I'm on hold with Dell.
This week just seems like a confluence of events... a coming together of people, places, things.
A stream of synchronicity:

• Dell, Comcast and little old me can't get my new Dell connected to the internet.
• So, back it goes.
• I bought an Imac last night.
• Dell support (and Comcast as well, for that matter) have been unfailingly polite. "My pleasure to be knowing you" is Indian for "Nice to meet you"... it's growing on me.
• One tech support guy said that it is unrealistic for me to think that Vista will connect to the internet at the speed of my 4 yo XP machine because it has "so much better security".
• Another tech support guy said that Dell can't worry about their machine connecting to someone's cable modem; that's the cable company's problem. That sounds reasonable on the face of it, but my old XP machine (that I'm using right now) connects to the same cable modem like a charm... and has for 4+ years.
  
• Dell is charging me 15% for returning their boat anchor.
  
• I have been asked for my Dell order number, name, and the nature of my problem 4 times in the 5 minutes or so since I started this post.
• I haven't lost my cool or blown my top in 4 days now.
• Oh, I just had my first rude service guy. Still didn't lose it though. He he. I have been transferred at least a dozen times.
• He he. Done. They are emailing me shipping labels to return my boat anchor.
  

The Apple machine I bought costs a lot more.
I'll bet I run into stuff that I can't do because it deviates from the Apple norm, but that's OK.
It's going to be a heck of a time breaking all my PC habits.

In the end I'm smiling.
It's another 40-something williamt victory... bitter, sweet, hard fought, a change and teaching this old dog, a confluence of so many factors, and goooooooood.
smile... yow, bill

Labels: fun, technology