2002 Story Set
| March 12, 2002 I am not happy with this OS upgrade. It is the FIRST OS on the Mac that has given me conniptions. I am ready to hit something. Maybe I should go target practice. Try out my 9MM - which is still waiting for my older child to take me shooting again. (He's had a bit of his own medical problems. But soon we will do this.) I am trying hard not to drop the printer (newly repaired) or put my fist through the terminal (which I LOVE). That's how stressed out I am. Yep. Time to get a man in my life. So I don't kick the dog. Seriously, I upgraded to OpSys 9.1 (yes, I know it is still OLD). Because Adobe Illustrator 10 would not load itself without it. I had a bad feeling about that. Software should not be that dependent on the OS. Shades of Microsoft! And Adobe Illustrator 10 converts Illustrator drawings into --- ta da --- FLASH! The little SWF file you can create "builds" the drawing right before your eyes. Cheap, instant animation. And I wanted it! Of course, now that I am laid off, I do not need to worry about FLASH files. Or do I? I may choose to get certified and then contract out. I may choose not to get a full time job again. Or not. I have lots of time to decide. Lots. Best to watch and wait since the high-tech industry is still staggering to its feet. Synopsys let go 200 people. The last time I wasa downsized, I went out the door with 50 executives. I keep good company. I was the eLearning Project Coordinator. I launched the demo. (http://www.vitalect.com/synopsys) I animated the opening page for the demo. I got the Advanced Chip Synthesis class on-line using Vitalect as the delivery. I redid the class yet again - this time as a modularized class (so you can buy one day at a time). I designed the process to convert from ILT to eLearning (web-based training) and documented it. All 51 steps. I was trained on and doing FLASH 5 animations. I was starting work on Introduction to Static Timing Analysis (STA) and PrimeTime (STA program) classes. Starting the conversion process. Two more 2-3 day technical seminars. It would have been some fun (animations), hard work (lots of typing) and beginning to be boring since I had done it all once, twice, three times already. Time for a change. So I came home to "catch up" on things. Doctor visits put off for months. Mammogram. Bone Density. Estrogen check with a blood test. Dentist. Eye Exam. The foot doctor. The hand and arm Carpel Tunnel doctor. And to get my Mac G4 Minitower back together. This last being important. First I lost the modem. No upgrade possible. I bought a new one. My older son got it working. It is FLAKY. ZOOM modem on the 9.1 is not a good thing! I like my equipment to work without fuss! The ZOOM comes and goes. Works and doesn't. Drives me bats. The MacG3 laptop runs email when I am losing it with the G4. Well, that's good. Helps me calm down. Internet withdrawal. Next I tried to get the HP LaserJet 4M back online. It has been repaired ($40 light bulb i.e. fuser and $80 installation) I went up to the HP tech support site and downloaded the updated drivers. Just like they all told me to do. The new drivers are supposed to work with Mac OS 9.1 up to OpSys X. Installed the drivers. The computer still can't see the printer. Lost the modem after the installation. Egad! So I ran TechTools. (Does that need updating?) It fixed things. Minor things. The Eudora 5.0 email package likes to hang itself on occasion. Every 5 hangs or so, I run TechTools and fix what it breaks. No Joy this time. The modem is quiet. Hummpf. So I went to check on the scanner. Oh why not? The EXPENSIVE scanner I bought 2 years ago and used on the Jettison project. The software, UMAC MagicScan 4.3, WAS MISSING FROM THE HARDDRIVE. Missing? How in God's name------- Don't ask. I have no idea. Operating System updates are not supposed to draw and quarter your software tools. This was a whole new trick. I couldn't find the CD to reinstall so I stopped. I checked email on the G3 and ran to the doctor. No more time. (Tomorrow I need to run to the attorney so Thursday I can bring the paper work back to Synopsys. Severance.) I came back home after hauling myself to Redwood City and back and the modem had decided that it would work now. Tra la. Tra la. (Don't ask me - I have no clue!) The printer - still no joy. I still could not find the CD for the scanner. I tore shelves apart. I rummaged through boxes. Why oh why is the CD not in the scanner box? Shame on me! I tore through my shelves and found the CD for MagicScan sitting amongst a bunch of paperwork on the shelf and reinstalled it. And put it back into the scanner box. Where it belongs. Time to clear the shelves. I did something different when I installed it this time - or maybe it was the PhotoShop 6.0 that was different, but now MagicScan opens PhotoShop - in fact - it now works better! I always edit with PhotoShop. I was opening two things before. Now I open Photoshop and import the scan. One stop shop. Neat. Nice. I'm afraid to try the modem. (I was justified - it isn't working again.) (Ooops! now it is!) I'm thinking of finding the guys at ComputerWorld and picking their brains. Maybe Thursday. Between my younger son's chemo and my mammogram. Or between the mammogram and the Team in Training meetings. We have to go to TWO functions at the same time since he supports two teams (Leukemia Society). I am thinking I should give up and get an internal Apple modem - because my son has the internal modem on his G4 minitower and is sailing merrily along. Laughing at me. Since he was sailing merrily along after he upgraded, I had thought I would too. Foolish woman that I am. I may have to move the printer to one of the other laptops - the old Mac 3400 laptop drives it just fine - it was the original setup I had been running. I disabled it to take the laptop to the hospital where it was chained to a stand for 10 months. Next to my son's hospital bed. I even have a monitor for the 3400. And a keyboard. It's a full base station all by itself. Just roll files over there with a Zip disk. Ta da! Every system I own has a zip drive. I have extras. Now you know WHY I have THREE MAC computers. If one is acting up, the others can step in, because I go into withdrawal if I am not on a keyboard. That's good. Because now I have to type up my taxes. |
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