The stress of changes

I have an actual car manual, but it includes various versions, adding If Available. I don’t know whether my car is supposed to have these various things or not. I admit to using only a limited number of its gizmos. My GD who works for a car manufacturer can’t work it out either and she is very tech savvy.

I know it’s very frustrating but I admit I am giggling at some of these tales! I think I’ve probably experiences most of them, so it is a sympathetic chortle of recognition.

It’s not confined to the oldies, though. My GD was recently complaining about her dance classes being moved to different times. She was most vociferous that changes should not happen, everything should stay the same! She’s 8yo.

We got different BB last year and connecting the printer to it was an absolute ‘mare. I did it in the end but I’ve no idea how, it just sudden,y sprang into life. 🤷‍♀️

I heartily agree about TV’s, I cannot find anything on ours. Oh for an on/off button and three channels. We missed half the England match because we couldn’t get it to come up on the TV.

Wrt to manuals, they are usually available online so you could print it out (if you can connect the printer to your device ) and keep that to hand.

My tv pops up a message saying "No action been taken for a long time, therefore I'm turning myself off"!
What a liberty!

Doodledog

I wonder whether the reluctance of manufacturers to provide manuals is the problem? My mum struggles with technology, particularly her TV, and pays a fortune to Talk Talk because she understands their interface. We have told her that her (smart) TV has all the channels she can access through Talk Talk and she needn't be paying them all that money, but she doesn't really 'get it', and there is no instruction booklet with the TV. We have shown her how to do it, but she forgets when she's on her own, which is when she really needs to know.

There is probably a marketing opportunity for companies who either produce simplified interfaces on TVs (eg a button to return to live TV from streaming) or basic instruction leaflets that can be kept next to the TV for reference.

Your manuals are all online. Possibly on an app.
Google assist, insolent strumpet /xmas presentwho lives in the kitchen, has been caught red handed in conversation with our TV in the sitting room. Talking to the 6 o'clock new, if you please.

But I've settled their hash since I discovered (quite accidentally while grappling with players) that I can talk to the TV via Alexa and give it verbal instructions. I don't know Alexa from Adam and have never met her but apparently she's on good terms with our TV, and is too polite to give me any lip.

Now I've found my phone listens to me too. who knew ?

DH has no need of TV; he gets all the entertainment he needs watching technology cage wrestling with me.

Solution to Problem 1: get rid of the television - I have!

Solution to Problem 2: get the computer engineer to set everything up!

Solution to Problem 3: keep with a 'dumb' phone and move to an area where thee is no mobile reception!

Solution to Problem 4: take the 'hit' of increased prices from your current BB provider - it will be covered by not having to pay the |TV licence fee!

My car manual is a real printed book. I still can't work out how it relates to my actual car (which is a lovely straightforward wee VW Up)

The thing that really bugs me is that when you get a new mobile phone it says it will set up all your accounts, apps, etc but it doesn't do all of them and it doesn't put all the icons on the screen as they were on the old phone. You'd think a smart phone would be clever enough to see what's on the old phone and then set everything up on the new phone exactly as it was before! Pah!

I feel I ought to get to grips with our newish Skoda's bells and whistles. When DH barks "Laura! Too hot" and a man's voice replies I think "Maybe not"

I'm getting annoyed with two step verification for emails. They have used my mobile number so if I go to the shops my husband can't use it. He doesn't use a mobile. The "remember" me thing doesn't work.
When the landline changes I will have to transfer all the numbers to a new phone and I dread it. think I will have to start writing them down soon, there are several for different hospital services so I need number recognition.

It's changing IT that does my head in.Thing is I use classic Outlook and the system wants me to change to New Outlook and all you have to do is click a digital button on the system. Plus you can revert if New Outlook doesn't work for you.So I click the digital button and Shazam I have New Outlook BUT then I have pages of digital instructions (which I can't memorise) to deal with to get the system properly up and running. Groans of despair . I revert to classic outlook. RIP New Outlook. Until such time as Microsoft withdraws support for Classic Outlook. I do very fewthings on my computer but what I do do is essential. So I'm terrified of lashing it up.End of whinge.

PS Re above "what I do do is essential". I mean essential*for me* .Nothing important.

I have a German freezer and have the online manual saved to my computer, but the translation isn't great. My icemaker has failed and the instructions clearly relate to a model with extra features, even though the model number is correct. Fortunately we have an extended guarantee, but so far it has taken them two weeks to get back to me to fix a service date, and now another two weeks until they will be here.
I changed to an Apple Mac almost two years ago and have still not got completely used to it after using a PC for more than 30 years! Fortunately my son was able to help me set it up, but he's a bit dictatorial about how I use it...
We gave up Sky and switched to a Firestick and later to a smart TV - it's actually not too bad once you get the hang of it and even if you take out some subscriptions it's still much cheaper.

I've been trying to sort something out with Sky TV people and what a palaver that is! I have spoken to three different people and they have all given me different dates and different prices. One of them promised faithfully to call me back the next day which apparently was the first day it could be sorted on their system, silly me I actually believed him. Of course no phone call so I had to ring again and go through it all again and then again the next day too. Not helped by all the foreign accents which I find very difficult to understand, I don't want to offend anybody so keep asking them to speak slowly as it's a bad line etc. Still not sorted and dreading ringing again.

Marg75

We're having fibre broadband installation next week according to EE and BT Openreach. They've sent a new hub and a brand new phone. I don't mind changing my existing hub but my landline phone won't fit into the connection so have to use this new phone whether I want to or not! Hopefully it'll all go smoothly but then there'll be a new password to enter into everything. 🤔

We had fibre broadband installed a few weeks ago - we asked the engineer to set up our television and phone and he did! Great service and no problems since except getting used to the new way of displaying programmes as per EE new hub. Also, if you want to phone a local number you need to put the full area code in first.

petra

Doodledog
YouTube replaced manuals 😂

But sometimes it’s just easier to read through instructions, instead of listening to an American voice.

There again, as someone else said, I don’t understand some of the diagrams they use.

You are all a great relief to me! I'm not alone in this technical world.

Calendargirl

petra

Doodledog
YouTube replaced manuals 😂

But sometimes it’s just easier to read through instructions, instead of listening to an American voice.

There again, as someone else said, I don’t understand some of the diagrams they use.

I know for years it was predominantly Americans but now there are a lot more English men and women.
I keep scrolling until I find one.

oh me too Aveline.. I am "sulking" today cos my Whats App is no longer on my desktop and "it" one of "they" says my phone number is invalid!! I am really p......d off with technology, I am wondering how this younger generation will survive when technology fails them, like really fails them.. Yes, I have watched too many science fiction films... we , our generation will get the blame for allowing technology to take over.

MissAdventure

My tv pops up a message saying "No action been taken for a long time, therefore I'm turning myself off"!
What a liberty!

That’s because it has an energy saver built in 😂

I find everything really tricky, my DH used to do all the DIY and techie stuff but since having a stroke he can no longer do it. My adult children are my go-to helpers when I get a new phone etc but none of them are good at DIY so when a new small double bed arrived in flat pack form from Argos I was completely lost. The reviews said easy to put together. That was a bare faced lie. My DD tried it but couldn’t do it, my SiL tried but couldn’t do it, so finally a good neighbour came round and did it but it took him two hours. Would rather buy second hand because at least the furniture is put together.

@Missadventure . I’ve had iPhones for at least 10 years. I always say that they are idiot proof , that’s why I can use them😂.
The apps are so easy to follow and use .

Ooh, i always have samsung phones, and never go up more than one model at a time.
I'm currently on an A12, which is new to me (6 months) but years back in the samsung world.
I don't like this one though; i liked the last but one that i had.
I knew where I was with it.

I knew where I was with it

That’s how I feel about my (outdated) I phone.

It was my GD’s, she kindly passed it on to Granny (me) about 5 years ago now.

It serves the purpose, I replaced the battery after I’d had it about a year, it’s simple and straightforward, in its shabby little case.

I hope to keep it until it conks.

I kwpt my last two until they conked.
The trouble is, they just switched off one day, never to switch on agsin, and i lost a lot of WhatsApp conversations, photos, and things that were really a wrench to lose.

butterandjam Thanks for the laughs!