Just over 12 months ago, I purchased a laptop computer. Nothing fancy, but I could use it for my course and being a laptop it was portable if I needed to travel. Note: USB stick is better for portability.
Well, when I bought it, I also bought a Telstra wireless modem to plug into it, and agreed to pay an exorbitant amount of money per month for 20 hours of wireless usage. This was fine, some months I used all 20 hours, and some I did not.
Well late last year, I received an e-mail from bigpond telling me I should download some stuff from them to make the whole thing work faster. So I did.
BIG MISTAKE.
I could no longer access the internet. I tried a few things, but nothing worked. I contacted them by e-mail, but they said I should take it to a Telstra store. However, with going back to work full time and other things, I just was never able to do it until today.
I go to MacArthur Square, to the Telstra store there. Needless to say, they haven't got a clue. To his credit, the young man gave me a disc to upgrade the internet connection. Telling me to make sure I uninstalled anything I had previously.
I went home, uninstalled everything that was internet related, then put in the disc, whir, whir, rumble rumble and it was away. Everything went fine, until it tried to get a connection to big pond. The wireless modem was receiving signal, the graph on the screen confirmed there was signal coming in, but still not able to connect.
I ring the technical support. Try this, I do it, no avail, try that, I do it, no avail. this, that, this, that. Finally, he comes to the conculsion that I must have one of the few modems that has actually been killed by this download. WTF?
So, they are going to issue me with a new one. This happened while the modem was under warranty, so technically I am entitled to a new one. First I have to pay $290, and when I receive the new one, I have to ring them then they will rebate the money. I have to return the old "dead" modem. They can have it, no problems. The main worry I have is that I put an extra $300 into my account to cover this and Telstra being an ex-government department may
interpret an immediate refund as about six weeks.
Oh, and since it was possible that a virus or something like that could have caused this, I have signed on for $99 per year worth of bigpond anti -virus, -phishing, -other complicated nasty things that people can do to other people's computers software. Don't get me wrong, I am not good at any security stuff, and this will be a blessing, as long as it doesn't tell me my blog is actually a virus, my USB is actually a virus, etc. Even Mark Frauenfelder who wrote "Rule the Web" recommends this sort of security.
My poor sick laptop. I so love that little machine - well as much as you can become emotionally attached to a machine. Mind you, I don't love it as much as my sewing machines.
Now I have to go do my photos for my bilum blog or I will be behind the 8 ball when Sharonb starts her challenge next week.
Oh, the drama of it all :)
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