The Writer’s Guild Strike

            I knew getting into a career as a writer was difficult and had a low salary attached to it, but I never knew the degree to which writer’s were being shafted in the entertainment industry. Here’s a documentary written by writer’s in the strike explaining their struggle and why procedures must be changed.

Follies with Technology

            Either I’m incredibly rough on technology, or I just have the worst luck when it comes to computers. During the summer before my freshman year at college, my parents purchased me a decked-out Dell Inspiron 1500 laptop; Dell stopped production of this model as it has been updated by the 1501 and 1520/1521, which happen to look virtually identical to the original. Now, I had several technical issues with a Dell Desktop I used to own, but I was willing to put the past behind me and start anew with this laptop.

            The 1500 served me well, and I was able to happily multi-task while doing work for my classes. Sometime in the fall semester, however, my cd-rom had ceased to be functional; while the rest of the computer still worked, it was a pain not being able to burn CDs or rip music to my computer.

            After weighing my options, I decided to send my laptop to a local technician who had previously done work on my other computers rather than shipping it back to Dell. The noncompliant cd-rom drive was removed and replaced, and all was well…for a while.

            Spring semester was finally winding down, and a week or so before I was due to pack up my things, my laptop decided that breaking the cd-rom did not satisfy it’s taste for mischief; it wouldn’t stop until everything refused to work. And so one day, my laptop decided it was fed up with my antics and chose to crash, producing that blue screen we’ve all come to know and love. On the bright side of things, I had no assignments due and would be heading home in the near future. At his point in time, I believed that my one-year warranty had just expired; it was time for a second visit to the local technician.

            This particular trip would prove to be more expensive than the last as my hard drive was deemed irreparable and would need to be replaced. In time, the necessary repair was done, and all was good…for a while.

            The laptop survived the summer and about midway through my current semester when, yet again, a blue screen had appeared. Seeing as it was early in the semester, and I needed a computer to do work on, I immediately shipped it back home via FedEx.

            For two grueling weeks, I learned the world was like without a personal computer: cold and lonely. I would want to check my email, or watch funny videos, or talk with friends but I simply couldn’t; I never realized how much free time I had without the Internet.

            Getting in touch with people became a hassle because no one actually talks on the phone anymore, and text messages are only so efficient when it comes to maintaining a conversation. Since I’ve had a longstanding fall-out with television, books became even more appealing than usual. The worst part of these two weeks, however, was having to drudge back and forth between my dorm and the computer lab in order to type up homework – I don’t even want to get into it, so let’s get back to the story.

            While the local technician took a more in-depth look at my laptop, my dad borrowed a laptop from work for me. When the technician called next, I would learn that a cooling fan inside my laptop would refuse to turn on, and the system would overheat and crash. He replaced the fan and once again my laptop was deemed “repaired.” I don’t think it lasted till the weekend.

            The fourth visit was free of charge, and he made it a point to state that he spent four or five hours with Dell technical support, which is located in India or the Philippines (outsourcing at its finest). After not being entirely sure what to do, he reinstalled the operating system and was successful in leaving the machine on for three days without any sign of error; if it acted up again, he recommended sending it back to Dell because I apparently had an extended three-year warranty. Who knew?

            This past Saturday I installed the necessary software onto the bare-bones machines: anti-virus programs for access to the Rowan network; iTunes; AIM; and so on. I went to sleep that night and unsurprisingly awoke to find the same infuriating error message as before; I hate you, Dell.

            Now, when I go home for Thanksgiving break, I intend to raise hell with Dell and have this thing fixed while making a personal vow never to purchase from them again.

            Am I too rough on technology? Maybe. Are Dell products poorly constructed and not worth the trouble? Probably. So, I might be in the market for a new laptop, which is where you come in; if you can make some suggestions, I’d be more than willing to listen. I’ve done a little bit of research and have my eye on either a Sony Vaio NR series laptop or a Macbook. I’m not as familiar with the Mac operating system, but that’s not a deciding factor. If you were able to read this far, maybe you could provide me with some needed input.

Thanks in advance.