Technology is like a spouse in that you can’t live with it and you can’t live without it. Years ago, when I was using dial-up Internet service, I decided to switch to a different provider that charged less. I called the second provider and signed up, then typed in the configuration and phone numbers and tried to get online, but the connection failed. I spent two hours on the phone with a technical support representative, trying to resolve the issue. Finally, he said, “Why don’t you call back tomorrow when an expert will be here?” I did, and I was finally able to get back on the Internet.
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Thanks to Girlie on the Edge’s six-sentence story prompt for inspiring the above. If you’d like to participate, click here.
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By the way, for those of you who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. No matter how you read it, please be sure to review it wherever you can. That goes for all my books. Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe, happy, and healthy.
New! The Red Dress
Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books
When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.
Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.
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I feel your pain, Abbie. I signed up for ‘fiber’ 2 weeks ago. Because of some mess up, I’d couldn’t get the ID and password for 3 days, so no internet (eeek!). Fortunately I’ve a friend at Telkom who SMS’d me with the daily engineers’ sign in code each day until the problem was resolved. It’s good to have friends in high places!
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Absolutely! Friends in high places are great, aren’t they? I’m glad you got your issue resolved and thank you for reading and commenting.
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It (the relationship between users and internet) is so much more than a person and a life becoming accustomed to a technological convenience. It is (like it or not) a bridge to a new aspect of life/reality.
Unfortunately (or not) there is no going back. One may have a boat to leave their island and discover the differences (both positive and negative) of others on another island. Destroy the boat and the person will not forget the other island.
…or something like that…. liked this Six*
*the kind that sets off a stream of words and thoughts and imaginings
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Thank you. I appreciate your comment.
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After a 30 year career in technology, I am still frightened by it as well as distrustful. The last major upgrade was a nightmare
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Upgrades can definitely be scary. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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This is a story that each of us can relate to, Abbie.
Stories of let-downs are commonplace.
It is almost impossible to speak to a human being in what is laughingly called Customer Service or Support, and when we do they are rarely speaking their first language.
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You are absolutely right. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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And then, when you get used to what you have- they change it on you, an “improvement”.
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I know what you mean about companies changing technology once you’ve gotten used to it. WordPress is a good example of this, phasing out the classic editor, which we’ve all known and loved for years, and replacing it with Mr. Blockhead. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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I like your analogy of technology being like a spouse. So true, Abbie!
The early days of dial up. No doubt we all have one “horror” story, lol. It almost seems futile to try and keep up with tech. It seems to be evolving at, what seems to me, an ever increasing pace. Reading your return comment to D. Avery, the WordPress is an excellent example of “it it’s not broke don’t fix it”.
“Mr. Blockhead” 😆
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I agree with you about technology always changing and am glad you got a good laugh from my comment on Mr. Blockhead. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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It’s good to connect with the right people to get over technical problems.
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I agree about connecting withthe right people for customer service and technical support. But sometimes, it’s hard finding the right people. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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To err is human, but to really foul things up requires technology — i’ve been saying that since the late 1970’s.
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LOL! Thank you for the interesting perspective.
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Technology like a spouse – now there’s a good comparison. I just had a week of these endless conversations with a faceless (non)expert. You describe it perfectly.
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Thank you. I appreciate your comment.
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Oh my goodness…those dial up days…thankfully that’s no longer the case. Nicely done six.
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I’m also glad those dial-up days are over. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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