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Sunday, July 10, 2016

Cursed

So I seem to be cursed with computers. I have a pretty old one, it's 8 years old, and it finally died on me after we recently replaced the hard drive, replaced the fan, repasted it, and cleaned it out very good. It was the motherboard, but at the ripe old age of 8, I think it was her time. After bitching to my husband for a few months about my plight (as I have two other computers but everyone else is always using them and if I attempt to change the status quo of what we have going, it ends up with everyone miserable for various reasons), he insisted I just replace the motherboard.

So I ordered one and had to replace it about a week ago. Except, even though I was pretty thorough in my research it had one problem... with Windows 7, a motherboard is tied to that registered Windows key. Since mine was a factory install that was bought right after Windows stopped shipping discs with computers; I didn't get a Windows install/fix disc. So I've been trying to find a work-around or solution. My computer is well out of warranty so Microsoft won't help me even if I asked (unless I want to hand them some more money, and if they still have support for my model).

I think I have figured out a solution to attempt in the next few days based on some of the articles and things I have read on my problem. I mean, a blue screen of death "BSOD" is really a bad sign even if your computer is not as old as mine. At the end of the day, if I "have" to, I'll try to move the most important things manually but my hard drive is just soooo large for my computer, it would be a huge pain in the butt. So we'll see. But something like this always happens about once a year to me and I'm beginning to think technology hates me (although I love it, as obviously I am still trying to perform CPR on such an old computer... she is well-loved.)

Another problem I'm having with technology is with Pokemon Go, as my phone plays the game great although it is literally a battery drain after just about an hour's worth of game time but my iPod (whose battery doesn't drain so fast) keeps throwing me the error "GPS Not Found" even though I have maximized my settings for my GPS connectivity. So if it even loads on my iPod, it won't allow me to catch Pokemon or my character and if I play on my phone, it kills it really quickly. I guess both are known problems and so close to launch I expected a few snags. I hope they figure out a solution to at least one problem so I can truly enjoy the game as it was meant to be played.

As far as rating Pokemon Go, they could have done a much better job at giving you a tutorial (which is nonexistent) and giving more Pokestops and Gyms (at least for my area, which is very suburban there is very little within walking distance.) I also foresee supplies in-game being a huge issue for users like me who only have about 5 poke-stops nearby and not in locations where you can really sit and farm for Pokeballs and other supplies you need. The only solution they have for that problem is to actually buy Pokecoins to use for supplies.

In my head I'm also seeing some problems thinking about the functionality of gyms, because you pick a "team" and when you battle a gym, you have to completely wipe out the other side which can be 3+ trainer's worth of Pokemon before you can even place one of yours there. You do get free stuff if your Pokemon manages to stay at the gym, but users who have a lot of free time and means to travel frequently to spots to farm and train and/or who spend money to maximize their Pokemon are going to have a huge advantage and eventually it may not be possible to dethrone a team. People are not going to want to compete with that especially if they can't travel frequently or spend money on a game like this.

So far the level-up system is also incredibly costly of your hard-earned rewards and compounded with all the problems I've already mentioned, I see this being a really hard thing to do. I haven't battled yet myself, but I've also heard that the battle-system is also a huge departure from previous Pokemon battles and is very confusing and cumbersome at times. I guess time will tell for sure if they are going to manage to fix all of these issues (or potential issues) or whether it's another game that gets off to a fantastic start but tapers off once users realize its major flaws and unfair disadvantages most people are going to have. I'd like to play it at least, so let's hope!


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