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Well, maybe "age-related" is not entirely accurate, because there are people my age (73) and older who do not suffer from this. But to a certain extent it is age-related in the sense that if I were 30 or 40 years younger I would have automatically mastered certain rudimentary things that now trouble me.
About an hour ago I bought a Garmin GPS car unit from Best Buy. The salesman assured me there was an owners' manual in the box, but the son-of-a-***** was lying through his teeth. I got the thing plugged into the cigarette lighter in the parking lot, and I succeeded in getting my home address entered during stops at red lights. But it remains a mystery how I am supposed to get the unit to register that address as "home". I will play with it some more, of course, and I will also ask a young guy who is a member of our HOA board of directors for help. This is so humiliating. Every one else on the planet has had long experience using a GPS in his car except me. This is probably prima fasciae evidence of profound mental retardation, but in any case it's no fun.
I am simply twenty or more years behind the human race, or perhaps a few hundred years behind if you stop to consider that differential calculus was developed by Sir Isaac Newton (and independently by Leibnitz about the same time) a very, very long time ago. A math Ph.D. once explained to me that mathematics begins with calculus. I never even reaching the starting line. (Not that everyone is supposed to be a mathematician, but I had trouble even before getting to the starting line. Pathetic beyond all imagining, just like today's experience).
I cannot imagine such a backwards way to do business as to not include an owners' manual with a product and telling people they have to go online to get it. The world is an alien and hostile and incomprehensible place for people like me. It's a damn good thing I decided not to have children - I would feel sorry for anyone to whom I had passed on these genes.
I had a heck of a time finding Nook on my tablet. I feel that sometimes I make things much more complicated than they need to me (only speaking for myself).
It took me a couple of hours to do what someone else might do in 15 minutes or less.
I don't think it is because I am stupid or retarded. It's just how I operate with certain technical things.
Escort Rider, if I know anything about you it is that you are NOT retarded or any of those things you wrote. You know you are intelligent; please give yourself a break.
Google is your friend. (And I'm almost as old as you are).
When I don't know how to do something (or there is no instruction manual--likely because I have lost it), I can nearly always find what I need via google, and when I can't find it, it's usually because I didn't ask the right questions.
Either I'm getting better at asking the right questions or google is getting better at figuring out what I really mean because the more I use it for information, the better the results I'm getting.
When I just cannot figure out how to make my shiny new tech gadget work (or the instructions google found for me are beyond my ability to comprehend), I seek the assistance of my younger, tech-savvy neighbors. Cultivate friendships among various age groups and you will likely have all the help you need.
I hope you are able to get your gadget working to your satisfaction, whatever method you choose to employ.
About an hour ago I bought a Garmin GPS car unit from Best Buy.
The salesman assured me there was an owners' manual in the box,
but the son-of-a-***** was lying through his teeth.
Maybe he assumed you meant the url link to the website?
But then again it was Best Buy.
Quote:
I cannot imagine such a backwards way to do business as to not include an owners' manual
with a product and telling people they have to go online to get it. The world is an alien and hostile
and incomprehensible place for people like me.
What really bugs me is when an article is posted in a newspaper and at the end of the article it says if you want to continue reading this or want more information, then go to ------- computer link------ It is assumed everyone on the planet has a computer or a smart phone. Well, there are a lot of people who don't have those devices.
Guess only those with access to computer/smart phone are supposed to read the "rest of the story."
Not only are the manuals online, but you can google any question and get answers. For example, ''How do I set my home location on my Garmin xxx?''
I feel alienated more due to the changing culture and value system around me than the tech stuff.
BTW, I have and use Google Maps on my smart phone. Easy and does it all for me. I will not tolerate a robo anything talking to me in the car or at home. It's a free download app.
What really bugs me is when an article is posted in a newspaper and at the end of the article it says if you want to continue reading this or want more information, then go to ------- computer link------ It is assumed everyone on the planet has a computer or a smart phone. Well, there are a lot of people who don't have those devices.
Guess only those with access to computer/smart phone are supposed to read the "rest of the story."
This is why we still need public libraries!
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