problem was. It's the lack of RAM (Random Access Memory) to cope with the new software that is literally looking at every kb of transaction on my machine. Memory is cheap, right. So I bought a gig from a Kingston distributor (Who will remain nameless pending the lawsuit). If my last aside didn't inform you, I got the wrong chip and they wouldn't allow me to return it because, of all things, I opened the package and tried to install it.

Then there was the wireless network. Installing it was sliding a key into the ignition and turning on the engine. It's when I put my foot to the gas and tried to use it that I began to get frustrated. Every once in a while it drops the connection to the Internet. I have no remedy for this except to reboot the computer. I have problems with this. My wife has panic attacks. (Which of course means, I have gastric ulcers.)

The maddening thing is that when I check the connection the card says it's connected, the network software says the computer is connected to the card, but the computer can't access the Internet. (By the way this does not happen to my MacBook. Hell so far, none of this is in the world of MacBook)

Today my wife was looking forward to a long morning of productive work on her job search. I was going to be gone for the morning. The place would be peaceful and quiet.

OH! OH! The D drive went missing.

Yes a quick look at My Computer and the insertion of a number of different CD disc's provided no evidence, outside of blinking lights and whirring drive motors that we ever had a D drive. By the way one of the suggestions I found in the deep pile of FAQ's, that substitutes for customer technical service today, was to reinstall the driver for the drive. That is on a CD that came with the computer. Talk about seeing your keys hanging from the ignition switch when your locked out of your car.

I don't even want to think of , much less add up, how many hours my wife and I have spent learning go arounds, fixing and stumbling our way through these crisis's. These experiences belay the fact that computers make us more productive. The fact is they do make us work better and faster, but only when they work. I stand by my first assertion. Computers are way to complicated. PC's are beyond complicated