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Saturday 18 February 2012

Throwing in the towel

Yesterday, amid the much detested chores of bed-changing, washing etc. I found myself wishing I had been born into the IT era.  Not least because I have a (quite expensive) lap-top whose many uses I have barely touched on, but also, because my Ipad has sat in its box for 2 months unexamined.


At that very moment th ere was a ring at the doorbell and my neighbour's lovely teenage daughter stood there.  "Mum says she has been reading your blogs and would you like me to show you how to use your Ipad?"  


Would I?  After nearly snatching her arm off we trooped off upstairs to the 'office'.  An hour later, dazed and supremely grateful I thanked her profusely (she, being the wonderful girl she is, had refused to accept any payment) and waved her goodbye.


Wow, I thought, now I can really begin to get to grips with this technology thing.  Not today of course, too much housework to do.


This morning I sat down and switched the magic machine on, tapped in my blog (Nicole had set it up for me) and found it would not accept me without my putting in my password.  Duh!  Could not remember how to call up the keyboard so, after half a dozen attempts, gave up and returned to the lap-top.  At least the keyboard is no problem with that.


This is not a light-hearted post, I don't think it's funny, just very very sad.


If it were not for the fact that so many people think I'm brighter than I am I would give up now, but of course that is not an option.


Why oh why can I not get even the basics to 'stick'?


Is the entire population cleverer than me?


It seems that these days I am a one step per lesson person.  At this rate I'll be 200 years old by the time I'm reasonably competent. 


Do they do brain transplants yet? 

11 comments:

  1. Big hug Ray, it must be very frustrating, write yourself notes WHEN your young helper comes again, I am sure it will eventually stick x.

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  2. Ray you're priceless...perhaps you'd like to send your young friend over here to teach me how to use this *expletive deleted* camera I've been trying to learn how to use for MONTHS! I'm the only person I know who FINALLY learns all the wonderful features of her laptop 5-read-F-I-V-E minutes before a vicious virus eats its guts! You have my sympathy!

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  3. Ray, I do sympathise. Why don't you do what I would in the same circumstances? Ask the kind and lovely Nicole if she could please spare you a bit more time, then, as she talks you through it all again, write everything down in detailed notes. My MiL, who is considerably older than you, managed to learn how to do email and a bit of web searching by means of her own notes of what DH taught her.

    Most people just don't retain spoken information as they get older. My DiL showed me how to use her iPad, but I couldn't remember how to find the keyboard the next time I used it. Sigh...

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  4. Yes I think writing notes is going to be the answer Jane.
    Thanks for the hug, one for you too. X

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  5. Thanks for the sympathy Theanne, is there an injection you can have for computer virus (s)?

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  6. I know you're right Perpetua, of course I should ask Nicole for help. It's just that if her mother hadn't read my blog and realised I was clueless, I would never have got around to asking. For some reason I find it almost impossible to ask for help in any situation.
    Maybe it's a psychiatrist I need, not an IT expert.

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  7. I think I can say with some authority how far you have come in the field of technology. I applaud your open-minded attempt to embrace a world perhaps very different from the experiences up that point. I know, too, the personal tragedy in your life that spurred you on, and for my money, you are an inspiration.

    Take stock of what you can do that you couldn't before you lost John. Be honest with yourself, not overly modest or self-deprecating as you tend to be, and see what you are managing to achieve online with technology hat defeats people much younger than you. You also know me well enough to know that if was still there I'd be reproaching you for your hard attitude to yourself, so receive this in the same way - sent with love.

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  8. I've only two things to say in response to that David.
    You have a far better opinion of my achievements than I have or than they deserve, and secondly, when are you coming back I need your help!?!?

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  9. Ray, the keyboard will come up when you press your finger on the place where you want to type. So when the little box opens for you to enter your password, just put your finger in the space where the password goes and the keyboard will come up. If you want to make the keyboard go away, there is a picture on the lower right hand side of the keyboard (that is supposed to look like a keyboard) and it will disappear. It took me a while to get the hang of it, too.

    David is right. You've done marvelously well in the world of technology and managed to build up a very nice community here on your blog. Creating a community is not for the faint of heart! And you've done it quite well.

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  10. Bless you Penny. An ounce of help is worth a ton of sympathy. Will persevere. X

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  11. I sympathise with the frustration. I don't have an IPad, but I do have an Android Tablet and now an Android smartphone. I've been using computers since the late 1980s but found adapting to the more intuitive way that you need to work with IPads or Android tablets harder to grasp at first. I like to read instructions and there aren't any, but I've managed to master my tablet and smartphone by a process of play, trial and error (a lot of the latter).

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