Liz's laptop is old. In tech terms, REALLY old. An antique. And as long as you didn't have to reboot, it does the job.
My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S10. It's 4G, not 5G. I thinks Samsung is up to 25 or so in their model numbers, but I'm familiar with where all the settings are, it's got a great camera, and still does everything I need as quickly as I want it to.
But sooner or later, tech tools tend to age out, or something outside of our control forces a change.
Recently we had to get a new modem and router for our home. Swapping out our phones, TVs and Roomba to the new signals were easy. So was swapping out my laptop's preferred WiFi network. But Liz's laptop refused to detect the new network, and the old network was running SLLLLLLOOOOOOWWWW. It took me a bit to determine the reason her laptop couldn't detect the new WiFi network was a technology limitation. Her laptop only used 2.4 bandwidth, and the new router was a 5 bandwidth. They couldn't talk to each other.
Now the good news? You can buy a little USB adapter that gives a 2.4 laptop the ability to connect to 5, and it cost under $20 and only took a few minutes to install, and just like that, clocking along nicely on the information superhighway!
But am I going to leave it at that?
Nope. I've got a new laptop on order for delivery this week. I bought some time with the adapter, but the reality is old technology can't always keep up with new demands. More memory is needed. More speed is needed. The amount of time spent working less efficiently becomes intolerable. Instead of waiting for a reboot to complete, we can be right back to work.
We'll transfer the files needed from the old to new laptop, then retire the old laptop to the laptop graveyard in our basement (right next to a box of old cables, old phones, and all the other tech that has outlived it's usefulness).
We've had our main IDX website overhauled recently, a new engine underneath and a new framework on the outside. There are still more search pages to be built, but the contacts keep coming while we spiff and polish the content.
Sometimes, it still works, just isn't justification enough to continue with the same old, same old. It's a case by case review, but when you realize how much time you spend trying to keep the old stuff doing the job, it's easier to justify the time savings that comes with the new, even though the price of the new might make you wince just a little bit.
Until next Tuesday, just Ask An Ambassador if you need help,
Bill & Liz aka BLiz
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