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The Computing Horror
I use the Corporate Overlords' mananged Microsoft Windows laptop [1] to log
into the Corporate Overlord's VPN (Virtual Private Network) at least once a
week to let it update itself and reboot it as many times as it wants (if I go
too long, the Corporate Overlords' will assume the laptop has been stolen,
remotely nuke it from orbit and swamp me with paperwork). I also use it to
punch my timecard [2]. I don't use it for programming because the Ft.
Lauderdale Office of the Corporation uses Apple Macs for that.
Oh, and I use the Corporate Overlords' mananged Microsoft Windows laptop to
attend meetings via Microsoft Teams. I use a web interface for work email—
yes, it's Microsoft Lookout for the web and given that I use Apple Macs (and
before that, Linux) at work, it was easier to use that than to try to
interface a non-Windows email client with Microsoft Exchange. The meeting
notices are sent via email and contain the link to the Microsoft Teams
meeting.
Now the laptop, being managed, was “set up” so I could use it from the start.
And for reasons I don't understand, there are two different versions of
Microsoft Internet Exploder installed on the system, and they both show up on
the program bar across the bottom of the screen. I found out the hard way
that one of the two Microsoft Internet Exploders refuses to work with
Microsoft Teams. I click the link and … no meeting, even when Microsoft Teams
is already running! I nearly missed a meeting until my manager directly
invited me via Microsoft Teams.
I learned that the second Microsoft Internet Exploder would happily connect
to the meeting. All I have to do now is recognize which blue “E” to use to
attend Microsoft Teams based meetings.
Another weird thing happened with the laptop—it was warning me that I wasn't
using the proper power brick for charging and to please use the power brick
that came with the unit. The only thing was, I was using the power brick that
came with the unit.
Sigh.
The fix?
Use a different electrical outlet, I kid you not.
But by then, both batteries were less than 1% charged, and the computer was
trying in vain to charge one battery for a few seconds, then the other
battery for a few seconds, back and forth, back and forth.
Until it shut off.
At that point, I felt like I was computer illiterate, not knowing how to deal
with this … this … thing in front of me. It's stressful that I'm working for
the computer, and not with the computer.
It's a horrible feeling.
In the end, I let it just sit there and eventually, the batteries charged up.
But I just can't shake this feeling that I'm computer illiterate when it
comes to this computer.
[1]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2019/08/22.1
[2]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2020/10/28.1
Email author at
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