My Life Cycle Is Over ?

Okay, actually not MY life cycle, but the life cycle for my laptop at work.  Apparently, these laptops have a 3-year life cycle, after which our IT department has orders to replace them.

I pretended this wasn't going to happen by ignoring the emails as long as I could, but when the day finally came, it was surprisingly fast - and I had NO issues!  And best of all, the new laptop has some nifty features that I already love.

For starters, it is significantly lighter and thinner.  This doesn't seem like a big deal, but as often as I am toting it around multiple floors and buildings at work, it was a noticeable change.

It also has a quiet keyboard with back-lit keys (they light up when in use).  This eliminates the need for a keyboard light but I think I like the quieter keys even more.  I am often typing on the laptop in the back of Training rooms and before I've felt like my typing may be a distraction - but not any more.  You can't barely even hear it sitting right next to me, let alone across a large room.

In a serendipitous twist, the comic above was just on my Dilbert desktop calendar within this past week.  I'm super excited about my new laptop, but I also feel like technology is laughing at my age.


Song Of The Day:
I like the Brad Paisley tune "Welcome To The Future" because it conveys how far we've come with technology but also how far we have come with other developments.

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Could It Be That Simple ?

I am by NO means a tech-savvy person.  You know how some people naturally seem capable around computers or technology?  Not me.  On some level it is a minor miracle every day that I am able to successfully navigate different systems or electronics.  I jokingly say this is why my wife and I continued having children ... so they can help us as things continue to get more complicated.

That said, I have tried very hard to keep up with different technological advances.  I spent the better part of a full day at work testing different bells and whistles when we migrated from LotusNotes to Outlook.  I am now quite capable of doing some impressive (to me anyway) things with my calendar and emails and contact lists, etc.  I also challenge myself, on at least a semi-regular basis, to download new apps on my iPad or phone and/or to use new software on my home or work computer.  This probably still leaves me behind really effective users of system enhancements, but it keeps me close enough to the conversation that I can ask for help without being unable to describe what I'm actually trying to do.

Regardless, I am always surprised when things turn out the way I wanted them to, or even more so in situations where I can help someone else with their technological challenges.  A fellow Blogger had shared with me several months ago some struggles that she was having with her Blog.  She complained (and rightly so) that her blog was no longer allowing her to insert pictures where she wanted them, or move them around, or adjust the text with bold or italicized type, etc.  At the time, I just expressed my sympathies, knowing full well there wouldn't be anything I could do to help.

Then this past week, I happened to be speaking with her at a time we were near a computer, so I helped her pull up her blog.  I quickly saw how terribly formatted the screen was and couldn't believe she had even continued blogging under these circumstances.  It was horrible!
So after a few minutes of just surveying the scene, I noticed a two-button-like section on the task bar just below the title section of the blog post.  One option showed "Compose" and the other was titled "HTML."  I clicked on the button labeled compose and immediately the Blog text looked just like I am used to seeing when I write mine.  It was "fixed" just like that.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy so I tested the set-up by writing a ghost post.  I used different text styles, added pictures (both from the computer and from a web address), rearranged where everything laid on the screen, and tested the view of the post.  It worked.  My fellow Blogger was ecstatic and I was happy to have helped.  :)


Song Of The Day:
I thought I had shared the following song on my blog previously, but a quick search of my songs of the day list revealed it had never been used.  Score!  So please enjoy the excellent a capella stylings of Straight No Chaser and their rendition of "Fix You" which was originally done by Coldplay.  Some of the lyrics state I will try ... to fix you and that's always all I can offer when it comes to technology.

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