Computer Stuff

Well, I guess it's a good thing we didn't get rid of the old PC after I got my laptop a year and a half ago. It's gotten pretty dusty, but it's come in handy once or twice when we've had friends visit and wanted to all log in at once.

But now... Now it looks like I'm back on the PC if I want to be online.

I was on my laptop, watching a DVD, and Matt suddenly looked up sheepishly. "Are you online?"

"Just mail."

"I downloaded an upgrade to the base station software, and it's resetting the base station." (For you non-wireless geeks, that means he had to reset and redial our shared wireless modem, knocking me offline.)

"No problem," I said. "I'm just watching a movie. I'll log back in when you're done."

He changed a setting a few minutes later, and the base station reset again. No sweat. Still watching my movie.

Half an hour or so later, I'd gotten past my favorite part of the movie, and I thought I'd log into IRC and chat while watching the end. I log in. Say hi. A minute or so later, Matt says, "You just got bumped."

Damn. Well, that happens occasionally. I log back in. Nothing happens.

After about ten minutes of fucking around, I realize that my wireless card is only intermittently seeing the base station. Every time it loses track of the base station, I lose my connection. Very simple.

Well, fuck. Guess I'm going to have to upgrade my AirPort software, too. Except I can't stay connected to download the update.

I made Matt log off so I could go upstairs and unplug the phone cord from the base station and plug it directly into my Powerbook. (And thank the gods Powerbooks come with a built-in modem, even if you don't want one.) I get set up and dial in. Successfully download the 4-meg installer (which takes a good 15 minutes, over a 56K line). The installer runs. It configures itself. It takes about forever doing that, too.

It makes me reboot. I cross my fingers and tell it OK.

I reboot, which takes a good 5 minutes. When I come back...

The little indicator which tells me the strength of wireless networks in the area - which ought to be solid, as the computer is currently sitting right next to the AirPort (and it should still see the AirPort, even if the AirPort isn't dialed in)...

It's grey. Can't see it. I wait a few seconds. It turns black! Yay! It sees it!

It turns grey again.

Same behavior as before.

And I am out of ideas.

I screamed at Matt a little and told him since he was the compulsive updater, then he could bloody well research the solution. I stomped upstairs again and turned on the PC. Probably not very fair of me, but I'm too angry at the moment to be interested in fair.

You know, the whole reason I was so hot to get the laptop in the first place was because I wanted to be online from the living room. I'm not saying the laptop has no value to me without that, but... It was my primary reason.

I'm so frustrated I want to cry. Unless Matt miraculously stumbles across a fix in the next hour, I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight.

And I'm completely and utterly helpless. We can't even revert the AirPort to its old software and try that, because the updaters are completely automatic.

I hate this. Hate it, hate it, hate it.

So if you don't see me online much for a while, you know why.

Thank the gods we didn't toss the PC.