Category: Technology

I will remember today for two major events: (1) a snow storm that started before 7 a.m. and is still in progress – on top of snowfalls on Tuesday and Wednesday, and (2) I became an e-mail user, or, at least, I have made the connections and adjustments to my computer that will enable me to become one. Go, Ma!

… My great fear is that the prediction for freezing rain and sleet to follow this snow will be accurate and we’ll get ice on the trees and power lines which in turn will cause outages which in turn will deprive me of the computer!

I’ve had two days of agony with my computer. I installed Mac System 7 and an update of Pagemaker … was totally unable to print out anything from PageMaker on my new laser printer.

… I called Pagemaker Technical Support (in Washington state). After punching through a menu of about 10 messages (“voice mail” – the latest method of consumer torture) I got a human being and told him my problem. “Try using the PPD for general,” he says. “It’s a kind of catch-all since we can’t program every printer into the program.” I do and bingo! the printer started humming.

“The least you could do,” I said with disgust, “is to put that suggestion into your manual, my copy of which is now falling apart looking for a solution to this problem.”

Well, I’ve got a laser printer, I’ve got a beautiful work-station desk, I’ve got a neat little track ball and a wrist rest under my keyboard, and a new pair of lowest-power-lens glasses. I’d say I’m about the happiest almost-63-year-old computer user in the land. I’ve ordered a modem from Pinky Grant, but I think I won’t install it until I retire.

I can see getting on a “bulletin board” will keep me glued to this thing for hours on end, and that I don’t need quite yet.

December 15, 1991
[handwritten letter]
Took my computer box to my dealer last Friday. Had to leave it. It could be something simple (for $50) OR something serious (main logic board? as much as $600). Now I know how much I depend on and need the computer. I feel immoblized and stifled!

December 21, 1991
This week was definitely an improvement over last. On Tuesday I received back my computer box …. there was no charge. … Pyschologically, when this computer crashed, so did I! I felt a real loss of power (skills) that I sorely missed.

Rob installed four chips in my computer (purchased by mail order for $38 per SIMM) bringing me up to 5 megs. I am now a power user! Rob also gave me some valuable instruction time on Word and on Excel. The latter program was given to me by Brian Bruneau, head of my new printing company. But of course, no manual! I got it just in time to do some great spreadsheets on my expenses that Dad needs for our 1990 income tax return.

I also must do the next issue of The Bridge in the next month. I am changing to another printing company because the chief typesetter at Lebon Press, a woman I regard highly and work well with, left Lebon and went to Fox Press.

I have found out the Fox Press can produce galleys from my floppy disk. Though I have processed with Einstein Writer, they convert the disk to ASCII (?). I will have to omit certain commands (center, underline, etc.) and find some other method of indicating italic, bold, etc. Anyway, I’m excited about that.

The bad news is that the costs will go up a few hundred dollars, which will hurt PNAI’s treasury. But hey, if it makes my life easier! Talking to different printers and getting breakdowns of costs (typesetting, proofreading, dummy makeup, printing) I finally got some idea of how much my work on The Bridge is worth: about $2000 an issue.