This week, my Google Chrome browser stopped working, forcing me to delve back into the technical world of my computer.
I hate the moment when you realise how dependent you are on these fleeting virtual things.
My front page, my most visited sites, my zillion bookmarks - all gone!
And let's not discuss - gulp - backups!
Seriously, I only ever consider my computers mortality when the BSOD occurs - otherwise, it's an eternal thing, right ?
Well, no, it shouldn't be...
[...at this point, I launch into a patronising tutorial on how to avoid computer catastrophe.]
Actually, I won't, as I have no tips beyond the usual IT reprise:
Turn it off and on again .
When it comes to computer technology, I'm a bit of a luddite, in that I don't do the phablet thing,
or lust after the latest Apple gadgets.
Back in the days when computers were clockwork versions of the Babbage machine, I wrestled with Amigas.
In those days, it was simple:
Amiga and Apple were good.
Microsoft was bad.
Now, it's not so simple.
Apple are seen as the corporate hipster monolith, whilst Linux in its many forms is the feisty newcomer, the freewheeling spirit of the age .
Microsoft have lost ground, and are desperately playing keep-up .
Amiga lost the most ground, but is back in a tiny niche...
Anyway, enough with the overview -
Many years ago, on a tight budget, I bought a second hand p.c.
The price was good, and whilst it wasn't cutting edge (it was a Phillips Freeline actually), it had room for expansion.
I decided to become self taught, at least enough to upgrade and generally 'tinker' under the hood.
After a few years of good service, the p.c. went to Blue Screen Heaven (or Hell, as I distinctly remember cursing it).
Luckily, I had backed up the drive, and knew enough to be able to salvage parts for the next machine.
I bought an off - the - peg machine with room for upgrades, and swiftly went from (cue geek trivia) a dual core cpu to a quad core apu, to an eight core apu with dual graphics (in crossfire mode).
[Don't know why I detailed that... ]
I tend to freeze in horror when confronted with a mass of multi-coloured wires, ( I had some experience of this many years ago, soldering an electronic fx console)*, but it's worth knowing how to upgrade the power supply, graphics card, on-board memory, etc.
It de-mystifies the process.
Knowledge is power, and all that.
I find it odd that we now live in a culture that is all about recycling etc, and yet people are keen to ditch technology at the first sign of 'something wrong'.
We live in a Convenience Culture...(cue Amazon Prime).
But when something is no longer convenient, then it's disposable .
Personally, this is why I am down on Apple, with the almost inbuilt obsolescense of its products:
'Hey , over here for the new shiny - what, it stopped working? - shame - how about this then, it's better, faster, more compact - just wait in line, we open at midnight for new tech...
It's easier to replace than to repair - mobile phones (and hermetically sealed Apple units) being the worst offenders.
I only upgraded from my old CRT monitor three years ago (I still miss the depth of colour - sigh ).
I remember when the very first i-pad came out, and how the thrill of being the first to own one turned people into arrogant bores.
Anyhow, rant over - I feel self-conscious now, as I realise that this falls into the category of 'humble-bragging' - another term that's developed through social media.
For instance- to me, DOS is a primitive form of machine code.
Confusion arose when I started reading of people suffering from DDOS:
apparently, whereas it once meant Disk-based Operating System - it now means Denial Of Service , or even Distributed Denial Of Service .
Confusing.
Infact, it was only the other day that I discovered another expression, 'Doxing' comes from the word 'documents.'
I'm so old, daddio.
Saying that, I read it online, so...
All these new terms,
so memes
such wow-
It moves so fast, that I hear the term 'Lol' is on the way out.
Welcome to the twenty-first century, me!
Something else I've noticed is that the terms used refer more to actions that are 'virtual' now.
As opposed to nuts and bolts machinery.
Back to the point - Google stopped working.
Still doesn't, so in the meantime, I've switched to DuckDuckGo.
And upgraded my RAM.
Which isn't connected, but there it is.
Increasing the RAM makes me realise that I need a water - cooling system now.
Except, I'll have to wait, as the MOBO will need replacing soon...
which means the graphics will need updating...
Such is the hamster wheel of (upgrade) life...
* which one was it, Piers ? Mark 1 or 2 ?
I hate the moment when you realise how dependent you are on these fleeting virtual things.
My front page, my most visited sites, my zillion bookmarks - all gone!
And let's not discuss - gulp - backups!
Seriously, I only ever consider my computers mortality when the BSOD occurs - otherwise, it's an eternal thing, right ?
Well, no, it shouldn't be...
[...at this point, I launch into a patronising tutorial on how to avoid computer catastrophe.]
Actually, I won't, as I have no tips beyond the usual IT reprise:
Turn it off and on again .
When it comes to computer technology, I'm a bit of a luddite, in that I don't do the phablet thing,
or lust after the latest Apple gadgets.
Back in the days when computers were clockwork versions of the Babbage machine, I wrestled with Amigas.
In those days, it was simple:
Amiga and Apple were good.
Microsoft was bad.
 |
| Ho-ho... |
Apple are seen as the corporate hipster monolith, whilst Linux in its many forms is the feisty newcomer, the freewheeling spirit of the age .
Microsoft have lost ground, and are desperately playing keep-up .
Amiga lost the most ground, but is back in a tiny niche...
Anyway, enough with the overview -
Many years ago, on a tight budget, I bought a second hand p.c.
The price was good, and whilst it wasn't cutting edge (it was a Phillips Freeline actually), it had room for expansion.
I decided to become self taught, at least enough to upgrade and generally 'tinker' under the hood.
After a few years of good service, the p.c. went to Blue Screen Heaven (or Hell, as I distinctly remember cursing it).
Luckily, I had backed up the drive, and knew enough to be able to salvage parts for the next machine.
I bought an off - the - peg machine with room for upgrades, and swiftly went from (cue geek trivia) a dual core cpu to a quad core apu, to an eight core apu with dual graphics (in crossfire mode).
[Don't know why I detailed that... ]
I tend to freeze in horror when confronted with a mass of multi-coloured wires, ( I had some experience of this many years ago, soldering an electronic fx console)*, but it's worth knowing how to upgrade the power supply, graphics card, on-board memory, etc.
It de-mystifies the process.
Knowledge is power, and all that.
I find it odd that we now live in a culture that is all about recycling etc, and yet people are keen to ditch technology at the first sign of 'something wrong'.
We live in a Convenience Culture...(cue Amazon Prime).
But when something is no longer convenient, then it's disposable .
Personally, this is why I am down on Apple, with the almost inbuilt obsolescense of its products:
'Hey , over here for the new shiny - what, it stopped working? - shame - how about this then, it's better, faster, more compact - just wait in line, we open at midnight for new tech...
It's easier to replace than to repair - mobile phones (and hermetically sealed Apple units) being the worst offenders.
I only upgraded from my old CRT monitor three years ago (I still miss the depth of colour - sigh ).
I remember when the very first i-pad came out, and how the thrill of being the first to own one turned people into arrogant bores.
Anyhow, rant over - I feel self-conscious now, as I realise that this falls into the category of 'humble-bragging' - another term that's developed through social media.
For instance- to me, DOS is a primitive form of machine code.
Confusion arose when I started reading of people suffering from DDOS:
apparently, whereas it once meant Disk-based Operating System - it now means Denial Of Service , or even Distributed Denial Of Service .
Confusing.
Infact, it was only the other day that I discovered another expression, 'Doxing' comes from the word 'documents.'
I'm so old, daddio.
 |
| The good old floppy disc, with a whopping 1 meg of storage... |
All these new terms,
so memes
such wow-
It moves so fast, that I hear the term 'Lol' is on the way out.
Welcome to the twenty-first century, me!
Something else I've noticed is that the terms used refer more to actions that are 'virtual' now.
As opposed to nuts and bolts machinery.
Back to the point - Google stopped working.
Still doesn't, so in the meantime, I've switched to DuckDuckGo.
And upgraded my RAM.
Which isn't connected, but there it is.
Increasing the RAM makes me realise that I need a water - cooling system now.
Except, I'll have to wait, as the MOBO will need replacing soon...
which means the graphics will need updating...
Such is the hamster wheel of (upgrade) life...
* which one was it, Piers ? Mark 1 or 2 ?
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