Goodbye XP, I Knew You Well

writing always writing

For the past week I’ve been moving from my old XP PC to a nice light weight, faster and smaller laptop with Windows 7. At first I had hair pulling sessions which ended sometimes in tears, sometimes in stomping through the house between laptops using words my mother would have blushed at.

Having decided to use the old computer solely to stream to our flat screen television, I’ve alternated between downloading files from Carbonite to copying to CDs and transferring. This all depends on the speed of my DSL, which for some odd reason slows down during stormy, cloudy, windy days.

 

l learned after my third or so computer (my first one was DOS with no hard drive or mouse) that newer isn’t always better, but it is always more complicated. Where this could eventually go, I’m not sure. Though when I think about it I realize that my grandson and great grandson are so much more computer wise than I that it really does make sense. One day these electronic devices will only be understood by those not yet born, and I would cringe at trying to open one, let alone use it. But, of course it really doesn’t matter.

What does matter right now is that I’m 78 years old and learning yet another Windows program. Tutorials help some, but I find it easiest to copy them, print out the copy and place it next to my computer. I can’t remember more than two or three steps before my mind yells Whoa and my head spins.

About three days ago I found myself wishing for my old IBM Selectric typewriter, which was much more complicated than the manual I learned on in high school business class. Then I remembered retyping for every draft, struggling to make a perfect final copy, and finding something to do with the discarded piles of paper that were ankle deep halfway through the novel.

Finally, today I realized that I knew what to do with the files I’d copied and transferred, and how to do it. So, sooner or later I’ll have all my files transferred and everything will be good again. The secret is not to spend an entire day doing one thing, but to alternate between moving files, emails, Facebook, listening to the latest audio for the Montana series and glory be, writing (or editing) the next book.

Don’t call me an expert, and for goodness sake don’t ask me how to do something on Windows 7.