The continuing love affair between Gail and her Mac

Oh, where to begin. What sin did I commit in a past life to deserve such technological trials now? Have I not suffered enough since in the two years since I bought my new macbook? Obviously not. 

On Friday, my lap top closed its web browser and told me that an unexpected error had occurred. This has happened before (it is not true that Macs do not crash - they do). When I re-opened the programme, I noticed that my normal home page did not open, it went straight to an Apple default page. And then I noticed that none of my book marks were in place. Then I closed that window and noticed that nothing remained on my desk top. And then, breathing faster than usual, I discovered that in fact, my computer had re-set itself to its factory settings. 

This followed having spent three hours on the line to an Apple support guy called Ryan in Gateshead trying to sort out where all of the messages in my inbox had disappeared to on Thursday night and this was after a depressing internet chat with a lady called Carmen T on the apple website which went like this:

0.Hi, my name is Carmen T.. Welcome to Apple!

0.Gail Mowat: Hi there. I have a big problem with my mails. They have all gone away.

0.Carmen T.: Hello Gail

0.Carmen T.: are the mails gone from mobileme or your mac mail application

0.Gail Mowat: Mail application. I am not sure about the Mobile me since I did not get round to renewing my susbscrioption. Maybe you have cut me ff and they have gone?

0.Gail Mowat: I think it lapsed on march 9

0.Carmen T.: Gail the account gailmowat is inactive.

0.Carmen T.: that account didnt got renewed

0.Carmen T.: the account is closed

0.Carmen T.: therefore the mails are gone

0.Gail Mowat: Forever?

0.Carmen T.: Before the accounts get closed we recommend to our customers to backup all data

0.Gail Mowat: Noone told me that if I did not renew I woudl lose 3 years of emails?

0.Carmen T.: the mails are gone forever

When this did not help me to find them I called Apple in the UK again. After a long chat, he got me to delete a load of files, and then the brain haemmorage happened. 

So then I called them back and the man told me to take my computer to a shop to get it fixed. So I explained that I bought the machine in the UK, but then I moved to Korea where the hard drive failed and was replaced, but now I live in Kazakhstan where I would not be able to rely on the language or technical skills of the people in the shop, so I needed to try and sort it out over the phone. These kind of things take so long to sort out. 

I call them on Skype because being on the phone for the amount of time it takes to fix problems would probably cost as much as a new computer. But then whenever I have to restart the system to see if their suggested changes have worked, I am cut off from the advisor. And because of their system (and despite the fact that they all sit in the same office) you are never allowed to go back to the same person you spoke to before to finish sorting it out. It is like living in catch 22. 

I feel like my mother (as her children we all feel we have the right to call her a techno-spaz) who, after months of problems with her home PC finally took it to the shop where they discovered that she was running it with well over 100 viruses also working away! 

Husband says I can do the research and buy a new system this summer. Hurrah! The kids can have the ill mac, and I will get a new one. But should I stay maccie or go back to windows? I don't  know...