Devices, tablets, and computers

After a week of vacation with lousy internet access, I came home with a long list of projects to tackle. My employment situation has recently changed, and now more than ever, I am a freelance writer. My laptop and an internet connection are essential to my livelihood. Without them I cannot work and cannot earn money.
On Sunday night my laptop made a flying leap off of the couch. I wasn't even on the couch to witness it. I did hear the thud as it landed though and feared for the worst. My laptop has not turned back on since. It is currently in the laptop hospital, where I hope and pray my documents and photos can be recovered.
With little other choice, I went out and bought a new computer. I had heard good things about the Microsoft Surface, and was intrigued by it. Half computer, half laptop? It sounded like it might fit my needs. $500 later, I took one home with me.
I was wrong. I hated it. It is actually a fabulous device, but incredibly impractical for someone like me who needs to be typing and working all day.
24 hours I took it back to the store for a full refund, and purchased a new laptop.
Laptops only come with Windows 8 on them now. If you have not yet had the experience of using Windows 8, you cannot imagine my frustration. It is the unwanted love child of Microsoft and Apple's ugly cousin. It's Microsoft pretending not to be Apple. And it fails big time.
And yet we are stuck with it.
It works best with a touchscreen laptop, and I was informed at the store that by the end of the year all laptops will be touchscreen. (So I bought a touchscreen, because I have no idea how to use 8 without it.)
But all of this got me to thinking. A friend made the comment that she didn't see why we had to move to apps. Why can't we just be happy with the way Windows used to work? (I would venture a guess that she's probably never used a Mac.) Why touchscreens and apps?
As I looked around the stores tonight at all of the different options, I was surprised how few actually pertained to me. Here I am thinking I just need a truly basic computer- Microsoft Office and an Internet connection. A webcam would be nice, and an HDMI port. And really, that's about all I ask for- a working computer. Or a computer I am able to work on, would be a better way of describing it.
And how do swiping or touchscreens make me more productive or a better worker?
In short, they don't.
And that's what hit me tonight.
Computers were originally designed to compute, and do work. And then along came the Personal Computer, or PC. They were intended to allow individuals to do work from home. But we added games to them. And then the internet.
And computers began to become gaming devices, entertainment devices, and media devices, that just happened to also have document writing or spreadsheet creation capability.
And then there are tablets, which are not designed at all to be working tools, or computing tools, but mostly entertainment devices (with rare exceptions), made most evident by the fact that they don't even have real keyboards. They aren't designed to be typed on for more than a few lines.
There is an entire generation growing up that don't think of computers as work devices, but as entertainment or personal devices. They don't think in terms of typing, but swiping and touching. And as I saw first-hand at the store tonight, that is what is sold now. It was harder for me to find a computer that was built just for work computing than it was to find an entertainment device. And as I work my way around Windows 8, I realize that even the operating systems have changed now.
There's a lot to think about there.


 Hey You! Check out my new novels, "You Heard It Here First" and the sequel "This Just In!"

I'd give my left leg to not write this post

I'm sitting on the couch with my laptop burning my left leg. Why the left leg? I don't know. But that is the side of the laptop that gets hot and eventually starts to burn my leg. Thankfully this doesn't happen too often, only after I've been working on my computer for at least 12 hours.
Yes, I have been working on this thing for 12 straight hours. (No wonder I'm so hungry.)

I've resumed job hunting after a month long break. (Why a month break? Because it took less than a month for me to remember why I wanted to get a "real" job again, and then another week to talk myself into putting myself through this misery again.) Every time I have a job interview they inevitably ask, "So why do you want to leave self-employment and go back to work?"

And every time I hear that question I want to tell the truth, "Because I'm sick and tired of working 12 hour days that result in barely more than minimum wage. And it wouldn't be "going back to work." I've never had to work so hard in my life, for such a small payoff."

Days like today are why I want to "go back to work." There is one more very big reason why I am tired of self-employment- I am sick and tired of having to promote and sell myself! I would so much rather market another person or company. Marketing and selling yourself all day is just tiresome! Not to mention, a complete ego-killer. Except on the days it goes well. Then it's a big ego-boost.

But I'm not in this (this being gainful employment) for the ego-boost. I'm in it for the paycheck!

Speaking of paychecks, there is a stinkbug climbing along the ceiling over me. I can't reach it, not even with a broom. I know, I tried. And while I was up I got an ice pack to put on my left leg, under the laptop. It may be time for me to give in and buy a new computer. But to do that, I'm going to afford a new laptop, I'm going to have to several more extra projects. And that means more time burning my left leg. How much can my little left leg take?

And that people, is why I have resumed my job search.

And why you are feeling an overwhelming urge to save me a few hours of work tonight, and go buy my books- "You Heard It Here First" and the sequel "This Just In!"

Guilt Trip

My sister and I have an ongoing conversation about why "it is so hard for some countries to have hot water." The technology and water are available, so why are so many people suffering in cold showers? If you've traveled enough you know the answer is energy and limited access to it. Also, that in the poorer countries, they just have other problems to deal with before tackling levels of comfort.

After experiencing true poverty I have a hard time coming home and accepting all the blessings and conveniences around me. I've been through this guilt trip before (in great depth after going to Haiti). I find myself determined to not take advantage of all the simplicities and comforts around me, and to really be a minimalist, living a truly earthy existence. But I have a confession, having just spent 4 weeks in a country with no hot water, I'm really, really enjoying hot showers again. Of course, every time I take a hot shower I feel a little bit guilty about it for about 1 minute. I get over it quickly. Rain shower heads help. 

While I was gone we got a new refrigerator in the new house. I find myself staring at it and contemplating all of its ridiculous functions. And I have come to an important conclusion (only slightly said tongue-in-cheek)- technology hasn't been made easier or simpler or even more advanced so as to be adapted more effectively in poorer countries, because the major manufacturers who could be spending their time improving technologies for the developing world are too busy making ridiculous refrigerators. Seriously people, our new refrigerator has an internal alarm system. If the door is left open too long a buzzer goes off. You can even set controls so it remembers who you are and dispenses filtered water at just the temperature you like it. 

And just think, last week I was proud of myself for figuring out that if you take a shower in the evening, the water was warmer after having been heated by the sun all day. Also, I had finally mastered how to flush a "dry" toilet. (Note: use a bucket of water, NOT the hose.) 

Did you know the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is currently hosting a competition of sorts to encourage inventors and scientists to reinvent the toilet? It may sound silly at first, but once you study this subject, you'll learn this is a pretty big deal. I'd love to be a part of this sort of cause. Granted, I'm no scientist or inventor, but I'd love to do my part from the marketing communications side of things. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is I want to be a part of something important. It is hard to sit here with all of the conveniences and comforts of a good life and feel like I'm not doing anything to make the world a better place. Sure, I'm going to enjoy another glass of perfectly cooled water from an over the top refrigerator tonight. But I'm also going to sit around wondering why the good folks at GE couldn't spend a little bit more time making hot water heaters more affordable and efficient. And then wonder why I deserve to live in a country with rain water shower heads...