You have all heard me complain about my recent inability to keep up with the world of computers. For a while there I thought I was pretty good and could design web pages, book covers, etc., etc. Suddenly for no explainable reason, all of it seems just beyond my grasp.
If this in itself was not enough to aggravate me, the other night at dinner my 12-year-old granddaughter; Natalie, had her iPhone with her as all kids do, and began doing the most remarkable things with images and text, etc., etc., things that I would love to be able to do. My many years of experience with computers should place me far above these kids.
Of course there is always tech support: you know who they are — some guy, probably in India, who generally has no idea what you are striving for but won’t hesitate to offer you a monthly or annual service program that costs hundreds of dollars and get you nothing in return.
I have a virtual library of computer books in my office, most of them decades old by computer standards and of no help to me whatsoever. I admit that I have not done all of the upgrades for my tons of programs. and attempting to use something merely a couple of years old is useless, not only useless but it will bring you into areas that you never knew existed.
One of my biggest stumbling blocks is a program that I have been using for many years called Photoshop? I actually would pat myself on the back and congratulate myself on the many beautiful creations that I was able to do with my own three hands (one of them a mouse). Trying to do even the simplest things with this program is now virtually impossible for me.
Now hold on just a minute! Even if I were to update my software, is my ancient computer (2 to 3 years old) going to be able to make use of it.
There are times that I would pray for a box of crayons and some clean white paper but then even my grand kids would laugh at me. The latest advice I have for others facing the same dilemma would be to call anyone of my grandchildren and ask for advice.
They will promise not to charge you more than $100 per minute and eventually solve all of your problems.
Embarrassing, huh? Well get used to it. All those kids that you see sitting around a dining table or at a family gathering playing with their various computer gadgets and advancing well beyond what any of us (adults) have been able to master.
Passwords and usernames
You certainly don’t want the Russians to hack your email with all your plans for invading various countries, or whatever you have of value there. Each time you open or attempt to use a new program you will be asked for a password and username both of which you will have forgotten by the time you need to use it. Don’t worry, the world of computers has you covered. You’ll eventually see a little line that says: “forgot password?.” If you click on it you will be allowed to set a new password. Here is where the fun begins.
You type in your mother’s maiden name, then brand of your first automobile, the name of your first pet, and a few other things that you may or may not remember. Once you have done all of this you will be asked to submit a new password. If you have owned the computer long enough you will certainly have used this password in the past and will be advised that you can no longer use it.
If you are cautious like me, you will keep a list of all of your various passwords and usernames which you will no doubt forget to update at some point making it absolutely useless. Of course you can continue to try various passwords until you reach a limit where you are logged off of your computer for a certain amount of time. Isn’t that comforting?
My current list of passwords, etc., is two full pages of spreadsheets filled with what I now consider useless information, but the Russians will not be able to hack my emails. So tell your security forces that Ernie Sochin is doing his best to prevent foreigners from hacking into our vital emails.
Isn’t this fun folks? Remember the days when you had to actually write a message on a piece of paper, place it in a (mailbox) and hope that the recipient gets it within a few days. Frankly, I loved it back then.
