No one fixes anything anymore

I had an experience last week, which reminded me why i am involved in software.

You see, i did electronics and computers in college and thank god the ‘and’ was part of the course, because through doing electronics gave me a good appreciation for computers, specifically software.

The future, forty years ago…

You see, remember reading on the back of the bus to college one day of how they managed to heat treat glass to act as a resister and i remember thinking, there is only two jobs in electronics

1, Designing the components, i would never be that smart, i knew no one that is, one of my substitute teachers had a doctorate in electronics, so i knew that was out of the question, what was the point in getting a doctorate and the ‘best case scenario’ was substitute teaching? 

And, job number…

2, Replacing the parts, they are cheaper to replace that fix, you dont have to be that smart at all, the less the better in fact

There and then, on the back of a bus in Ireland, i remember thinking it’s got to be software and that was the start of the software journey and it’s not over yet.

Here it comes…..

You see, last week i had a problem with my Mac Book, not just any problem, i had the spinning beach ball (See above), if your a Mac user this is akin the grim reaper hovering over your precious device, remember the temptation in the garden of Eden? And you know when your back is turned an apple is going to be damaged beyond repair. People will point fingers, i just wanted the issue resolved and fast!

Try as you may, there is not much you can do.

Do not touch

The spinning beach ball means, your computer is having difficulty reading from the hard drive, deep breathing is required, and lots of it.

So, what did i do? After the 30th system scan and trying to resolve it myself, I brought it to the Mac expert’s where i am currently living.

The first place i brought it to, said they would reformat it, that would fix it, and that would have been ok, except i have a lot of stuff i want to keep, not that i’m much of a hoarder, but stuff i have i didn’t get easily, so i’m not going to format anything, not if i can avoid it.

I’m thinking the Mac technician was probably a five year old, ready to hit format, no thank you, i want to fix the problem, fix people, fix!

That ‘format’ solution didn’t sound right, so i brought it to another place, and explained the issue again.

I said no, to the format solution again…

We booted the computer up, it worked a bit, so i took it back, to cut a long story short, eventually ended up getting all the data off myself, it took a long time, but i got it. I could breathe easier again.

Through the services of Australia Post, i posted it back to the great people i bought it off in Sydney and here’s the thing, the Mac it works fine right now, and why? It’s in Sydney, i’m in Hobart and i’m thinking maybe the Mac was a bit homesick, maybe it was a bit cold?

Now that i think about it, the Mac worked fine in Sydney, memory works by location, you retain memories stories, and god know Sydney has enough of them. Maybe Sydney is a memory palace of sorts, for my Mac?

Maybe i should get the Mac a wooly jumper in Hobart? What do you think?

Part of me likes to think a guy like this delivered my laptop in Sydney (cat and all!)

The (real) Mac technician i talked to was having a great time downloading movies on it, he couldn’t find any problem and now i’m thinking time does heal all wounds, maybe my laptop is really a person and homesick? I was a bit homesick myself, it’s only natural, Hobart is a big change from Sydney!

And reminded me of when i called roadside assistance years ago, my car just wouldn’t start, a half an hour later with a qualified mechanic turning the key, it started first time.

Who knows, mechanical, electrical? I’m glad i’m not involved in that business, i’m a software tester.

Maybe it was a software issue, and now it’s not reproducible, one of life’s little mysteries, i’ll log it as a defect, and categorise it as something to watch.

Tags: Electronics, Fix, Hobart, Mac