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Gary350
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Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Computer makes me so mad I could SCREAM

My good computer crashed 2 years ago. I bought a new laptop it worked fine for a while. December a year ago Facebook cancelled my account they claimed it was hacked. I was forced to open a 2nd account but Facebook refused to let me use my existing email account and phone number because it was associated with the account that Facebook closed. Many places will not recognize Hotmail as a real email because there is no credit card associated with it to prove that I who I claim to be. I tried to 2 days to open a new Facebook account it kept telling me, phone number and email already in use. Finally I managed to make up a new email some place not sure where and borrowed a friends phone number not sure who and finally got a new Facebook account created. Every place I log on requires a password by THEIR rules. It is not possible to make a password that I can remember to use for every place I go. I was using the same password in 50 places for many years but 1 by 1 the password had to be changed and I had to keep a log book with all the user names and passwords to remember them all. I don't go to all these places often so I clicked the option for the computer to remember them all. These days I only have 7 places that I go to online I can not remember user name or password without keeping notes on paper. Today my laptop locked up it has been giving me trouble for weeks. I forced the computer off it took 3 hours to boot up but lost all my passwords. There is no way to contact Facebook so I tried for an hour to log on finally Facebook locked my account thinking someone was trying to hack my account. No way to CALL Facebook I have to talk to a computer. Facebook forced me to open a 3rd account this pisses me off. I am not sure I can ever log onto my REAL Facebook account ever again with all my garden photos, camping photos, and my Picture. Using my 3rd Facebook account I can check see my 2nd Facebook account is still there but I can not log on. 20 years ago I had no computer, no cell phone and rarely watched TV. Most places these days insist you have an email address and cell phone. I hate to carry my cell phone it stays on my desk all the time. Cell phone probably does 5000 things but all I want to know is how to talk on the phone and do text message. Doctors, medical clinic, insurance companies, EVERYONE these days expects US to all have a cell phone and computer. My email has turned into so much SPAM 400 every day I can not even find my emails so I quit trying it is too much trouble. Doctor wants my email I said I don't have one anymore because my computer crashed and can not read it on my phone. Doctor said, how can we contact you? I said, mail me a letter like you use too! Doctor gave me a weird look then turned and walked away. All the utility companies, SS office, tax office, Driver license office, banks, other places too have auto answering machines they expect me to set and listen and push the correct button when it finally comes to the choice I have been waiting for. If the choice I need is not there than I can not talk to anyone. The medical clinic called me but I did not answer because phone was at home on my desk, I need an auto answer machine for them to listen and push the correct button when the correct choice is finally available for them to push. LOL. When I had a dial phone I had an answering machine people would never leave a message they would just hang up. Grandson has no books at school they are expected to own a computer and do all the homework online. WHY do we even have schools anymore if homework is expected to be done online. Grandson said everyone goes into each class room opens their laptop and does their home work. If he asks the teacher for help it makes teacher mad they act like it pisses them off if they have to do something teacher is at the desk checking email and playing games. The only reason grandson has to be at school every day is so they can take attendance so the school can get money from the State for each student that comes to school. WOW in another 10 years we probably won't be able to talk to a real person everything will be computers.

thanrose
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Posts: 716
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:01 am
Location: Jacksonville, FLZone 9A

Totally hear you. I've been shut out of sites because of password woes, too. I now have a logbook, but sometimes keeping it up to date like when you are on the phone to fix a computer problem and they reset your password but you have another ten minutes of fiddling around with them and then think what the heck did I key in for the new password?

A young adult lifestyle sort of site I visited a lot had this rotating thing where you had to change your password every three months. Finally said "sayonara" and barely miss the steampunk I enjoyed there. My new password would rarely be sufficiently different or not have enough of the asterisks letter number combination so it would take a while for me to come up with one they would accept.

My elderly father had an email account and a few others that I set up for him. VA, banking, church, automotive, etc. It was supposed to make some things easier, like his repetitive questions about deposits, or checking on VA correspondence. I made easy passwords for him, used secret questions he'd know, but I still had to occasionally get his SSN or driver license. He was hearing impaired and never used TTY but some punk on the other end of the phone would suggest that like we were too stupid to think of it. And the kids on help desks or office receptions were often girls with high pitched voices who never learned to enunciate.

My sister's MIL is 98, and pretty much checked out for the hereafter. She can look you in the eye on a good day, but no longer responds. Pureed food just sits in her mouth. She's in full nursing care and on Hospice now. My BIL was handling some past due bill for under $50 that was forwarded to him. He was trying to get information on it. The person online kept saying they needed to chat with her. I had the same problems with my parents who died at home. No, she can't talk on the phone or chat via text. No, she can't email you. No she can't come in and stand in a line.

One newish problem I'm having is with my trifocals and other vision problems. I can't text respond quickly enough on the cell to answer automated routing. I can't key in lengthy prescription numbers over and over. How about your computer responder automatically knows that if I identify myself and ask about a prescription, and then ask about another prescription, I don't have to identify myself all over again, or key in all the preliminary numbers in the script.

So many things are designed by much younger folk who have no idea what challenges many people face. Not everyone has access to a computer or a cell phone. Not everyone is familiar with texting. Not everyone will be able to take or send a photo from a cell phone. Not everyone can read in any available light. We don't all use Bluetooth. Why would we use a calendar on a phone for our appointments when we have a perfectly good picture calendar in the kitchen? Why would we want google to recognize us across all sites?

Don't let me get started on packaging that assumes we all carry utility knives all the time except when we are in airports, schools, state and federal buildings, etc.



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