Posted by
ShiningCity on Thursday, November 06, 2008 2:41:37 PM
I've lost interest in politics. Yesterday, I was sad. This morning, my blood was boiling. Now I'm exhausted. I'm just not interested anymore. The vehicle has gone off-roading, and I don't like off-roading. So, I'm just going to hunker-down on the floor board, and when somebody signals that we're back on pavement, I'll get back in the seat.
For now, I hate Microsoft. Admittedly, part of why I hate Microsoft is because I don't understand half the crap they sell. I fault them for this because I'm a doctor, not a computer geek. When they can tell me about the PVL gene in staphylococci, then I'll learn their stuff. If they're selling something on the free-market, they should make it user-friendly. Ever hear of that term, Mr. Gates? "User friendly."
Therefore, I'll stipulate that possibly I'm frustrated because I don't know what I'm doing. But it appears to me that Outlook is only accessible from the hard-drive on which its installed. At this point in my life, I cannot access my Outlook account unless I'm using a web-based desktop program, such as GoToMyPC. And I don't have that program, nor am I going to buy it. Before you give me advice, I can access my email via a web-based server, but it doesn't go to my Outlook. So whatever is archived in Outlook is just out of my reach unless I'm carting around that laptop. Sigh.
In addition to this, I carry two calendars. I am fanatical about this because I'm Uber Anal. When Palm Pilots came out, I had one, and I used it with fervor. Then, I lost my entire calendar because it disappeared (yeah, I lost it. Sue me. I was a busy university faculty. Who knows where things go...) Now I am obsessed with maintaining both an electronic and paper calendar. There are obvious problems with this. Before you give me advice, yeah, I know that Outlook has a calendar, and you can upload stuff to Microsoft Live! (their exclamation, not mine) to be accessed via web.
This morning, I decided I would try to use Microsoft Live! to at-least cut down on my doubling of effort with the written calendar. So far as I know, Microsoft Live! (sounds like they're shouting at you each time you read it, doesn't it?) doesn't support web-based access to my desktop Outlook. Sigh. Ok, well, maybe the calendar will help me.
First, they asked me a bunch of silly questions and wouldn't allow my answers--just in order to set up an account. Then it took 5 tries before I could read the arrangement of what-appeared-to-be letters in the grid. Finally, I get my account, after checking my email for confirmation (and waiting 10 minutes). Voila. I'm ready to go. Enthusiastic, I go to the page to see what Microsoft Live! has to offer me. I see I can synchronize my contacts; that seems easiest place to start. I click that, and all of a sudden 3 different Microsoft Live!-based programs want to install on my system in order to perform these functions--one of which is Microsoft Net! Now I have no idea what this is--there's barely an explanation of what it is--but, I don't think I need it. I try to tell Microsoft Live! that I don't want Microsoft Net! Something pops up about passport. I know, you're waiting for me to get to the point.
The point: now, every 5 minutes, an orange screen pops up from Microsoft Live! Microsoft Net! Passport Whatever and wants me to click and install it. And it diverts my screen from everything else. And it won't go away. I keep selecting "cancel." I logged out of Microsoft Live! because it's not going to save me time. And this box won't go away. (On verge of tears.....)
This is what I keep getting:
If anybody else, also disinterested in politics, has any advice: now give it to me.