Friday, January 27, 2006

Monitoring the computer problem

And while we're on the topic of technology, why is it so much more difficult (and sometimes more expensive) to buy a computer without a monitor than a computer with a monitor? I don't need a new monitor! I do, however, need a new computer. My Neanderthal computer at home does a few things well-- it crashes, it sends error messages, and it makes noises more appropriate to a professional wrestling match than to word processing--which is about what you'd expect from an eight-year-old computer. I'm tired of spending money on repairs and upgrades, so it's time to send this guy out to pasture.

But not my ergonomic keyboard. I like my ergonomic keyboard. And not my nice bright shiny flat-screen monitor either. And come to think of it, I'm happy with my printer, speakers, scanner, and mouse. All I want is the tower, but all the computer retailers want to sell me is a big ol' box o' stuff, with a free printer thrown in for good measure. We seem to be at an impasse.

Which makes me wonder: how do so many of my students manage to come to college without printers? The most common excuse for missing or late assignments is "I don't have a printer so I e-mailed it to myself and went to the library to print it off and I waited and waited and waited and waited and it didn't come out and now I don't know what to do!" They have computers; I've seen them carrying their spiffy new laptops all over campus. How did they ever get out of a computer store without being forced at gunpoint to buy a printer?

Wherever they're shopping, that's where I want to go.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hahahaha.

Anonymous said...

They're all lying to you! They only use their computers to update their profiles on Facebook and Myspace.

jaywalke said...

It is the same reason you cannot buy a phone that is just a phone.

I don't want a (&*^%* camera on my phone. I have a digital camera. I don't use it to make phone calls, and I won't use my phone to take pictures.

There . . . I hope we all feel better now. I know I do.