So I got this new computer. . .

My old Dell laptop is five years old. It was becoming slower and slower and doing goofy things.

I've known for some time now that eventually I was going to need a new computer. I started asking around, "If you were buying a new computer, what would you get?" Most folks swayed me toward a Mac. I went online and scoured the internet with a google inquiry, "Mac vs. PC" I was in a meeting at work. I noticed one doctor had a Mac. "Do you like it?", I asked. "LOVE IT!", he replied. "Wouldn't have anything else."

This week I bought a Mac Book Pro. Now I've been around the block a time or two with computers and have used other people's Macs briefly. So I will just bring it home, punch a button here and there and I'll be back in business.

WRONG!

To begin with, it took me almost an hour on the phone with Roadrunner tech support just to get the internet connected to this thing. My modem kept telling the Time Warner folks that it was connected to a Dell. That wasn't the case. Finally, we got that straightened out. I don't care what Time Warner did to straighten it out, but now it works. I just needed a glass of wine to calm down after that episode.

Next stop. This morning I sent a couple of e-mails with the subject line, "Let me know if you get this." One friend wrote back and said, "You may want to tone down the font size, it's all over the page. On my screen it was "normal".

This weekend, the first order of business is to go through the many online tutorials for people like me who are new to Macs and learn the basics. I haven't even figured out how to make folders for my bookmarks.

The amazing thing about all this is that my kids down South want my old computer. "Jen, you don't understand," I began. "This thing is slower than maple syrup in the Spring." I know what she's thinking. I once had an old TV that wasn't working. John took it off my hands and they used it for another year or two.

They need another computer because they have "sharing" issues in their house with one computer! With three kids in school now, the boys need a computer of their own and Jen thinks my old Dell will work for them.

So stay tuned. This little machine, flat as a pancake, may just become my friend once I learn the proper care and feeding. Right now, it reminds me of having a new puppy in the house.