ME AND IT
I don't mean me and It, the title of Stephen King's bestseller book. I mean me and IT, information technology.
My relationship with IT isn't a good one. There was a time when I had a good relationship with IT. That was in the 1990s when the internet got rolled out in universities. Though initially developed for military purposes in the US, the internet was generally first used for civilian purposes in universities. Researchers, including university researchers, in America, Britain and France, collaborated with the US Department of Defense in developing the internet. Universities, especially university libraries, were already quite connected. So it was no surprise then that the internet hit academia before, say, business and government.
I was ahead of the game at this time but over the last three decades I'm now well behind the game. My five year-old grandson will very soon catch me up and overtake me. He's right now sitting on my lap playing with his iPad.
I have tried repeatedly to keep up with things IT. When I was a university lecturer, I had to set targets to achieve over the year. I always set my targets as low as I could get away with, so I was always likely to achieve and even exceed targets.
I was always required to set a so-called staff development target. I always promised to attend an IT workshop in the hope of enhancing my IT skills. These workshops rarely went well.
I didn't bother with Twitter after one workshop I attended because almost immediately after I opened my Twitter account and I found a couple of ex-girlfriends were following me.
I walked out of one workshop ten minutes after it started. The trainer started the session assuming everyone was logged onto a certain website. I hadn't even switched my computer on. I was behind right from the start as she ploughed on without me. I just walked out.
How good (or bad) are your IT skills? How did you acquire your IT skills?
Now retired I very much rely on others for help. I was okay on Adult FriendFinder (AFF) but my IT skills have found me struggling on this site. I have set up a blog, blogged and commented on other people's blog posts. However, I need to master the basics before worrying about the frills (like adding colour and a background photo to my blog page). I need to walk before I can run, though I doubt I'll ever be able to run when it comes to things IT. I'll settle for a baby crawl! instead!
I would call myself intermediate. It's not like I can write code, but I'm decent at troubleshooting and figuring out why something isn't working the way I expect it to. Google is very helpful. Example, I recently bought a home blood pressure device because I decided I needed to be checking it more often than once or twice a year. The device has a bluetooth connection that supposedly allows it to transfer results to my phone so I can keep a record. It wasn't working and the manual was minimal at best. Googling "how do I get Omron results into iPhone Health app" got me the solution immediately.
ReplyDeleteReading the above, I have insight into why Facebook has suddenly decided to show me a lot of posts from the "Dull Mens Club". 😬
The 'Dull Men's Club' doesn't like a club I'd wish to join though I can think of a few who may want me signed up to it!
DeleteThe last sentence has me giggling. 😂
DeleteMe too Debbi! Actually a lot of the Dull Men posts are pretty interesting and seem very spunky-like, like the recent one asking what you call a long skinny sandwich (grinder, torpedo, hoagie, submarine, etc.).
DeleteI believe a lot of people are seen as one way by some people and another by others. I find spunky interesting, but I'm closer to his age. I can see how Gen Z would find us all dull, if I'm honest.
DeleteI would also call my skills intermediate. I'm extraordinarily good with many aspect of it, suck at others. As Smarty said, Google is incredibly helpful much of the time. I don't "game", but almost all of my entertainment relies on the internet. I have a smart tv, a smart phone, hell, I even have an Alexa in my kitchen. (Which basically gets used like a fifty dollar timer, but sometimes I ask it to tell me a joke. 😂) We have internet enabled cameras after the looting post hurricane Ian. I set all of it up.
ReplyDeleteNick is closer to your level of skill, though he may have just a little more understanding and does have a smart phone as well as a basic working knowledge of how to use it. (Even if I do have to periodically clear his phone of nebulous apps he's accidentally downloaded.)
Alexa is banned from my home, as are smart phones, smart fridges, smart doorbells and smart kettles. Only dumb is allowed in my home!
DeleteAnd, that's your right. Though, I suspect stepson has a smart phone. I'm not buying a smart fridge anytime soon, and kettles aren't popular here in the states like they are there. I have a kettle, I stick it on the stove and heat it up when I want to boil water. But, to be honest, it never gets used.
DeleteHWD is a Luddite and has had a flip phone the whole time I've known him (although he does carry an iPad around to get emails and be able to send texts more easily - he doesn't have a desktop device like spunky does). This last week he came upon an incredible deal that would get him three lines and three new iPhones. Supposedly the iPhones are going to ex-wife and his two daughters, however he was carrying one of them around all weekend and I suspect it's going to be hard for him to give it up. 😂
DeleteMy stepson does have an expensive smartphone; he's always losing it though.
DeleteI dread to think what smart kettles do!
I'm pretty sure smart kettles can just be programmed to turned on and off at certain times, and maybe have control over the temp the kettle is.
DeleteBut they may contain cameras and microphones. A dumb kettle switches itself off. How much control over temperature does a kettle user need. I just want boiling water from my kettle, while knowing there's a debate whether boiling or sub-boiling water is best to make coffee or tea. Boiling does for me for both. Sometimes we can have too much choice.
DeleteI wasn't trying to convince you to get one. I'm a heathen who doesn't drink hot stuff, in my taste buds, drinks need to be cold. Hot drinks are soup.
DeleteAs you know, I'm just concerned about smart entering my home. My new television, a smart one, is the worst I've ever owned. I just like pressing or twisting the knobs.
DeleteI do and I totally get it.
DeleteI'm proficient enough to get by. I'm no programmer, but I can swap hard drives and add memory boards to tower PCs. For that, I've been dubbed an honorary geek by a programmer buddy. LOL
ReplyDeleteSince my latest desktop is an all-in-one and it looks like a pain in the ass to dismantle to add more memory, I've left it as is. I got a refurbished laptop with the specs I pretty much wanted, so I'm using that more to blog with. My desktop has a better speaker so I'm using that to stream shows.
Hope the tutorial I whipped up with Debbi comes in handy when you decide to fiddle with your blog settings more.
You are very advanced IT-wise compared to me.
DeleteOnce I master the very basics, your tutorial will be very helpful to move me to the next level.
My experience and knowledge with IT are rudimentary here and thankful for Deb and JN's help to navigate this site. I must have pushed a wrong setting yesterday morning before posting with the videos as I could not get them up like I could when I added some in before with Too Much Time On My Hands post.. All we can do is keep playing around with it..All trial and error for me here..lol.
ReplyDeleteYou are well ahead of me on the IT front. You've done videos, uploaded videos and got background colour and images on your blog page.
DeleteI did do that..lol. Still all by mere exploration.One thing I have not figured out still is how you all had the three squiggle lines at the top of your blogs and the arrow to show your profile sidebars?
DeleteFor some reason I don't see any three lines on anyone's blog pages. That's the key to get URL addresses. I haven't got a clue why not.
DeleteWeird it is as I can see yours, JNs and Debi's and Paul's.. My layout though is different on my blog homepage.My Followers and such are all on the right hand side, while most others are on the left.
DeleteThat is weird. Do you see my URL address when you click my three lines?
DeletePerhaps this is the first glitch so far experienced on this site.
Let me come here and help explain because we figured out what's happening with the three lines. Okay, JN figured out what was happening with the three lines and I suspect she's asleep. The three lines? That's for people with smaller screens, like me. My laptop is on the smaller side.
DeleteBow, I suspect your monitor for your computer is a full sized one, Joy's is probably not.
Joy, your changed your theme, which is why your layout is different. It's why your background is colored different, and why it looks different overall. :)
Thanks. My monitor is big. But I'm still unable to find people's URL addresses. I'm getting all my addresses from you.
DeleteYep I did change my theme of course and chose the Simple Theme when I saw it in Red..I am on a big screen myself as it is my PC only.No laptop, tablet nor cell phone when I am on-line at all..a few minutes ago though I changed my blog Layout to show my followers and profile to the left and not on the right side-bar where I had it originally..
DeleteI have placed a running list of bloggers url address in an easily available spot at the top of my blog, under the links for everyone is a line:
DeleteHOME LIST OF BLOGGERS CURRENTLY WITH BLOGS TUTORIALS
The URL is going to be in the browser address bar. I send you a screenshot circling where to find it. Based on your screenshots you sent me of yours. The url is that long skinny rectangular box that says the address of the website you are visiting. All those little buttons that you push to go to your favorite websites? It's right above that.
I saw that and Thanks. Scratch my last comment though as my blog layout thinking I changed it to show both my profile and followers to the left like everyone elses, I fucked it up. I have been trying now to edit it all back to where it was, but to no avail. My followers are now showing at the bottom where it is not seen..
DeleteThe layout section is where you handle all of that Joy.
DeleteI've found after playing around I can only get someone's URL address from someone's blog page and not from someone's blog profile.
DeleteIf they have a blog, their URL will show up on their profile under their name. If they don't have a blog, there will be no URL under their name.
DeleteI've just a test with Bill's blog. If I go to his blog page then his URL address shows up, but if I go to his blog profile it doesn't.
DeleteMy bad, sorry. It's just the link on his profile, you're right.
DeletePerhaps I need to write a tutorial for you to take!
DeleteI think I got it, but I appreciate the offer. LOL.
DeleteI'm always here for you to offer any IT advice!
Delete😂 I appreciate it.
DeletePS I have a blog post up
Your scheduled blog post is showing as planned.
DeleteI've got it now. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHow many of you, when you get notified of a comment through email, hit reply start typing? I actually sent a reply the other day, through email. Nothing happened, I don't even know where that email went. But, yeah, I'm struggling to remember to come here to answer. 😂
ReplyDeleteI've had a couple of replies sent by email notification which didn't appear on the blog post.
DeleteI'm also finding that comments on my blog post don't automatically trigger an email notification. I have to go back to the post and when I reply to comments and I tick 'Notify Me' that email notifications are triggered for subsequent comments/replies on the the post.
I just tried to respond to this through email again. 😂
DeleteHmmm...that seems strange. I wonder if that's a settings issue because I get notified of comments on my blog and if I check the "notify me" in my comments, I will get two emails.😂
Give me time to investigate.
Thanks.
DeleteYou're welcome
DeleteSo far I am getting my email notifications when either someone comments on mine or responds to my comment on theirs..
DeleteAfter I tick 'Notify Me' before I comment/reply on both my or other people's blog posts, I get email notifications for all subsequent comments/replies on that post, even for a comment submitted by another person.
DeleteMe also..We are getting a wee bit more Tech savvy on this site...lol.
DeleteThis site is definitely an IT-learning experience.
DeleteWell, my IT skills area all over the place, I learnt to code in the 90s, but then did not keep up with it. I built two tower computers in the early oughts, replaced drives and ram in laptops in the last two decades, much to my surprise, I can still do some DOS prompts, barely... lol SQL queries used to be able to write them, but due to lack of use, now I can just tweak a current one, although all of it would probably come back, if I just kept at it.. For the most part I can trouble shoot my own laptop/and still have a old laptop from 1999 that has no internet connection so I can still use it for the program I want that is on it.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if you were an IT whizz kid back in the day.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see you in here - it's very different to AFF!
I was banned, as you probably know, from AFF as spunkycumfun.
NYThorns is NightBloom ;)
DeleteNightBloom is cool.
Delete