"I Just Don't Understand"

I really should just declare a permanent ban against allowing another new piece of technology into my life!  It never turns out well.  No matter how well the entire rest of the world is doing with their new [pick one] (Blackberry, Ipod, Ipad, laptop, MP3, or Kindle, etc.), if I get any one of them or any other technology, I can guarantee you that whatever it is will not work for me!  At least not right away.  No matter how often the 10-year old sales kid at Best Buy (or wherever) says, "It's really easy." or "Really, there's nothing to it." or "You'll love it."  "Nothing could go wrong."  I must remember that none of that is true!!  It ISN'T easy, there's a LOT to it, I DON'T love it, and it WON'T work right for me! 

The Big Guy gave me a Kindle for Christmas.  I have been resisting the idea for a long while, in fact, I hadn't put one on my wish list.  I have been hearing (and reading) people raving about Kindle for some time now.  Everyone who has one seems to love it and they are very excited to tell you how much they love it.   Nice for them, but I wasn't convinced.  I was wavering, however!   As I heard more and more about them, I began to see the advantages that might just be great to have!  So when I opened the gift on Christmas I was excited.  Decision out of my hands, it was a gift!!

All those people who loved their Kindles didn't hesitate to tell me I would love it too.  If it lived up to the expectations I had based on other people's experience, I would love it!  In fact, I was on my way to loving it!!  I bought and read one book on my Kindle and yes, it was easy.  I wasn't bothered by reading on a screen, or by not holding a book.  The book prices didn't seem outrageous.  Yep, I could see now what all the fuss was about.  I was looking forward to learning more about it and joining the rest of the e-readers out there as an up-to-date, savvy woman who could use new technology with the best of them.  I should have known better.

The same night I finished the first book, I was going to go to the "store" and get something else.  Oh, this was fun!   Shopping late at night in my jammies, so I could  read something new in bed.  Whee!  I was hyped.

So I woke it up, and pulled up the menu and tried to go to the Kindle store.  Hmmmm, nothing happened right away, but after a several seconds a small box appeared onscreen telling me that my Kindle couldn't connect  with the WiFi right now because there was no WiFi close by and to try a different WiFi or come back later.  Hmpf!  I was able to connect from my bedroom two days ago, why couldn't I do it now?  I thought, well, I guess it needs charging.  So I went  out to the computer and found the cord for charging the thing, plugged it in and went to bed and read a book the old fashioned way.  No problem.  I'll get something tomorrow I thought.

The next morning, I went to collect my Kindle, it had a green light, so I unplugged it, carried it off to the computer and sat down to find another book.  Went to shop at the Kindle store and  the same box and message popped up again:  "Cannot connect", "none nearby".  I was sitting 3 feet away from the router!  I couldn't get any closer unless I climbed up and sat on the desk!! 

I turned it off, re started it, tried again, got the same message.  What the ???  When I looked at the screen and hit the home button a new message popped up, "Your battery is very low, re-charge immediately"  What???  It was charging all night.  The light was orange.  Ooo-Kaaaay!  I charge the battery again.  So I did and went on my way.  When I returned several hours later, the light was green, the battery symbol showed a full charge, and I had 4 bars worth of signal strength.  Tried to connect and got in!  Whoo hoo!  Ok, I figured it out. Yay!!

Last night the same thing happened, in almost exactly the same way.  This evening I tried again,  "Cannot connect"!  Arrgghh!

Went on line, found the troubleshooting info and it said, "With Kindle's long battery life, you can read your Kindle device for up to 10 days with wireless on. Turn wireless off and read for up to one month. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store and downloading content."

I used it for two days, with the wireless on.  I've charged it three times , but haven't read anything more since then.  I can pop into the Goodwill store less than a mile away and buy a used book for $2 and be back in ten minutes.  I thought this was supposed to be easy!  I guess my definition of easy is different than most people's.

So you see what I mean?  "I Just Don't Understand".  This is the kind of thing that happens every time I try to move into the next level of technology.  Any technology!  Always!  Is anyone else having these kinds of problems?   Is it just me?  What am I doing wrong??  Does anyone know what I should do??  Is my Kindle defective?  Am I defective???  Why do machines hate me???? 

I'm going to go read a plain old book now.