From Techno-tastrophe To Techno-riffic

If the idea behind a vacation is to "get away from it all," Wayne took it to heart...although not on purpose. I wrote about how his laptop crashed, both literally and figuratively, on the second day of the trip and a couple of days later his cellphone bit the dust. In fairness, both had probably outlived their normal life expectancy but still he felt like he'd dropped off the edge of the technology world. He was lost for sure although the hotel computers kept him from total withdrawal.

But all is right in his world again. He has a new phone, although my efforts to convince him he'd be happy with an iPhone failed so it's another dumb one (i.e., not a smart phone). We all know he turns it on infrequently anyway so it's probably just as well. And he has a powerful new desktop computer he's been loading with software, photos and files. A friend was able to recover all the data from the laptop's hard drive so he's a happy camper.

Well, now anyway. It was touch-and-go there for a day or two when the new computer wasn't getting much of a signal on our home network. The modem is attached to my computer so those little waves were having to make their way down a hall, around a corner, down another hall, and around another corner before they could get to his new system. They were too tired when they got there to be very useful.

It was looking like we were going to have to have someone come out and run an ethernet cable through the attic but then we found this:

Looks like a little robot from Star Wars, doesn't it? It's a range extender that now lives at the corner halfway between my room and his, pumping up the signal strength so it can do its job when it get's to Wayne's computer. We stumbled on it when we were looking for speakers and thought we'd give it a try. The price was definitely cheaper than having someone come out to do the cable, and I'm happy to report that it has solved our problem.

There's just one piece of the technology puzzle remaining. We have to have something to travel with that can do photo editing and geocaching. Whether that's another laptop or a tablet remains to be seen but with no trips on the immediate horizon, we don't have to make that decision today. Right now we're back in techno-normal.

Comments

[Jude.x]

OH, I think I want one of those Range Extenders..... I don't need one, I just want a little robot.... :D
As for technology while travelling - I have a laptop (MacBook) and a tablet (nothing posh. just the cheapest capacitative screen one I could find). If you want to do photo editing I'd go for a laptop everytime - the screen on tablets is good, but not as good as a laptop; although that said I've never looked at an iPad??
Funny, isn't it..... 20 years ago I didn't even dream of owning a computer, let alone desktop, laptop, tablet, smart phone, etc, etc. :D
Jude.x

[Sue H.]

Like Mr. A., I just endured a major hard drive crash. Although some files were backed up on my husband's computer, he has spent over a week trying to recover more for me. A new hard drive will probably be quicker, and in the long run will I miss what I lost. Probably not. I have been in computer withdrawal though, and am glad to be back!