Friday 28 September 2007






I shouldn't be allowed near computers.


Our wireless connection hasn't worked for the past 4 weeks.


We would fire up the lap-top and patiently wait for it to connect to the internet only to be told time and time again that "No wireless connection could be detected"


I tried everything - turning off all firewalls, repairing the connection, moving the computer from room to room, microsofting (aka rebooting)... to no avail.


So yesterday I took a very deep breath and called our service providers technical support. They were very polite and went over the problem systematically:


Techie: "Do you have Windows XP, or Windows 2000?"


Me: "Mmmm, I don't know....It's a relatively new computer, only a year old..."


By now the techie has figured out that I'm an idiot.


Techie: "Is the wireless key on the computer switched on?"


Me:"Ummm, yeah I think so.... is there an actual switch? Cos if there is, I haven't switched it off"


Techie: "Look on the computer, there should be a switch"


At this point I've lifted the laptop up and am looking all over and around it, when I notice the wireless switch,... and it's off!


So I switch it on and then say...


Me:"OK, I've found the switch and it is on"


Techie: (Realising that I'm lying through my teeth) "OK, switch it off and then switch it back on again"


Me:"Wow, that worked! It's detecting the wireless connection! Fantastic, thank you so much. It's that darn Microsoft, always having to switch things off and on again to make them work!"


Techie: (Rolling his eyes, thinking 'Yeah, blame the software!') "You're welcome, anytime"