Technology is a wonderful thing, when it works. When it doesn’t it is the bastard fiend from the fiery pits of hell; or at the very least an inconvenience.
My recent case of techno-woe was caused by my Xbox which refused to do anything except display the red rings of death. This was closely followed with news from The Son that he had wisely invested his Xmas bonus in a Canon 50D camera; only to have it die on him within a few days. To make matters worse, the camera collapse happened just as the UK had turned itself into a photogenic Hallmark card of snowy wonder; just begging to have a lens (with working camera attached), pointed at it. Bugger.
Then news from Billy that he had bought a surprisingly low mileage Citroen; which is not really surprising at all because Citroens inevitably spend a substantial proportion of the year sitting idle in a garage, dripping hydraulic fluid and refusing to do the ridiculous things that Citroens do in the name of suspension. News of the first Citroenic failure under the ownership of Billy can only be days away.
But my Xbox woes had a potential resolution when Nadz project, who sold me the original machine, told me they would fix it for 600 baht; and so I duly packed it up and despatched it to Bangkok. Fortunately Antony (who I had convinced to buy an Xbox so he could to stream videos from his Mac, and had then gently introduced to the world of Xbox gaming) was off to Bangkok yesterday to pick up a copy of Grand Theft Auto 4 (The Son in the credits, Yay!); and he offered to collect my machine.
And last night I was reunited with my Xbox. Except the top cover was missing, and when I turned it on it could not find the hard drive. Bugger (again). So off to Bangkok this morning and I march into Nadz to demand they fix it. Some rather embarrassed looks as they rummage around in the technician’s sandwich drawer and produce the missing top cover, which also just happens to be the actual hard drive. Plug in the drive/cover and all is well again, apart from the fan which now whines at full speed all the time, but I was reliably assured that “they all do that”.
Microsoft hardware really does suck.
Comments 🔗
2009-02-14| Antz saysWhat do you mean by “Microsoft hardware really sucks”…. are you suggesting their software (and any other MS “product”) does not fit into the same category?
2009-02-14| Spike saysNot for a moment. Vista anyone?
2009-02-14| Billy saysPleased to report that the Picasso has already reached Day 7 without a major hydraulic fluid loss.
2009-02-14| Spike saysIt’s waiting for an inconvenient moment; just like your coffee machine does…..