It goes on.

[hannah]

Nobody is fucking talking to me in vocabulary I share with them. I'm asking very simple questions - "Can I buy this?" "Does this policy still apply?" - but nobody is answering me.

I'm thinking of getting another Dell, but it's not an option to get one with XP. I could purchase XP or use my old disc. I'd rather use my old disc, but as of today I've still got no information as to whether or not the disc would be usable. I've got no information if my school's XP Upgrade would give me XP or not. It's not even the processing capacity that's the aspect of the OS I'm looking for but just how the information is presented on the screen. That's it.

It feels like I'm being kicked over and over thanks to all the reminders that the world isn't built for someone like me.

Comments

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

Hannah, that's not even you. The world -- particularly the consumer electronics segment of the world -- is not built for anyone who is trying to use straightforward common sense. It's built to sell us a lot of crap we don't need so that we'll have to buy more crap in an effort to get what we do need.

[hannahrorlove.livejournal.com]

The best metaphor I've been able to create to illustrate the difference between operating systems is Lego blocks and rubber balls. I want Lego. Right now, both Apple and Microsoft are trying to sell me rubber balls.

And it's gotten really fucking frustrating when people try to tell me I should go with the rubber balls when I know full well they'd make me want to throw the computer off an eight-story building.

[anglepoiselamp.livejournal.com]

I only used Linux for a short time but it seemed very much like a Lego block kind of operating system. Sure, it has it's quirks and compatibility issues, but it has no strings attached and no commercial crap. It allows you control over what you want the system to do in a way that Windows never trusts its users with.

The newer user-friendly Linux builds aren't difficult to operate, either - I thought they would be but I had no trouble figuring everything out within a few days.

[hannahrorlove.livejournal.com]

It's less the operating system itself and more how the information is on the screen. If Linus looked like Windows XP, I'd be more inclined to consider that option.

[tartary-lamb.livejournal.com]

I've met competent, articulate electronics salespeople, but they're too often far and few between. I feel for you. :( *hug*

[hannahrorlove.livejournal.com]

For some reason, that icon, plus remembering that one conversation we had about Livingston - where you said nobody remembered him and then I realized I knew - made me smile, and now I feel that much better.

*hugs back*

[ayalesca.livejournal.com]

While I obviously cannot speak to the rest of your experience, I CAN tell you that the computer world is built for computer people; that isn't just you. :(

[xzombiexkittenx.livejournal.com]

I swear, talking to tech people is like talking to Dadaists. You ask, "Will software X work with Mac or only with Windows?" and they're like, "SEVEN! PENGUIN!" \o/ Or worse, they'll answer a question you didn't ask, and then look at you like you're an idiot. I hate that, and while I can't be certain that I totally understand your experience, as someone who is about as useful as a bag of hammers and a supermagnet around computers, I feel your pain.

[lasergirl.livejournal.com]

an XP upgrade will not give you windows XP unless you have a previous version of windows installed on your HD. If you are getting a new computer it will come pre-loaded with Windows Vista, which you can get a nerd to reformat.

Call independent computer-fixit places and ask if they can do an install of XP on a new system.

[nachtschade.livejournal.com]

That should be possible. I have a laptop from work with a Vista-sticker on it, but it runs XP.