Technology can fail, leaving us searching for solutions. I’m adept at figuring out most digital equipment, but recently, I have been baffled after multiple attempts to get the TV monitor in the condo to work correctly. For a while, the TV wouldn’t come on. I called Network and Samsung, but they couldn’t figure it out.
After hours of playing with it, I finally got it to come back on, but it went out several times after that, and my first fix didn’t work a second time. There was no point in spending hours on the phone with the two companies. I kept working with it and got it to come back on again. This time, I can’t even say what got it going again. It was a non-stop trial and error-process.
We need the TV to work to allow us to stream what we’d like to watch in the evenings. We don’t watch anything on Dish since we prefer to binge-watch streamed series, although we occasionally watch news if there’s a story we’re interested in. Otherwise, we read most news online.
For a few weeks, everything worked fine. Then, on Friday night, the sound disappeared for no reason. I spent the better part of the evening trying to get sound to work and finally gave up, and we didn’t watch anything. During the night, I reminded myself about our JBL portable Bluetooth speaker. Could that provide sound while my laptop is plugged into the TV via an HDMI? I thought it might be a conflict, but I decided to give it a try first thing in the morning.
Turning on the well-charged portable speaker and plugging the laptop into the TV, much to our delight, we had sound. This is what we’ve been using successfully since Saturday. However, the battery life on the Bluetooth speaker is only good for a few hours. We keep it plugged into its charging outlet to keep it charged while using it.
In any case, I thought it was important for the owner to know about this new issue, and he agreed to come out today, Tuesday, to see what he can figure out. He lived here for several years and may know something I can’t figure out. He wanted to come by around 5:00 pm today, but I asked if he could come closer to 4:00 so we could have dinner at our usual 5:30 or 6:00 pm. He could easily spend a few hours figuring this out, as we’d done in the past.
Then, a few days ago, when I helped Tom with something on his laptop, I realized his computer was outdated and running poorly. I could improve the “running poorly” aspect. Still, the cumbersome nature of his small monitor and the awkwardness of his small keyboard were issues that could only be improved by purchasing a bigger and better laptop, preferably one like mine.
We couldn’t remember exactly where and when he purchased his laptop. Today, I searched my email messages for “Asus Chromebook.” To my surprise, I found the original receipt when he bought that laptop in June 2021 from Takealot in South Africa as follows:
| Asus Chromebook Celeron N4020 4GB 32GB 11.6″ HD Notebook – Grey | R 6199.00 |
| Subtotal: | R 6199.00 |
| Shipping: | R 0.00 |
| Total: | R 6199.00 |
In today’s dollars, the price, as shown above in rand, would be $325.58 in US dollars. This morning, I perused Costco’s laptops since he’d like to use a rewards/shop card he’ll receive in his email soon from using his Costco credit card for buying fuel. The card’s value is only $44.00, but it will more than cover the tax and shipping for a new laptop. We’ve often used Costco to buy laptops since their prices are competitive, and they extend the warranty for a second year. Plus, they have a 90-day return policy.
After looking today, I found a laptop he’d like to buy with the following important-to-him features:
- Touchscreen
- Backlit (lighted) keyboard
- HDMI outlet
- Bluetooth capability
- 14″ to 15.6″ monitor
- Lower weight for travel and solid state for durability
- Windows operating system (he’s ready to return to Windows after using a Chromebook for the past 2½ years).
- Other standard features regarding storage, RAM, sound, screen acuity, and brand names
We’ll purchase as soon as the credit appears in his email. He’s already received an email alerting him that it will arrive quickly. Most likely, he’ll be spending about $500 for the new laptop plus tax and shipping, which is what we expect for the quality equipment he so well deserves.
We’ll be back with updates on these two technological issues. Have a wonderful day!
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, January 23, 2014:
