My internet didn't work yesterday, or this morning and I realised just how addicted I am to checking my mail and blog comments and browsing my little list of faves. ClareBear too was freaking out because she had to do some online templates and couldn't get her messages from TheCricketer. Shit happens. So, after venturing into the pouring rain to meet the farrier at 9.00 in the morning and being snotted on by two very wet and dishevelled horses whilst they endured a muddy manicure, I ventured into the RTA to register my vehicle. Thirty minutes of people watching and listening to a persistent 'bing' alerting punters to their need to attend an i-mac booth to pay the exhorbitant fees required to be allowed to drive on our shitty roads was not a fun experience. Especially since my shoes were drenched with water, covered in horse shite and my jacket swathed with pony snot and little grey hairs where Chippy chose to rub against my shoulder just to be annoying. Car registered and the Virgin Mastercard (contradiction in terms, it's a whore of a card and has been used many times) absorbing even more credit, I ventured to EB to buy what I thought I required to get the internet up and running - a router. OK, I'm a technopeasant surrounded by smartass geeks but there wasn't one handy this morning so I took my life into my own hands and wafted (literally) into the store.
Me: "I need a router with 8 ports please"
Geeky Indian: "Wireless?"
Me: "How the fuck should I know . . .the one I have now has a plug" *real response - I don't know*
Geeky Indian: "We have one with a single ADSL and four data ports"
*ring ClareBear to get her to count ports*
Me:"Ok I'll try that one"
Geeky Indian: "It has an inbuilt modem, wireless capability, ADSL and 4 data ports, you'll be happy with that one madam."
Me: "I'm cold, wet (again not in a good way) smell like a horse and have snot on my jacket, just gimme the dam thing . . ." *real response was 'thank you'*
So I drive home once again, squish into the kitchen, gingerly take said router out of the box and it looks absolutely nothing like the little thingamy at the back of my computer which turns out to be a 10/100Mbps switch. BabyBro has the router on his server and we're networked in. What I need is just a DLink switch with 8 ports.
Fark. Now I have to go back to the store and since I can't be bothered getting out of the now damp rather than sodden horsey gear, I just change my boogey smeared jacket into something a little smarter and go back to the shop.
Nope, they don't have a switch. So I wait half an hour for a refund. It wasn't wasted, I browsed the heaters while I was there and got a demo model for $10 off so my bargain hunger was satiated. Off to another shop. Yep, they had the gear. 8 ports, guarantee, warranty, all the bits and jiggers to go with it. So, back in the car again and assemble the DLink. Nup . . still no joy.
It turns out that BabyBro had a new firewall installed on Friday morning and since all the networked computers were switched on during the installation, nobody had rebooted so that the server recognised the LAN. All it took was everyone to reboot and life as we know it resumed. So . . I'm $79 poorer. Have 2 data switches (a spare is always handy I guess) but importantly, I'm back on the net before anyone missed me. Now there's some arrogance for you . . .
See, I now know the difference between an ADSL port, a data port, a router with inbuilt modem and wireless capability and a simple data switch. I have also learned that the blue cables are the computers and the grey cable is the ADSL but I'm not sure what the yellow one is yet.
I learned a lot. I am now only 98% technopeasant and 2% Super Geek. Yay!
3 comments:
When you casually throw in words like 'router' and 'DSL' and 'DLink' as if we all know what you are talking about then you are more than 2% SuperGeek.
All I know is that if something goes wrong, I ring someone who speaks a foreign language and who hasn't a clue about the job they're in. Then I ring my pal Ron.
I'm glad the word 'wireless' is back in fashion. We had those back in the 50s and 60s before they started calling it a radio.
I'm not a fan of logic... if the internet doesn't work, I spend 2 hours unplugging and replugging things, then I give up. This is a girl who once tried to boil a kettle with night-light candles during a power cut. It doesn't work, FYI.
Ha ha . . well I'm so far from geekdom it's not funny. Spent the afternoon trying to plug in a headset with a microphone so that I could phone home but it took DrummerBoy to work out that the sound card was a bit wobbly and needed anchoring.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, I can talk the talk but . . .
K8 You've got it down pat. The first thing any helldesk asks you to do is reboot - works 90% of the time! (hence my recent internet loss that's all it took!)
mmm . . night light candles . . .well it shows initiative. You don't know until you try!
And, last but not least . . don't start me on silly things (I poured my champagne into an ashtray yesterday, yes, the first glass of the evening . . .) Git!
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