posted
My eldest has a really awful handwriting. It's something she has been working on, but it's still pretty bad (she gets this from my father, the "honorary doctor" (no offense to any actual doctors intended)).
So* when she had a book report assigned a couple weeks ago, I suggested she type it up. So she did, over the course of several nights (she's a very slow hunt-and-peck, emphasis on hunt, typist). She finished last night, but it was pretty late, and the report isn't due until tomorrow. So I said we'd spiff it up and print it out tonight.
At 9 pm, I went to go help her print it out. Five, maybe 10 minutes, right? Check her spelling, spacing, and just print it out. Right?
The computer she typed it up on is my old (emphasis on old) computer, which is hooked up neither to the house network nor the 'Net -- deliberately. She and her sibs mostly use it for games and such. It has a cheap inkjet printer hooked up to it, which I hadn't used for a couple months . . . and which refused to feed paper in properly, despite me wrangling with it for a while.
Ok, plan B. I have a USB drive -- I'll just use that to transfer the file to this computer, and print it out up here.
It wants drivers. What? It's not supposed to need those. Popped back upstairs, and checked the relevant website. Ah, for machines running Win98, drivers are required. Ok, save file to CD . . . oh right, the CD player/burner on this machine flaked out last week.
That's ok, my laptop has a CD burner, and it can access the network. Downstairs. Ok, so back downstairs, download driver to CD. Then load it from the CD to the computer with the book report on it, and install the drivers.
They seem to install fine, and repeated attempts to install them claim they are fine -- but I still can't save the file to the USB drive. Wait! I can save the file to the CD, read it on the laptop, email it to myself, then use the upstairs computer to print it out! Great!
. . . except that it doesn't want to save to CD, and claims the file is read-only. It lies. Does that computer's CD tray burn CDs, or only read them? I don't remember . . . but it sure ain't burnin' 'em right now.
(It was about this point that I seriously considered writing the darn thing out by hand, and retyping it up here. But I was sure there must be an easier way.)
Ok, plan C. No, I think we're past C. D? E? Who knows. Anyway, I'll use my Palm. I have (an old version) of the Palm Desktop software on the computer with the report, so I'll just copy it into a memo, and sync my Palm.
Back upstairs for the cable and Palm. Set the conduits on Hotsync to only sync memos, so it won't mess with my other stuff. Copy text from file into memo. Sync. Uhoh! Why is it syncing my contacts and calendar? Oh well, it looks like everything is there, so I guess that's ok. And the file made it!
Upstairs. Sync with this computer . . . and discover that the sync downstairs has not deleted any records (thank God!), but has deleted categories. First, deal with the report.
Copy from memo to Word, fix size and font, and bloody PRINT!
Fix categories in contact and calendar, and put all that back in order.
Put printed report on daughter's dresser. Elapsed time: two hours.
posted
I bet you could have just taken your daughter's report and retyped it onto your laptop in a fraction of that 2 hours.
Posts: 1423 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Good work, Rivka! It takes times like that to make us wonder why we even bother to procreate! But then the kid'll do something wonderful, and you are reminded all over again what the point is.
I've had my own share of frustrated to tears "can't-print-it-out" moments, for me and the progeny. One memorable solution: packing off the whole CPU to Kinko's in the dead of night to use their printer.
Now the kid'll want to know if you love her enough to get a new computer. With internet access (for SCHOOL work, Ima, I PROMISE). And the color printer (the teacher needs pictures with the report).
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Whenever my mom has problems getting a printer or any piece of technology to work she usually kicks it or punches it, much to the detriment of that piece of technology.
She has two rules: electronics should be cute and they should work.
It sounds like you did a much better job than my mom would have.
Posts: 194 | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
See, this is why I insist that my daughter complete her reports two days ahead of schedule - so I can email them to the office and print them out on the laserjet there. And it is SUCH a temptation to tinker with her layouts and run spellcheck and the like... but I manage to resist.... barely.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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