Build them to last, Mr, Gates- *to last*

[flemmings]

Aaaughhhh. Just went to Best Buy and ordered a customized computer. XP, floppy drive, CD burner, 17 screen. Thank god my bro was there to deal with the scary male staff who kept raising his eyebrows every time I said I wanted x or y or z.

I hate technology.

Also- fifty dollars to transfer my files? WHY IS THAT NOT AN AUTOMATIC SERVICE?

Also- Windows doesn`t come with Word or any office functions? WHY IS THAT NOT AN AUTOMATIC PART OF THE PACKAGE?

Also- I seem to have turned on the é macro on the question mark slash key, and now have no more question marks or slashes. How does one turn it off? (answer- close the document and reopen.)

Comments

[incandescens]

Agreed on all of the above (except the e macro) after buying a new computer last year, and having to get a new Microsoft Office to go with it. (I did at least managed to get a reduced price version of it, due to a special offer they had, but even so, ouch.)

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

You remind me why I'm glad it doesn't come with Windows Office. Would not TOUCH WinOff 07 if you paid me. But this is also why one should buy firsthand when it comes out-- you have the disks to install Word 2003 later on.

And now I'm all oh oh oh goodbye to my old stuff from ten years back because that's not all getting transferred to the new machine. I want my tame technician back, who made house calls and knew how to install two drives (this guy- Can't do it, box is too small) and saved what I told him to save. Technology is too important to be left in the hands of geeks.

[mvrdrk.livejournal.com]

Save your old hard drive. Eventually someone will be able to transfer it for you for cheap.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

I've told him to do that (and not wipe it and use as a backup like he wanted to) but 'for cheap' around here is $40 as a favour to a friend. I think most of what I want has got itself transferred during the last five years. It's just packrat mentality that wants to keep word perfect files that I can't even view in Word.

As for your other offer, I'll take you up on it with thanks if my bro can't find his Office 03. I never use anything but Word anyway, and am wondering if I shouldn't go to Open Office in any case.

But I wish we lived in the same city so you could hold my hand. Technology = desolation, wibble wibble.

[rasetsunyo.livejournal.com]

I use Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/). It's nominally compatible with Microsof Word documents -- it can definitely open and edit .doc files -- but it does screw up some of the formatting. It uses a proprietary file format but you can save stuff in .doc too, you just have to select the correct format when saving. For all that the formatting makes me want to rip my hair out by the roots, it is at least free.