Because I can!

[rhythmaning]

So I am sitting in my kitchen writing this; and I have been surfing using a wireless connection.

This may not strike you as odd; except that my PC is not in the kitchen, and I do not have a wireless connection.

What I do have is my nice new shiny laptop, which finally arrived today. They tried to get it to me on Tuesday (when I was away) and Wednesday (when I was out) – not Dell’s fault, although the distribution company was a bit irritating: the driver rang me on my mobile on Tuesday, when I was on the train, and ignored my request not to deliver it the next day when I knew I wouldn’t be there. And it was very hard to get through to the delivery office…

But setting up my laptop was easy. Very easy. And the first thing it did when I switched it on was find a wireless connection, and logged me on. Which is very interesting – because as I said, I don’t have a wireless connection… Presumably one of my neighbours does, and I am piggy-backing on that – an open, unsecure connection, I guess.

Anyhow, it is amusing me no end!

There is one curious aspect though. As a kind of stand in, when I wasn’t sure whether I would need a laptop or not, I picked up a secondhand PDA, which is like a mini-laptop – a third-size keyboard. It is a bit heavy for my pockets, but I have been carrying it with me and writing in some different places – bars and cafes and trains. (Well, different for me.)

This laptop creates the same kind of mood.

But there is one difference: the PDA has a touch-screen. And I keep poking the screen of my laptop to move the cursor, as I would with the PDA…

Comments

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

And I keep poking the screen of my laptop to move the cursor

Just go easy on the Tippex

[lamentables.livejournal.com]

I'm sitting in bed typing this. But I have a laptop and a wireless connection. Surprising, though, how many people do have unsecured wireless connections, as I've found when taking the laptop visiting.

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

I am looking forward to trying this out, when I go exploring!

[matgb]

Place I've just moved into has, supposedly, a wireless connection. I saw supposedly because the landlord couldn't tell me how to use it, just turn on themachine and it'll be there.

So I did. There are 3, all pretty good. I have no idea which one I'm supposed to be using, as it was set up by the infamous relative who knows computers. Still, rather cool, and the one named 'doctor' is incredibly fast (I'm pretty sure it's not the one I'm supposed to be using...)

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

I thought I might let my neighbours know that they are using a leaky connection - except I am not sure which neighbour's it is!

[pshtaku.livejournal.com]

Am so glad that it was so easy to setup.
Touchscreen = should have got a tablet.
Did you get a vista upgrade voucher with it?

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

Vista? Oh no. I am a late adopter. I want everyone else to find all the MS bugs before I start to use it!

I quite like XP; and I actually have it set up in "classic" mode, which puts me back with Win3.1 or 95 or something...

I hadn't realised the touchscreen thing until I started trying to touch the screen!

[kittenexploring.livejournal.com]

The DRM and associated restrictions in Vista sound quite off-putting to me. I'm hoping Linux is up to the task by the time XP gives out. The games are the tricky bit.

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

I actually think I might like Macs and MacOS. I have thought about Linux just because I support open source and the DIY aspect - except that I think the DIY might be beyond me!

[white_hart]

Our wireless network is restricted to our two computers. A few weeks ago our neighbours also appear to have got a wireless network, and theirs has no security at all. It's driving me dotty, as the laptop keeps trying to connect to their network (which has a very poor signal in our house) instead of ours!

I'm so used to using the trackpad on the laptop instead of a mouse that I occasionally find myself squiggling my finger around on the wristrest bit of my PC keyboard at work and wondering why the cursor isn't moving...

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

I replied to your comment about three hours ago... but it seems to have disappeared. And I have no idea what I wrote...

Except that the idea of twiddling your finger on the wristrest I found very funny!

And hey! You've only got four working days left!

[white_hart]

27 hours and 55 minutes, I think!

My colleagues are very amused that I occasionally look up and remark on how many hours I have left to work there...