This love/hate relationship with computers

Love 'em when they're working right, hate'em when I have to deal with issues (particularly if those issues involve contacting/talking to/chatting with anybody from a software or hardware manufacturer). Sigh.

The new computer arrived yesterday and I got it set up and the Carbonite restore download started. That took until sometime during the night last night. Then, issues around two of the more important files: Firefox bookmarks and Quicken data. Had to go back onto the Carbonite server to download the right Quicken data (an old file opened initially, and it was really, really wrong). Then had to deal with Carbonite to have them help locate the Firefox file. Somebody had helped me with this yesterday but had apparently led me to the wrong file, because the place where today's tech found them is not where I was taken to yesterday.  Now all seems to be here and be right. And if it's not, I'll live without it.

Had issues activating the new MS Office that was pre-installed. Couldn't read the product key because there was a little silver MS sticker over part of it. Got on chat with MS, dude was useless. Tried Dell, and that guy was helpful. Asked if I'd scratched the sticker off -- well, duh! Nothing was said in instructions about a scratch-off sticker, and it looked like a regular sticker to me. Anyway -- with the right info that worked, too. As far as I know, that's all that's left to do. I hope.

I do need a cheap photo editor, because the old one I have would not open on this computer, even though it worked on the last one with the same OS. Windows tells me this time that it is 'incompatible', and it's pointless to argue with Windows. In the meantime, I won't be able to edit any new photos I might take. Alas.

So aside from all that, I rather like the computer. It's small -- quite compact. Fast (much faster than any I've ever owned) and is easy to use.  I think I'm going to try to re-install the software on the computer that died -- just for the hell of it. Can't lose anything. That will tell me if there was indeed a software issue, and from there I can figure out the rest of it (such as a new video card?). It may be worth saving -- we'll see.

Rain/sunshine continues here. I get a good walk in most days, rain or shine. Helps work off some of the frustration that comes from dealing with computers!