2003 Story Set
| Date: November 19, 2003 And, of course, I was at work all day, reading and writing on my old G3, which has Office 2001, Acrobat Exchange 5 and FrameMaker 6. It is 300 MHz and a small screen. Sitting on a desk at the wrong height (yes - I need a table), even tho I have a large remote keyboard. My eyes cross about 4PM. They do this every day. I figured it out. Reading (intense) and typing (editing) and airconditioning! I have become accustomed to more humid air. So - taking my son to his night class on Wednesday, I wandered around the streets of Fremont until I found my way to --- FRY'S! The center of all things that use electricity. A friend had said "They have cheap Toshiba's there" referring to my desire for a laptop PC that was either Toshiba or IBM because my older son said so and so did customer reviews. (They did not necessarily rate the useless and snotty Toshiba customer support people but that's another story). I parked and walked in - backpack and all - straight to the computer counter - ready to shop. Roamed a bit and stumbled over - Toshiba. And stumbled over a lovely 17" unit. A couple of them. One was $2100 - and one was about 2800. The 2100 had XP Home, 2.4 GHz and 512 MB RAM. The 2800 had 3GHz, XP Pro and 1 MB Ram. Well, the salesman said that XP Pro could load onto the $2100 unit. (Toshiba later bitched and moaned that that system was not to run XP Pro. For no particular reason.) And I needed FrameMaker, Office, Acrobat and a mouse. And 1GIG RAM. I learned fast. So off we went on a strolling odyssey, and I was glad I was in sneakers. Memory - find the chip. Hunt the chip Hunt the Memory salesperson. And then the OpSYS and Office - special OEM versions (no boxes, no manuals). And then get someone to unlock the software cabinet and play hunt the software. Visio - they only had the standard one. It will do. And Acrobat 6. Standard. I don't think Pro is needed there either. OK. A mouse. And a security lock (hard wire and keyed lock). By this time, the slaesman had a shopping cart. I had neglected to get one. They don't have a case - not for 17". Then I get walked thru the cashier line (Fry's does this when you drop big bucks). And then over to the install area. Twenty minutes they said. I took the software out to the truck - after the salesman and I conferred with the door watchers so I could come back in and bring the computer back out. I came back in and hunted down the rest room. It is tucked in a side corner. Hey Fry's --- put in a few rest rooms! - each end and one in the middle! The store is a mall all by itself! Always pisses me off! Cater to the WOMAN SHOPPER! You know - the woman with the wallet. After all, when my son is with me, he just grabs a shopping cart - and FILLS IT. It's why I am here alone. "Get me toys" was the last thing he said. No way! I took him shopping last night! After the restroom, I walked to the other end of the store ----- and found that my computer is upside down and they have stripped the screw to the memory chip area. They try a few other screwdrivers. "Hey guys - that screw is stripped!" i.e., I ain't taking that one home! OK - off we go with a more knowledgeable tech (dressed to leave no less). Another computer. Note - I had also bought a 3-year warranty - serial number encoded. OK - Paperwork hell - which they all handle. For me. And the second computer is upside down on the table and this one they manage to open. Oppps! I bought one 512MB chip. That's all they said I needed. And of course, they (Toshiba) have filled the slots with smaller chips (8 of them) and so I must buy a second 512MB chip. (This is done to ensure that lots of useless memory chips are bought and sold.) They walk me thru the casher again and grab the part and back we go. I scold my salesman who has surfaced. OK. They have tucked the little guys into the slots (I now own baby memory chips whether I want them or not). DONE! It is almost 9PM - time to go pick up my younger son from his college class. I have to be walked out the door - because the door guy isn't there. I am out. No case for this beast. Must find one. And must find a split keyboard. My truck is full. A big load. Not as big as last night. I came in the house after picking him up. (He would not help me carry in the PC - he uses dragons - pewter dragons - on his Mac to ward off PC germs.) The phone message ---- ho ha! Fraud department! My credit card company is in a panic. After all, why would you buy a MAC and then a PC??? Why indeed! Tra la tra la tra la! |
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