Reasons why I'm feeling nostalgic for my old manual typewriter

I have some observations to make after buying a new laptop at the weekend.

1. PC World is not the place to be when you're already feeling your age.  I had to spend an hour in the kitchen when we got back.  I used my food mixer, toaster and kettle, just to comfort myself that there were some things I could plug in and operate without having to watch a Youtube video first.

2. People who work in computer stores have a lumpy bit under their jumpers.  My husband said it would be where a set of keys is attached to their belts, but I suspect they are the remnants of where the umbilical cord hasn't quite healed yet.

3. Shouting, 'Oh, I must have that one!  Look - it's got a bright blue casing!' is the quickest way to make sure your husband sidles away from you and into the camera aisle.

Fran wasn't so interested in its Intel Core i3-4030U Processor as she could have been


4. Even though your new laptop does have a pretty blue casing, you will still want to hurl it at a wall when you can't work out how to install your antivirus software or connect it to your printer.

5. Trying to get used to Windows 8 is like wandering alone around a Scottish mountain, in a thick mist, while wearing a balaclava the wrong way round.  If you find your way back to where you started, it was a fluke.

6. Until you have adapted to the ultra-sensitivity of a modern mouse pad on a new laptop, you will have to put up with a) a sudden unsolicited increase or decrease in font size on your screen; b) finding yourself about to play a Solitaire game when you were trying to do a Tesco order; c) sending an email when all you'd written was 'Hi - just thought I'd ...'


Blue AND within Fran's technical capabilities




Comments

  1. Anonymous29/9/14 10:23

    Laughing... again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fran Hill29/9/14 14:15

      Good, good. This is how I want it to be.

      Delete
  2. Janie Junebug29/9/14 11:53

    We had a blue typewriter just like the one in the photo. I wonder what happened to her. Could she be resurrected? I guess not.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fran Hill29/9/14 14:16

      When enough of us have thrown our laptops at the wall, she might fetch a bomb on ebay, so keep hold of her.

      Delete
    2. Janie Junebug30/9/14 16:09

      Someone I know threw someone else's laptop through a window recently. It's terrible, but I'm amused.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous29/9/14 12:48

    So true...It makes you yearn for the good old days doesn't it? You know, when there was actually nothing to do once in a while and Mars Bars cost only sixpence...I feel your pain. But it cheers me up and makes me laugh a lot too :) Great post...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fran Hill29/9/14 14:17

      I think you know my Mars Bar story .... I went into a shop and told a little girl once that Mars Bars were 4p when I was her age. She looked at me with awe and said, 'Were Mars Bars invented in your day?' Nothing to DO once in a while? Don't. I'll cry.

      Delete
  4. stephen Hayes29/9/14 13:04

    Like you, I get totally frustrated with modern technology. Sure, these gadgets make some things more simple, but is it worth the problems and insecurities these cause? Of course I'm writing this on a computer so that means I'm full of you-know-what.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fran Hill29/9/14 14:18

      Yes, I-know-what and I'm full of it too. I think I'd soon get fed up if I had to correct a mistake with Tippex on four different carbon copies, the way I used to have to.

      Delete
  5. Diana Studer29/9/14 15:30

    still get tripped up by the 'spontaneous' zoom out, or in. No, wait, I didn't ... never mind. Let's try again.
    Windows 8 I did get used to. I start with a familiar desktop, like it used to be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fran Hill30/9/14 00:07

      I'm glad it's not just me. It's so disconcerting when suddenly there are only three words on the screen, yelling at me.

      Delete
  6. Diana Studer29/9/14 15:30

    PS Windows 9 looms on the horizon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fran Hill30/9/14 00:08

      Noooooooooooooooooo! I'm already feeling SO left behind.

      Delete
    2. SmitoniusAndSonata2/10/14 08:58

      They've just said they're going to skip that and move briskly on to Windows 10 , I think .
      Remind me again , what was wrong with smoke signals ?

      Delete
  7. Frances Garrood30/9/14 11:09

    Why does progress invariably mean less comprehensible? I totally sympathise. I was left behind years ago, in an old phone box, pressing button B. I liked button B. you got your money back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fran Hill1/10/14 11:10

      Brilliant! I have a great vision of you in that phone box, pressing button B for eternity!

      Delete
  8. River30/9/14 21:54

    I'm a little nostalgic for windows98, which I loved because it was easy and had the really great screen saver patterns. Now I have windows7 and I'm mostly used to it after 4 years. I agree with Frances above me here, why does progress have to mean less comprehensible? It's okay for all the 5 year olds out there, but we older persons need a bit of simplicity. plug and play!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fran Hill1/10/14 11:11

      There was something to be said for the quill and the parchment, that's all I'm saying.

      Delete
  9. Steve30/9/14 23:03

    If it's any comfort you can still use Tippex on a laptop. Though it might void your guarantee.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fran Hill1/10/14 11:12

      Ha ha! THAT'S where I went wrong! We used to love Tippex when I was 18 and on my secretarial course at college. We used to sniff the thinner when the typing exercises got a bit boring.

      Delete
  10. BadPenny3/10/14 00:12

    my laptop is literally a pain in the neck as I get neck ache when using it... but I still love it !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fran Hill4/10/14 05:08

      I know what you mean - I have mine on one of those lap trays sometimes in order to get it more level with my head, otherwise I get the same.

      Delete
  11. Linda D9/10/14 09:32

    But just think how smug you'll feel when you do get the hang of it (probably just before it, too, becomes obsolete ...)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fran Hill9/10/14 09:58

      You're right, though - they don't give us a chance to feel smug before they bring in another one to take us back to feeling inadequate and stupid.

      Delete
  12. Iota 13/10/14 13:10

    They're all so young, aren't they? The sales people in those places.

    ReplyDelete

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