July 6, 2008 by Clair Button.

The people who worked in the auto factories where I grew up had a saying about buying a new model of car, regardless of which company brought one out. “Give ‘em a couple years to get the bugs worked out.” Despite the engineers’ best efforts, new car owners always found problems with any new design. The workers knew better than to have too much faith in the company efforts to road-test the new products.

Apparently, the same can be said for computer operating system software. You might think it would be a simple matter to find solutions to software security holes as they are discovered, and provide refinements and new features by building on the existing base of program design, but this is not the case for Microsoft’s newest Vista operating system. About two years ago, Microsoft rolled out a huge publicity advertising campaign for what amounted to a software “Edsel.” Those folks who “upgraded” to the new software on their old computers were instantly disappointed and wanted their old operating systems back. Vista ran slower than Windows XP, required more memory, wouldn’t install or run many old software programs, and no longer supported the drivers for old printers, fax machines, or other peripherals, even though they ran just fine with XP.

Judging by the online discussion forums, the only people who have anything good to say about Vista are those who routinely spend large sums of money to upgrade to the newest and best hardware, just to play the latest computer games, and even they have problems with it.

After two years, Microsoft, in the historic tradition of other monopoly giants, has stopped sales of their better previous product on new computers (with exceptions for underpowered computers), and institutionalized planned obsolescence. However, the dissatisfaction with Vista is causing many former customers to convert to the minority product, Linux, long considered to be a difficult, “geeky” operating system to learn and install. My own experience with Vista, even on a new, well-equipped computer, is that it takes a lot of knowledge, experimentation, and constant technical work, just to make certain things work. If you are not a serious computer geek, experienced in software repairs and work-arounds, STAY AWAY from Vista. It is such a pain in the butt, that I am thinking of looking into the Linux operating system myself.

The unofficial word on the street is that even Microsoft knows they have produced a lemon, and they may speed up the release of yet another new operating system “upgrade” originally scheduled for sometime in 2010.

I upgraded my computer because my old one had begun to reach the limits of what its hardware configuration could do with the types of software programs I wanted to run. Serious photo editing and publishing software could sometimes cause it to slow to the point where I could go out and mow the lawn between saving a file and resuming work on a document. Luckily I have enough hobby interest, patience, and technical experience to find ways to make Vista accept my old printer sharing device and network peripherals, but it took me a lot of hours to do that. Most people would have thrown the stuff into the trash and gone out to buy new “Vista-compatible” hardware. But even supposedly compatible equipment and drivers may not operate well, and Vista may block or lose the drivers. Microsoft Vista deserves its own “Lemon Law.”

The bottom line is that if you can still do everything you need to do on the equipment you have, and it ain’t broke, think many times before trading it in on something that may only force you to upgrade a whole lot of other stuff. New isn’t necessarily better or more functional.

Clair Button is the author of the Thomas Kreuger Mystery Series, and occasionally makes attempts at humor.

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July 1, 2008 by Clair Button.

Resume a physical exercise like running after a twelve-year hiatus and it will make you feel old like nothing else, but for me, total immersion in modern American consumer culture comes a close second. Our household isn’t stone-age – obviously we have a computer – but by choice, we have only one television channel, PBS, provided by ancient rabbit-ears antenna. We avoid cell phones, satellite or cable television, media hysteria about “celebrities,” and any loud or flashy form of advertising.

At the moment, I am immersing myself in consumer cultural shock treatment as a by-product of visiting Mom. It took me a while to find a pay phone at the airport that would accept my credit card. The first phone I tried stole my only quarters just to tell me I had to dial a “one” in front of the 800 number phone calling card system I had tried to dial into. The phone card system charged me an extra buck for dialing from a pay phone I had already paid with the credit card.  All this to coordinate a ride with my brother-in-law, who is constantly cranky that I haven’t yet bought a cell phone like him, even if I only fly in to visit twice a year.

Mom is 90 years old now. She lives in a world that starts with the Weather Channel in the morning, followed by “News” that sensationalizes everything from gas prices to celebrities with gas. She is hard of hearing, even with thousand-dollar hearing aids, so the volume is turned up. When the phony news announcer takes a break from advertising whatever product or person they pretend is news, the volume jumps up several decibels on a stream of commercials. It’s hard to have a conversation, let alone think and write without distraction. Mom can crochet through anything.

She has discovered Andy Griffith and the Beverly Hillbillies reruns, all new to her now, and I join her to rediscover my childhood, but the commercials drive me away. When she asks me about some cereal they advertise, I remember warnings about advertising aimed at children. In some ways, we are all children, but my definition of maturity is the ability to discern and resist impulsive, self-destructive behavior. Everything out there in the world of media is geared to turn us into immature, irresponsible consumers.

When Mom lost much of her mobility, we had to help her go through her closets and get rid of things she no longer needed, just so she would have room to maneuver her walker without tripping. It was a sad experience, but a learning experience nonetheless. Many things, barely used or even new, still in the packing boxes, went to Salvation Army. They were the excesses of a shut-in bombarded by catalog opportunities. My sister asked me to help with this chore because Mom would listen to me better than her.  When we got home that time, Kata started a campaign to force every catalog purveyor to quit sending them to us.

It is a learning experience my sister and brother-in-law have yet to take to heart. My sister has never completed the chore of helping Mom sort through volumes of clothes she either can’t or will never again wear.

I can’t say that I enjoy all aspects of staying with Mom. It is at my sister’s house, in order to give them a break from taking care of Mom. When something is needed, I search through cluttered cupboards and closets, sometimes finding everything but what we need, and sometimes finding several different bags full of the very thing you only need once in ten years. Sometimes, the simple choice is to go buy a new whatever. It is obviously the choice some of my relatives have made in their lives many times.

Mom and I went to the store this morning to find a few items she needed. At two different stores, among rows of thousands of hair care products, we couldn’t find a simple hair net or hair curlers small enough for her short, thinning hair. Nor could we find the shampoos or hair care lotions she was accustomed to using. She was a victim of obsolescence and an excess of choice.

Boy, can I see that coming in my own life. There is no place to go to live simply anymore.

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