h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So I went out and bought a new wee laser printer today figuring I needed to print up (shameless self-)promotional materials for the upcoming shows and the old one was giving up the ghost (in the machine).

So I get the beastie home and I notice that it says 'wireless' on the thing and I think 'ooooh. That could be fun' since I've got a nicely established little wireless network in my home (and my neighbours' home).

I cleared a bit of space this morning upstairs about two feet from the router and went about following the set up instructions in the slim instruction manual in 47 languages. Then I called tech support. Then I went through it all some more. Then I called tech support. Then I went through it all some more, gradually realizing that I new more about wireless networking than did the tech support call centre people. Then I called tech support. Then I worked a bit more before calling back to talk to the expert tech support people. By then I'd finally managed to get through the entire wireless set up procedure as instructed and --

the wireless network status led, which had glowed the 'connected' blue all day, turned green. Nothing in the documentation explained what a green light on the wireless meant. The tech support people didn't know either.

I said 'Right then. I bought it expecting to plug it in with a USB cable. I've wasted a day trying to get it to do something that will be slower than a USB cable. I'm taking the thing downstairs to plug it into a USB cable.'


Very nice. Ten minutes later I was printing very nice bits of (shameless self-)promotional material.

Then I thought, 'I should check to make sure the old machine is still working as it is my scanner even though the colour printing doesn't work.' The system can't find the old one. I can't scan. My neighbour still has half his novel to scan and OCR on my machine (since his computer was stolen last week, he's a luddite who doesn't back up, and he can't type with more than one and a half fingers, and I'm a bloody good neighbour) so I've got to get this thing back.

About an hour of reinstalling and both machines are working, I've shut it all down, and I'm ready for sleep after another absolutely wasted day thanks to better living through Information Technology.


Someone pass me Ned Ludd's hammer.

to errr is human

to screw things up completly requires a computer

But, seriously, the thing was literally two feet from the router. When I finally got it to the point that it would show me a list of available networks, it showed me every one within about three hundred yards *except* the one that was broadcasting from two feet away.



grumble grumble

was it inside the 'skip distance'

Maybe. But it still didn't work when it was sitting next to another computer which has never had trouble connecting. And I've had my xo laptop link up when it's been about that close.

I'm not really upset that the wireless didn't work -- I bought the thing intending to use a cable. I'm upset with myself that I wasted my time.


But, I'll tell you, if I were someone who *had* bought it because it was wireless, I would have been a might pissed off at the manufacturer.

Computers! I only work with the things.

TRiG.