many years ago in another country i got to do something that changed my life
i happened to be working for a computer software house and they asked me to teach people how to use a new machine called a Mac Plus ... they had the cutest GUI and i fell in love
I never quite understood how computers could be 'fun' until that moment ... i didn't know how to programme ... the internet was in it's very early days ... and mostly computers were about work ... apart from that text game of Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy
Over the next twenty years that little Mac Plus evolved into the most glorious achingly beautiful bits of technology and i craved to own one ... but it was not to be ...
the reasons for not owning one were very sound ... they were expensive (yet beautiful) ... they were not very compatible with the PC world (and yet they were so ... beautiful) ... and we couldn't afford to support two different operating systems and software (and yet so beautiful)
it is possible that i needed to come up with more convincing arguments for owning one
and then ... one day ... the planets aligned ... and a miracle happened
it all started when the lady wife announced that she had to go to New York on business ... and i managed to blag an Air Miles zoo class seat and tag along for the ride ... apparently mrs wife wasn't gonna downgrade and yes she loved me but not that much and besides she had a lot of work to do when she got there you know
it's just for a few days but i am sure i can idle away the time in my own way ... a little shopping ... a little lunching ... a little chillin'
and then of course there is the other thing that has been happening over the last six weeks ... my very expensive Vaio laptop ... 18 months old ... looked after and cherished and used all the time ... suddenly got very sick in a wavy screen everything crashing and dying kinda way
so ... deep breath (gonna just rant for a moment but not to much cos i really do try to avoid making this blog like a text version of Watchdog) ... i send it for repair on the understanding it will take 4-5 working days .... which becomes two weeks ... they return the machine never telling me what was wrong and within 36 hours it is doing it again .... so they ask me to send it back ... i mention that it may be a graphics card problem and could they check it please ... it seems they think it best to ignore customers
at one point i discover that my laptop is sat waiting for 'authorisation' to be repaired for five days ...apparently this is Sony's idea of 'high priority' ... the usual thing of calling their ironically named 'support' line ... many times being on hold for forty minutes waiting for someone to answer ... to find out later it is a premium rate line and has in total cost us £106 ... they can never tell me what is wrong with the machine or when i will get it back and after three weeks it comes home
where within 24 hours it does the same thing all over again ... oh and they managed to disconnect or break one of the speakers ... so it's a good thing i sent it to the experts really ... incidentally this is a company that refuses to let anyone else repair a Sony Vaio and will not send parts to anybody even if the machine is out of warranty ... and yes i did point out that just because it has the word Sony on it does not mean that they own the machine and thta i had in fact paid some money for it and it was mine and therefore i was withing my rights to ask questions about it
losing the will to live and very despondant i discuss the situation with my insurance company ... who agree that i have made a valiant attempt to repair the machine and that they are happy (sic) to pay some money direct into my bank account to replace the machine ....
(rolf aussie accent) can you see what it is yet ?
after three more big sleeps (a measure of time we were taught by friends to cover the run up to christmas or any over excited up and coming event) and after a flight and a limo ride i will be sat in a very swish hotel in the Big Apple ...
a few blocks away is an Apple store ... where i have booked an appointment with a personal shopper who is going to help me choose a Mac Pro Book ... one of those sleek thin silver ones that make you wanna drool
it took over twenty years but i am about to take another bite of the apple
NB: this is a rather long winded way of saying ... sorry i haven't been blogging ... but lost my computer with all my settings and passwords etc .... oh and i am gonna be away for a few days .... if you need me you can call me if i don't answer leave a message ... i have a funny feeling i am gonna be a little distracted
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7 comments:
Have fun.... strange lad :-P
Giles
As long as you're happy, sweetie ;-)
plasma TV, apple mac... gadget boy
hmmm i have this distinct feeling my friends are patronising me again ... a not all together unfamilar feeling ... and maggi i don't understand ... you say 'gadget boy' as if it is a bad thing
shiny car, baristo coffee machine...
(where did I say it was bad???)
yeah good point i was hearing a tone that wasn't actually in print :)
and good point about the endless list of gadgets ... my only slight defence is that they are not all me ... laura doesn't shun them and live he life of an eco hippy ... you try telling her the coffee machine has broken and today it will be instant or nothing ... she be quite stern sometimes you know :)
Oh, how deeply honoured am I that I was on msn when you sat in your New York hotel lounge and said, 'hi, this is my first chat on my new MAC, and btw, I am in New York waiting for my limo...'....I just lvoe it, it could only be you....and Mec, my new son in law, mac genius and mac champion, he lvoes macs with a fervour and pities all of us with our pcs, tied in to microsoft..thinks we deserve all we get...... love and hugs xxx
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