Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

Buying a new computer changes a lot of things. It’s like your kitchen. You have everything set up exactly how you like it, and you know where to go to find a fork. First, I admit I was terrified of the new * Windows® operating system. Like many of you looking at in-store computer displays, I played with them, too.

My hard drive gave me all the warning signs of failure. This is frightening. My writing is backed up, of course, but I didn’t want to lose anything. This meant I had to buy a new computer. Okay, so I had put it off for months.

With three major crashes in a week, my decision had already been made for me. I swear I have more AutoSaved documents than .docx, .doc, or .whatever.

A computer is important to me, so I didn’t go to buy something cheap, and I knew the amount of money I’d have to spend for what I wanted.

The store salesman gave me a brief tutorial. Hmm, still a little freaked out because I had no idea how to find where my documents might be when the day came to actually have documents on my new laptop. Seeing I had no choice, I knew I’d be buying a new laptop that day. I did and was/am pleased with my purchase.

That day when I went home, I visited You Tube and found tutorials. This helped a lot to reiterate what the salesman showed me but of course with more detail. I recommend watching. They have a tutorial for a touch screen, too, which is what I have, but the Part One tutorial is good for the basics.

The next afternoon I picked up my new laptop, fully loaded with the current Windows® operating system and Microsoft Office, and a few other goodies. I haven’t noticed a lot of changes in Microsoft Office, but there are some. The ribbon across the top is about the same, but if you go looking you’ll see minor differences. (There’s a tour included that shows new changes.)

This is when I received a more in depth tutorial. I hoped for the tech with the long ponytail, but he was busy. Garrett tried to convince me once I was on my desktop, it’s hardly different than my previous version, and he was right to some extent. He also downloaded Firefox for me and the button is on the taskbar. How easy is this new computer? Easy and I love it.

When I went home I didn’t touch the new one—left it in the box. Maybe it had to sink in. Instead, I took a chance with my old one, but didn’t open a document for two days for fear of the “big” crash, afraid to push my luck, I guess. I missed writing for two days.

The next day with my caffeine high, I opened up the new one, and to my surprise I knew what to do after I found the power button. I love the touch screen. It’s like having a big tablet, although my screen stays attached to my laptop. You can still use a mouse with the touch screen. One thing I had to do was disable the touchpad on the laptop because while typing I continually touched it with part of my hand and my cursor ended up in places I don’t even want to mention. I use a mouse with a USB connection instead.

With a tutorial, you’ll be able to handle this new Windows® operating system. Fortunately, I’m kind of geeky so I picked it up fast…okay right away. I’ve mastered it, and can’t be happier with my new laptop.

*Microsoft, Encarta, MSN, and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.