Technology and me

My morning seems to have been dominated by technology and my attempts to get it to do what I want it to do.

The first thing was the new cordless doorbell. It was supposed to be simple to install. The bell plugged into a normal electric socket and needed no battery ... a definite plus as far as I was concerned. I tested it ... and it worked fine ... until someone rang it for real ... and then it kept ringing ... not once but several times.

The whole thing came without any instructions, but a trawl through the Internet produced a result; this problem sometimes happens when the bell button sticks. So off came the bell button cover ... which revealed absolutely nothing that would cause the button to stick ... and since then it has worked without a problem. I wish I could say the same for my dealings with my telephone company!

I have a business 'phone line which was very useful when I started my business over ten years ago, but since then most of my customers have moved over to telephoning my mobile 'phone, sending me texts, or sending emails. The line is almost unused, so I decided to get rid of it. This involved 'interacting' with the multiple choice telephone system that my 'phone company seems to employ to 'help'/'annoy' (Delete as appropriate) its customers. Eventually, after nearly twenty minutes 'holding on' and listening to interminable music and announcements, I actually spoke to a real person, and they put a 'termination' in place that will come into force once the thirty days notice period has elapsed.

I then wanted to discuss enabling the Voicemail option on my home 'phone line, which is provided by the same telephone company ... but the young lady was unable to help me as she only dealt with business customers. She tried to transfer my call to the right department ... but I was again put on 'hold', this time for over thirty minutes!

When I finally spoke to someone, they had considerable problems understanding what I was asking them to do. The young lady at the call centre kept telling me that my business 'phone line was the only one registered to my address. I explained that it was not, but she adamant that it was. She finally put me through to her Supervisor, who did understand what I was saying, but who repeated the same story about there only being one 'phone line registered at that address. When I finally persuaded her to look up my name and address as a private and not a business customer, she found that I did have an account with them and a second 'phone line. I actually got an apology for the confusion, and an assurance that my Voicemail will be activated within 24 hours.

Having wasted nearly two hours sorting out the doorbell and the 'phones, I moved on to my wife's HP InkJet colour printer, which has been giving her all sorts of error messages about the ink cartridges. I tried all the 'cures' suggested in the user's guide that is supplied manufacturer ... but nothing worked. In the end I switched it off, went and had a drink, came back and switched it on again ... and it now seems to be working.

I will ask my wife to test her printer when she gets home ... and if it still doesn't work it will be going in the rubbish bin tomorrow and I will buy a new one.

Technology and me ... I've got it taped!