Today was office moving day. Unusually for me, I drove in nice and early, before the office removers had started working our end of the room, borrowed a flat bed trolley and moved all the electronic equipment I'd packed up down to the car parked with permission in the basement. I drove over to Wharton Street and waited until the guy with the bollard keys returned to let me into the pedestrian precinct, just as other service vehicles were moving out for the day.
With official Council authorisation I parked outside the library door and delivered four crates of sensitive documents and half a dozen pieces of computer equipment quickly, carrying everything up the stairs to the equivalent of a second floor office, with vital help from Julie. The lift, when not used by the removers was too slow to be useful. By half past eleven the vital computers were running and Julie was carrying on where she left off yesterday, generating invoices. So, I took the car home, had a coffee, then returned by bus to get on with setting up the network.
The PMR engineers came in to set up the SaftyNet software on the newly acquired Windows 8 PC. I must have forgotten to log off properly after configuration yesterday, as it kept defaulting to the email address login page, rather than the computer only user area login specially set up for SafetyNet installation. The guys had the correct password, but it didn't work. Windows was presuming exclusively an internet login was required, regardless of the fact that there's no internet connected router until BT installs new phone lines for us. Should have been yesterday, my be some time next week. Despite promises BT don't do quick!
Anyway, I returned to find two bemused engineers, and had to dive straight into troubleshooting, as I didn't understand why the option of different logins were't available from the initial screen. Trouble is that Microsoft presume those who are forced to purchase their operating system can/need to/must/should do things their way, and bury vital options without making the trail to find them easy. I'm not enjoying hearing how to use this operating system, it hinders my workflow, reduces my control. And why anyone should presume the universe of users all want one and the same user interface on every device, beats me. Do these super inteliigent people not understand the difference between big and small screens, proper physical keyboard and silly jumping around on-screen keyboards?
I left early to complete my packing and relax, but got a panic call to say that the metal foot, part of the stand on the new SafetyNet PC had not arrived in the box with it. I swore that I packed it. It can't have been lost. But not all the unpacking had been done, and won't happen until Monday. I was so busy troubleshooting the log-in issue I didn't notice the problem with the stand. Such a pity. If I had noticed, I'd have hunted down the piece, knowing what I was looking for, and which in crate it might be hiding. In the end, there was nothing I could do except let go, and get an good night's sleep.
