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Hall of Famer [22591]
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Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 12:51 PM
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I've had it with technology. Once upon a time I was on the cutting edge. I had a home computer that was a Gateway. I think it was a 286, might have been 386. I used dial up for years when that was all there was. My first web browser was Netscape. I know why floppy disks are called floppy.
I taught my college employees how to use email. (I had it long before my college got it.)
But, I'm thinking about going off the grid.
Comcast told me I had to change by modem and TV boxes because the old ones would no longer work as of 9/4. I took three boxes and my modem in, plus my remotes. There was a lady there whose job was to switch them out for me. She did. She gave me three different boxes and 2 remotes of one type and 1 a different type.
I came home and hooked up my equipment. After 2 hours of work, I got one TV to work, one to turn on and off and change volume, but not change channels, and one that would not work at all. Plus I had no internet capability at all.
I got tech support on the phone. After waiting for over an hour, I spoke to a human being. After 2 hours I finally asked her, "You haven't got a clue how to fix this do you?" She agreed she didn't. So, we ended the conversation.
The next day I tried again. After waiting an hour for a live person, I spent 3 hours with the technician. While he was trying to fix the internet, I figured out how to fix my second TV. He could not fix the internet or my third TV.
They set up a home repair. The guy walked in looked at the TV and said, "No wonder it isn't working, they gave you the wrong box." He looked at the other two TV's and said, "I'm surprised you got these two working." He also looked at the remote that was different and said it was the wrong remote and switched it." Took him about 30 minutes to get everything fixed.
Fast forward to yesterday. I tried to print something. Printer won't work. "Printer is in error mode." I go on line and try to troubleshoot it. It is a wireless printer sitting right next to my computer. (The printer by my wife's computer is working fine.) I get on line and chat with Geek Squad agent. After 30 minutes she tells me I will have to bring printer into store.
That makes zero sense. Taking my printer 20 miles away from my computer and my internet and wireless connection won't exactly solve anything.
Today, I call Geek Squad to speak to an agent in person. After 30 minutes he can't fix it and hands me off to a second level tech (a real expert). He is online. We are conversing back and forth in a chatroom. He's doing all sorts of stuff with my computer. I get no new messages for about 10 minutes. Then I notice the chatbox is closed. I don't know if it was by accident or if he sent a message I didn't see saying he couldn't fix it and then just ended the chat.
So, I called Geek Squad and told them what had happened. The guy set up a home visit by a tech guy to fix it.
Folks, these are two simple problems.
Comcast - just give me the right equipment, idiots!
Geek Squad - hooking up a printer to a computer used to be Technology 101.
I'm too old for this. It's time for me to go to the home.
But, while I'm still here, "Get off my lawn!"
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110%er [6104]
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 12:57 PM
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Bret, God bless you. You have precisely described what so many of us otherwise fairly intelligent people have become reduced to all thanks to advancements in technology.
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110%er [6498]
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 9:23 PM
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I had same deal with Windstream internet. They waste three hours of my time doing everything to my fiber bridge and two weeks later when a tech can finally come, problem is 4 miles away from fiber bridge. 2 weeks for a tech?
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Legend [16879]
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Comcast actually goes well out of its way to be
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Aug 19, 2023, 12:57 PM
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The absolute worst company on the planet! I'm unsure they have any competition...they're the Secretariat of this Belmont Interweb World.
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CU Medallion [55491]
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Re: Comcast actually goes well out of its way to be
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Aug 19, 2023, 1:37 PM
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Shame on you for using such a magnificent animal as Secretariat was to make a point about a company's unethical business practices that equals consumer neglect/abuse!!!
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Legend [16879]
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I use Secretariat as the metaphor
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Aug 20, 2023, 11:25 AM
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For total domination...no way am I discrediting that fabulous horse. It's the only time I recall a race that had only one horse in the field of view (television).
Comcast is a black hole of service...period. And to the point PACIFIC BEACH TIGER® made...why have ISP's not been blasted?
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Legend [18800]
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They must pay a ton in hand-outs....
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Aug 20, 2023, 9:28 AM
[ in reply to Comcast actually goes well out of its way to be ] |
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To get to have little to no competition legally.
AT&T in 1984 was the last of the big bust-ups that I can remember. What ever happened to anti-trusts anyway?
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110%er [8337]
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 12:57 PM
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Bret, that story just wore me out. I’m going to lay down for awhile
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Hall of Famer [22361]
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All-TigerNet [13579]
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Joined: 8/30/18
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Re: Ah, the old PC Load Letter printer error... there's only one solution Bret.
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Aug 19, 2023, 1:45 PM
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Now, I have a headache. I didn't need this today on top of the ACC trying to implode all around me. Thanks Bret!
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Legend [17363]
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Joined: 12/14/98
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 1:11 PM
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I’ve been dreading updating my modem and cable boxes for fear of exactly this result.
Instead of fear the spear, fear the cable company / technology is much scarier. Ha.
Glad you are finally good to go until the next needed update.
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CU Medallion [55491]
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Joined: 7/18/07
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 1:20 PM
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When those chat boxes go blank, it's no accident, the SOB shut it down bc he/she finally decided they couldn't help you and had no explanation why, and they shut you off bc they know there is no reprisal for doing so from you...
Regardless of how pissed/upset it makes you, there is really not a thing you can do to retaliate from their rudeness/unprofessionalism other than put in another couple of hours in a search trying to find someone that you hope can help you, and usually that also fails with likely another shut down of the chat box!!!
Good Luck, just know there is no longer anything called consumer rights, that went away with chat boxes!!!
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Legend [19977]
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Spectrum is my arch nemesis
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Aug 19, 2023, 1:25 PM
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If you said we are marching to burn them to the ground, I would grab my pitchfork and join you.
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All-In [26244]
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 1:27 PM
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Bret, we all feel your pain.
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CU Guru [1399]
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 1:32 PM
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Bret, that’s why I fired Comcast years ago. They suck.
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CU Guru [1381]
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You mean to tell me
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Aug 19, 2023, 1:34 PM
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People are still using cable???
Try YouTubeTV, it’ll save you some $$$ and some headaches
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CU Guru [1865]
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Re: You mean to tell me
Aug 20, 2023, 11:30 AM
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You are correct sir!
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Heisman Winner [136317]
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Joined: 8/26/07
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My HP printer drops off the computer that I have
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Aug 19, 2023, 1:39 PM
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Connected by USB
I have to delete and reinstall about every 2 weeks or so
The 2 laptops that connect via WiFi have no issues printing
My TVs are getting slow, i guess they are too old to keep up with the updates
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All-TigerNet [11106]
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 1:41 PM
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A fine rant, as far as rants go.
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CU Guru [1213]
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 1:56 PM
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I went through a similar scenario within the last 10 days. I got an email from Xfinity saying I needed two new boxes to allow me access to Xfinity On Demand and Video on Demand. I picked up one box then the other and waited 30 minutes to access a technician for each one. After hooking up the hardware, the technician had to jump through hoops to get my remote paired. I admit, I do like the voice enabled remote, but what a hassle.
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110%er [5743]
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 1:59 PM
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I feel your pain Bret as if getting old is not tough enough, technology can really frustrate us. Especially when those helping us are not always competent. You will finally get it worked out and be glad you did. Good luck!
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Orange Blooded [3456]
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Like everyone else I understand your frustration
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Aug 19, 2023, 2:04 PM
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I have given up on the wireless printing and just hook the old cable directly to the computer. Then all I have to worry about is the drivers for the printer being up to date. Old fashioned but it works.
Comcast/Spectrum is horrible as a TV provider. I use them only for internet access and stream Direct TV which is somewhat better. If you really want to be frustrated wait until your wireless thermostats get on the network and after a power hit you have to reset the TV box because it gets a stronger signal from the thermostat than the wireless router.
Then to top things of we have the worst telco in the country CenturyLink. I use them only for an emergency landline since the cell companies around here have no battery backup and a power outage to their towers means NO service. At our age we need 911 access 24/7 (help I've fallen and can't get up).
The things I put up with so I can watch Clemson football.
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Orange Blooded [2467]
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 2:11 PM
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I helped a senior citizen hook up a wireless printer a couple of weeks ago. (And I'm not far from being a senior myself.)
There were four methods I could use to set it up.
1) put printer into identify mode and press button on router. We did this. It printed something that was in the queue. Wouldn't print anything new.
2) download the HP app from Windows store. Her PC was running Windows 8 and we needed Windows 11. I wasn't about to try to take that woman's operating system to 11.
3) add printer manually. I never could get the computer to search the network for this printer. (Another user in the house could print to it so it was recognized by somebody.)
4) I forget the fourth one but it wasn't working.
So I search online to see if there's anything else I could do. One of the top results was "set it up with your smart phone or mobile device." Nah, I don't wanna do that; I'd need to join their network and who knows if they'd need to depend on me in the future. Ah, screw it, I've been here two hours and I might as well try. So I
1) Join the wifi network.
2) Download the HP app to my phone.
3) Press identify on the printer.
4) Setup was done in three minutes.
Maybe technology is passing me by also.
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CU Guru [1404]
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Posts: 1985
Joined: 11/30/98
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Printers are the worse
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Aug 19, 2023, 2:14 PM
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I graduated with a BS degree in Computer Engineering from Clemson, I’ve worked 25+ years in IT as a support rep, test engineer, and a network architect designing and deploying large enterprise networks around the world. But if someone asks me to help them troubleshoot their printer problems, I tell them to buy a new printer. They are the most frustrating devices.
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CU Guru [1640]
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Joined: 11/30/04
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Re: Printers are the worse
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Aug 20, 2023, 2:07 AM
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From experience… you are 100% correct. Going back to my first support role in 97 I’ve hated dealing with printer issues.
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CU Guru [1593]
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Gave you a TU
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Aug 19, 2023, 2:42 PM
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Mainly for the Netscape reference.
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All-In [26110]
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Joined: 7/31/07
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Re: Gave you a TU
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Aug 19, 2023, 2:52 PM
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Understand completely Bret. That is one of the many reasons why I let technology pass me by. I still have a flip phone that I can use with only one hand and never have problems. Much of technology is to impress others in my geekless opinion.
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Hall of Famer [22591]
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LOTUS 123, Mosaic, Compuserve, Wordstar, Word Perfect,....
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Aug 19, 2023, 2:56 PM
[ in reply to Gave you a TU ] |
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...DOS, OS2
I'm old.
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All-Conference [416]
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Posts: 104
Joined: 6/25/12
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Re: LOTUS 123, Mosaic, Compuserve, Wordstar, Word Perfect,....
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Aug 19, 2023, 3:07 PM
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Not by yourself! Have done all the above!!
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CU Medallion [57378]
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Joined: 11/12/04
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WebCrawler, Lycos, AltaVista***
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Aug 19, 2023, 3:30 PM
[ in reply to Gave you a TU ] |
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Hall of Famer [22591]
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Posts: 7213
Joined: 8/31/03
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Oh yeah, I forgot about all the search engines.
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Aug 19, 2023, 3:49 PM
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Good catch.
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Legend [16540]
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Joined: 9/1/01
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I used to like Dogpile for search engine
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Aug 19, 2023, 8:18 PM
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CU Medallion [67995]
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Posts: 115540
Joined: 11/30/98
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 3:32 PM
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my printer occasionally refuses to print for no good reason. Usually unplugging it and / or the modem helps resolve the issue. It is a stupid piece of junk I would throw out the window but we have aq ranch house and I'm afraid that won't do the job.
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Standout [326]
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Posts: 247
Joined: 10/19/16
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 4:58 PM
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I changed the pronouncition from Spectrum. Now it is just Rectum. Gooo Tigers
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CU Guru [1558]
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 5:28 PM
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When I was at Clemson, hand held calculators had just come out. I had one by Radio Shack because TI calculators were too expensive. We also had to learn to use a slide rule “just in case”. Just in case what was never explained.
There was no internet or PC’s, just the mainframe where you had to write the program, then keypunch the program to get the cards to feed into the card reader. I think the language was Fortran and if you got one card out of sequence or heaven’s forbid, drop the deck, you were screwed. I think my first exposure to the internet was either on a PC Jr (piece of garbage) or a Gateway 286 (another piece oh garbage).
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Hall of Famer [22591]
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Joined: 8/31/03
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Clemson and graphing calculators.
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Aug 19, 2023, 7:22 PM
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Summer of 94 I spent 6 weeks in Clemson. Took two independent study classes on graphing calculators. At that time Clemson was on the cutting edge of incorporating GCs into the curriculum. I sat in on two undergrad courses (Calc II and Vector Analysis) and I had a TI-85 and an HP. I would work problems using both. Then there was a one week conference with folks from TI and HP holding workshops, basically selling their calculator.
Went back to my community college and convinced them that we needed to incorporate GS into the math curriculum. (I still have the scars on my back as evidence of how easy it was to "convince" a couple of the math faculty.)
I also conducted seminars all over the two county area our CC served teaching HS math teachers and students how to use them. (We went with TI because the learning curve was much simpler and I never found a problem that I thought was easier to solve using and HP than a TI.)
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Orange Blooded [3227]
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Joined: 6/24/23
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 6:23 PM
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I agree with you.
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All-TigerNet [10516]
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Posts: 7770
Joined: 12/5/15
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 19, 2023, 8:52 PM
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I feel your pain. People just don’t seem to know anything or care anymore.
On the bright side…..it’s getting easier and easier every day, for a properly raised child to leave the competition in the dust.
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CU Guru [1534]
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Bret - get wirelessg TV's man, nobody uses TV boxes anymore
Aug 19, 2023, 9:26 PM
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Gracious me.. haven't had a cable box since before the war.
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110%er [6984]
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Joined: 9/21/04
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It took me 30 min to book a tee time on a stupid app
Aug 19, 2023, 10:10 PM
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It used to take 30 secs to call
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Commissioner [910]
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Posts: 1548
Joined: 4/4/02
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
Aug 20, 2023, 1:36 AM
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You just need a teenager.
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All-In [25400]
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Posts: 14699
Joined: 11/3/11
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I've been tired of all the crap, so here's what I
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Aug 20, 2023, 4:36 AM
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have: a phone that I leave in my car, shut off and used only if I need to call AAA.
I have a Samsung tablet that I look at every morning to check e-mail and FB for messages, other than TNet, the weather and local news.
For family and friends, I've told them to call me at work in an emergency or sent a message. If an emergency when I'm away from work and not on my tablet, call the Sheriff's Department, and they'll send a deputy over.
And that's it. I do have basic cable and internet but have had very little trouble, which the provider corrected immediately. I pay the electric and cable bills monthly, which are cheap enough, and $25 monthly for my phone...and that's it. Screw all that other stuff....I work four days a week, and when off, I either work outdoors or go somewhere, and don't really give a flying dammmmm about much of anything else. Simplifying my life as I have grown older surely has made my days a heck of a lot more enjoyable...a lesson many people highly focused on technology will probably learn some day!
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CU Guru [1795]
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Joined: 11/27/22
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
Aug 20, 2023, 5:03 AM
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Just drop a Nuke on FSU and all will be good....quit batching
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110%er [5065]
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Joined: 5/5/19
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Nobody mentioned Commodore 64?******
Aug 20, 2023, 9:25 AM
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Letterman [285]
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Posts: 150
Joined: 12/1/03
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That truly sucks, but this is really scary
Aug 20, 2023, 9:49 AM
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My dog has learned to open the outside door, so I come home and find
a bunch of housefly's in the house. So I go to Publix and buy some
fly paper and they goop up the flies. This was a Thursday.
On Saturday morning, I receive an email from Google Prime, with their
daily offering of crap to buy. The very FIRST item listed was ...
Flypaper!
We no longer have any private lives.
tigercee
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Varsity [216]
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Posts: 73
Joined: 4/12/13
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
Aug 20, 2023, 10:00 AM
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I am grinning after reading these posts as I have very recently experienced a similar issue with Verizon Fios. Needed to swap out my Verizon brand router and extender. Took multiple wasted phone calls and chats with technical support. Finally found a competent Fios rep who had the know-how to resolve the problems. It was up to me to update all of my connected applications and devices to the new router. So be it...expected that. The real PITA was getting my smart plugs and lights to work. I have learned that if I want to lessen anxiety, it is to my advantage to stick with Amazon branded devices, as opposed to having smart devices from different manufacturers. Particularly if you want them to work with the Alexa application. Took another 3 days to resolve that issue after wasting untold hours speaking with multiple different technical support teams. These devices are marketed to make our life easier...they fail miserably.
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Orange Blooded [4763]
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Posts: 2366
Joined: 1/9/07
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
Aug 20, 2023, 10:06 AM
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I feel your pain. I am not super tech savvy, but I was the first rep in my company to use a computer to contact customers via email and fax back in the 1980's. Every time we had a special, I would immediately fax or email every golf pro in my area and sold tons of products using the computer........an old "breadbox" portable 286.
I spent 2 hours yesterday trying to install a Firestick on my TV on the back porch so I can watch football outside this Fall. After being online and on the phone with Amazon, Spectrum and my Tech son in Houston, we finally figured out, I have a defective remote control. So I had to buy a new one after all that angst!! I am with you, Grumpy old man.......I have had just about enough!!
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110%er [6611]
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Joined: 9/28/09
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Deer Bret...We Cut Comcast about 3 weeks ago.
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Aug 20, 2023, 10:57 AM
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We had their Triple play and we finally decided to "cut the cord". We kept the high speed internet and signed up with Hulu Live we've been happy.
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All-TigerNet [11049]
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Posts: 8019
Joined: 10/18/16
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Re: Grumpy old man rant.
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Aug 20, 2023, 11:38 AM
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I had an error problem with my wireless printer. Not knowing what you have, I deleted mine off my computer and reloaded it. I had to fake through the setup but it started working.
Then the wife set the printer up to print from her phone and it stopped printing from the computer. I went back through the delete and reload process and it's working again. Technology, ain't it great!
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Legend [17631]
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Posts: 11054
Joined: 10/13/08
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Bret, try this.
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Aug 20, 2023, 11:38 AM
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Newer modems offer both 2.4 and 5 gHz services. Even some newer printers only connect at 2.4. usually your PC and printer have to be on the same to work. So if your PC is connected at 5 and your printer at 2.4, you'll get a print error. Switch your PC to the same network as your printer and try printing again.
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Orange Blooded [2533]
TigerPulse: 89%
Posts: 4161
Joined: 10/10/08
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Sometimes we get in a rut, which is just ..
Aug 20, 2023, 1:07 PM
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...a grave with the ends kicked out. I can say all the same. Time to maybe clean up and just get off grid for a while, but can't really run my business without the technology.
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Replies: 50
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