Computer problems
By balcony
8 comments
Hi everyone, you’d have been surprised at not seeing me around here very much in the last few months – it’s because I’m having ongoing problems with my computers connection to the Internet.
This seems to have started way back in May this year & it’s still not resolved as yet! :-(( AT that time I found my internet connection didn’t seem to be as fast as it used to be. I found my keyboard didn’t respond as fast as it used to. Words were not appearing on my screen as I typed but taking a couple of seconds to come up. This was a slight nuisance but bearable but as the weeks went by the delay increased to the point that I could have communicated faster with an astronaut on the Moon than typing on the computer & waiting for the text to appear! To make things worse it even began inserting words or symbols or letters I hadn’t written! >:( Sometimes it refused to write at all!
I plugged in my wife’s keyboard hoping it was a malfunction with my keyboard. Hers is a USB keyboard whereas mine plugs directly into the back of the computer tower. At first it did seem to go better but after only a short while using it the same thing happened again so I returned her the keyboard.
They I started to use the built in Windows on screen keyboard. This is painfully (quite literally after using it for a while!) slow & you have to click on one letter at a time with your muse pointer. Useful if you have no other way but very slow.
I tried writing on notes & then pasting it into the page I was writing on – it works but isn’t very convenient! I wrote my replies in Word but again not very good.
I’ve now changed from using Windows XP OS to Linux OS – the change is out of this world!!! Whenever I click on a link it opens almost before I have time to blink! It no longer takes 10 minutes or more to open a window in FireFox or Internet Explorer! I can now read my emails & answer them in minutes instead of hours! I’m writing this blog using the Linux OS & everything works beautifully – much, MUCH quicker than it ever did on Win XP!
I’ve still got a lot of learning to do as it’s a totally different OS compared with Windows which I’ve been using for the last 14 years! :-))
Once I master this new OS I’ll be able to write blogs & answer posts as of old! :-)) I may still be a little slow but expect me to be back almost daily in the coming weeks!
13 Aug, 2014
5 likes
Previous post: Now we are nearly through June & harvesting has begun!
Next post: Gardener's Delght?
Comments
I've had Linux for several months now. Office Libre I can get used to but I really miss Adobe Photoshop elements which runs on windows. Which email program are you using?
13 Aug, 2014
Hope to see you up and working again soon.
13 Aug, 2014
Glad to see you are back Balcony. Our computer is getting older so it needs a bit of TLC now and again too.
13 Aug, 2014
I use a tablet so much easier... or my phone... nice to hear from you, good luck with yours..
14 Aug, 2014
Thank you everyone for your kind comments! :-)) One of my problems with using any other method to post is my password. I don't know it any longer as about a year ago I installed a password manager. It offers to create a secure password & keep it safe (encrypted) & use it to log you into any site that needs log-in credentials, like GoY. The problem with this is that I started asking it to make passwords at least 10 characters in length that contained upper & lower case letters, special symbols (?><+!@) & a certain amount of numbers. Now this is fantastic while you can use the programme & very time saving & it avoids weak & repetitive passwords that could be easily cracked & put your computer & the data it stores at risk.
What do you do when you use a device without the Password Manager? I had to open the programme on my computer & try & copy the passwords it stores for me. That's the "easy" part - now try putting all those passwords of at least 10 characters in length that contain upper & lower case letters, special symbols (?><+!@) & a certain amount of numbers into a tiny box on your mobile! If you mistake just ONE character of the 10 then you have to start again! Perhaps do the same several times till you finally get it right & you can login to whatever site you want access to - Been there, Done that!!! LOL!
Easy you say - download the same Password Manager to your mobile or tablet! Trouble is they won't all accept the programme!!! Grrrrrr!
14 Aug, 2014
Sounds rather complicated... I had norton password manager on laptop... not on phone or tablet... :)
17 Aug, 2014
Thanks, Holly. It IS rather complicated! I found the only way around it was to change the number of characters & stop using all those passwords of at least 10 - 12 characters in length that contain upper & lower case letters, special symbols (?><+!@) & a certain amount of numbers! Making them simpler, especially eliminating the "special symbols" (?><+!@), which entail so much going backwards & forwards on the phone screen. Also shortening the length of the password helps too.
One of the difficulties of course is that you first have to go to the site you want log into with the old password (obviously on you main computer) change your password there for a simpler, shorter one, (using the Password Manager), then add it to the Password Manager save everything & then, using your new, shorter password, log into your account & hope you get everything right first time! Unless you have a very good memory you may have to write the new password down before closing the Password Manager or the site you are changing it for.
I still haven't done that for my Facebook account & so I can't get into from my phone!
23 Aug, 2014
Recent posts by balcony
- Pansies & Violas on the balcony
28 Oct, 2024
- Work on the balcony
11 Oct, 2024
- Huntingdon in Bloom wins at Anglia in Bloom Awards 2024
12 Sep, 2024
- Guerilla Gardening II
28 Aug, 2024
- End of July on the balcony
28 Jul, 2024
- Guerilla gardening
27 Jul, 2024
Glad to haveyou back at full speed ?
13 Aug, 2014