I should have known better

I should have known better….Anytime any piece of hardware or software promotion says “The easy new way to___________” Do not believe it!

In a world where technology moves so much faster than me I am chronically mired down in a technology learning curve and I am well down on the left hand side of that curve.

Last month my trusty and well-worn Windows 7 laptop took a hard drive dive. Replacing it meant I was forced into the Windows 8 world well before I was ready, and for that fact, well before Windows 8 was ready, also. Hours and hours of frustrating, “it don’t work like that anymore” issues!  

Just about the time I had a quasi-handle on my new computer operating system, UMASS has decided to upgrade their online learning system. AUGGGGGHHHHH! Enough already! I am a firm believer the “if it ain’t broken DO NOT fix it” mentality. Unfortunately that type of thinking does not sell more software or hardware.

Then yesterday…in an attempt to access the latest simple credit card acceptance technology, which in theory is so very cool, was met with another overdose of overwhelming amount of technical learning curve before I could even participate. I was immersed in Square up software technology that allows merchants to accept credit cards from any location. A little “hickey” that clicks into the audio jack input on your data enabled cell phone that will swipe a credit card, send an email or text receipt to the client (with a picture of what they purchased), and automatically make the deposit into your bank account. (For us OLD “knuckle buster”credit card people, it does away with the daily chore of batching and sending in the day’s receipts for processing and payment). What was promised as the easiest method to accept payment from anywhere, turned out to be a miserable journey to yet another technical learning situation when I found out the smart phone (that I have finally after 3 years learned how to work) does not have the latest necessary operating system. So there is a new phone updated correct android operating system on its way here. I am certain it will take hours of study before I can answer a phone call, much less text, and I shudder at the thought of what it is going to take to accept credit cards.

I should have known better.