>Jim
>
>I just bought my wife a new notebook (tiny Sony from Best Buys, I'm about to test what others have said about mail-in rebates!). I took delivery yesterday.
>
>It came with XP Home. Thankfully it was all pre-configured for the notebook. However setting up a dlink wireless card was just a *nightmare". Network Bridges appeared and insisted on interfering no matter how many times I deleted. Internet options seemed to be "connect directly and let others connect via this PC" or "connect via another PC" or "dial up". How about Cable via wireless to a Router? Eventually I got it going at 1am last night. Then I started on the new Lexmark Printer/Scanner. I've not had to endure lockups on my Dell for many a month, you can imagine my disappointment when everything locked up repeatedly.
>
>Truly IT is a young person's game, I'm not patient enough any more!
>
>Regards
>
>JR

John;

It might be age or God knows what that causes a loss of patience over "playing with computers". Just think 20-25 years ago I was so happy to write my own drivers for my S-100 computer. That was standard if you wanted to get any hardware to work. Today we expect things to work without a hitch. Sometimes they do and sometimes they do not.

What I really dislike is the "intervention" of software. Up pops a friendly little message or paper clip, etc. and says, "Surely you want to do ..." - no I do not! I want to do something simple and the software will not let me do it.

I would like to know how much we pay for all the “helpful intervention” software gives us. Then I would like to send the software vendor a bill for my time trying to get things to work as specified!

Ciao.

Tom