Eastern Utah
EMAIL ME AT: mgypsy97 at aol dot com

Friday, May 28, 2010

Sometimes I get so fed up with computers I feel like just giving up on them. The connection here is so off-and-on, and it is frustrating to try to do anything. I need a new USB hub so I can connect the mouse and printer along with the air card. My arthritis was back this morning after using the touch pad all day yesterday.


Then I couldn't figure out why my mail was so slow loading that it times out once in a while. Today I noticed the bar at the bottom of the screen that says things like "Waiting for Google mail", etc. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read "Waiting for Goodle Ad Services", as well as a couple of other ad-related items they load along with the mail. So I'm going to seriously start looking for a gmail alternative. I will even go so far as to pay for service if they can assure me my privacy and promise no invasive ads. I did a google search a while back on Stone Mountain handbags, as well as one for Rachel Perry cosmetics. Now I am getting ads for both on web sites I visit - just tucked in with all the other ads.

I read a couple of newspaper articles lately about young adults removing pictures from Facebook, canceling Twitter altogether, and cutting way back on the use of technology that could later embarrass them when applying for a job (or maybe running for Congress?). If the younger folks "get it" - that our privacy should be valued more than it has been, that is saying something about the trends in their use of technology, as well as their personal savvy.

I was surprised in talking to my granddaughter that she still hadn't gotten her laptop fixed, and did without it the entire past year of college. She didn't seem concerned, and said she used the library's computers when she needed to. She told me how liberating it was to get un-addicted to the computer. We are alike in a lot of ways because she also doesn't watch or have a TV. There are times when I'd like to turn the tv on to relieve boredom, when in actuality I think tv is the most boring thing in the world.

Maybe I will get out this weekend and have something more cheerful to write about the next few days. My son dropped by today, pushed open the door and yelled in "Census calling!" I think he read my blog. I actually feel quite virtuous that I've now been counted.

8 comments:

  1. I still don't have my Dell computer fixed! I keep reading "how to".
    I can't imagine anyone not having a TV. I turn mine on, just to hear another human voice!

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  2. I'm not much of a TV person either but we have an ambient music channel which plays through our stereo & that goes all day long. I get frustrated with the computer stuff too sometimes but I do not see it as an addiction. It is the best educational tool I have ever seen & for me it is my preferred way of communication & staying in touch with things. It is only when I am in a down mood that I think of throwing in the electronic towel & walking away from it all. For me, that down mood can come in the form of confusion & impatience over something that isn't working right & I don't understand. I do have an advantage here though. I have a partner who helps me through those difficult times & vice versa. Like you, I'm sure I would have a harder time of things in many areas if I was trying to do it all by myself...........

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  3. We watch TV only for the evening news, and not every day. That stuff is depressing enough, but the rest of the stuff all seems like gibberish and trash, so we don't bother with it.

    Computers can de daunting at times, especially when you have to just sit and wait! I hate to WAIT!

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  4. Gypsy, you seem to have been fighting these aircard connection problems for some time now. Have you seriously considered the advantages of just scrapping it all together and going with hi-speed cable broadband? It costs about $40 a month which is less than mobile broadband and it is absolutely solid and extremely fast. Now that you're not going to be traveling with a 5'er, it sure seems like a great option to me. If you do travel, most places now have wifi that would probably be good enough.

    I really think a good Internet connection would go a long way towards solving a lot of your computer problems.

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  5. I'm surprised at your comments about gmail. I changed to gmail because there were no adds or dumb news items when I check my email. AOL was driving me crazy.

    Are you using the plain gmail version or the new Google Chrome? I don't use the Chrome version.

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  6. Gypsy,

    I went with an air card when we first went on the road 3 years ago. Nothing but trouble. I don't have any trouble getting wifi in most parks we stay in, and if I can't get it, well, I just do without for a few days. I love computers though. They have really broadened my horizons.

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  7. " Judy and Emma said...
    I'm surprised at your comments about gmail. I changed to gmail because there were no adds or dumb news items when I check my email. AOL was driving me crazy."

    I have AOL, and I don't get ads or news items in my mail. I must have it on a different setting somewhere.

    Gypsy, I am so sorry that you won't be going to Lassen this year, I know you were looking forward to that.
    Happy Trails, Penny, TX

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  8. Hey Gypsy,
    If you go to

    http://www.movearoo.com/home-connections/high-speed-internet.html

    and plug in your address, it will tell you what internet providers have an aircard signal over your home location.

    That is how I was able to select an aircard provider where I wasn't *roaming* all of the time on my previous Sprint card. Sprint asked me to leave their contract because when I was at home, I was costing them money by roaming on other towers. Now I am AT&T which is the only tower signal over my home.

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