The epic battle between myself and Microsoft ended last night. It ended in a draw. I officially got Windows 10 working on my computer and its officially as annoying as I officially predicted it would be. It did not wreck my precious and somewhat aging computer so that is a point for me. On the other hand it does a bunch of stuff that I don’t want it to. Point for Microsoft. So I declare this contest a draw.

Some people have gotten the mistaken impression that because I managed to keep this blog going with only minor hiccups here and there that I must be good at computers. Please excuse while I laugh so hard that coffee squirts out of my nose. I’m not very good at this computer thing. I use blogging software to make all this work and I pay a company to host my site. All I have to do is write, take pictures, and occasionally get a video loaded. And still I manage to break stuff around here every now and then and have to get other people to fix it for me. (Want to hear about the three times I have accidentally locked myself out of my own website? Those were fun days.)

Computers and tablets and phones are a pain, necessary to modern life, but still a pain. I’ve never been able to see them as entertainment platforms or as toys for grown ups and I really don’t care much when they get improved. I’m stuck in the old-fashioned mindset that computers should make my life easier and I kind of resent it when they demand extra attention from me. I have house cats for that sort of thing. I don’t need my computer nagging at me too.

Which of course it does all the time. I usually ignore the computer related nagging. But I knew that I needed to upgrade to Windows 10 and it only makes sense to get that done before the free offer expires (which is at the end of July I think). So I did. And hey, it only took me 4 days and 5 separate attempts to get the new operating system installed. Yay me.

Yeah. Five attempts. With every attempt I had to download the files all over again (why? Don’t ask me.) and sit through that “do not turn off your computer while we install this or the hard drive will liquefy” screen. Then I’d restart, login and… everything would all be exactly the same. No Windows 10. Then I’d mash my face into the keyboard. Then I’d try again.

In the end I had to agree to an “optional” mouse driver update before the Windows update would take (did you just ask me why again? I have no clue. I just work here). Then, finally, I got my new Widows 10 operating system. Yay me.

Except Windows 10 didn’t seem to like some of my old programs apps so it deleted them. These were the programs apps I use to keep my cache clear, clean up registry files, and keep my aging computer going. Microsoft took them from me. I guess Bill Gates doesn’t think I can be trusted to maintain my own computer (and he may be right about that). But Billy and his team want me to feel special so they gave me a whole host of new programs apps to make up for what they stole. Programs Apps like Candy Crush Soda Saga (which is exactly like the original game that I never, ever played in my entire life except this one has soda bottles), an Xbox portal (to link up with the Xbox that I do not own), a Skype friends list (for all the friends I have that use FaceTime) and Cortana. Cortana of course is the snarky knock-off copy of Siri. I don’t want her. I can provide a snarky commentary on life all on my own, thanks.

So far I have not been able to turn Cortana completely off. Apparently I need to log into my Microsoft account to do that. I did set up a Microsoft Account just so that I could log into it and torpedo Cortana but… Microsoft has noticed “a lot of unusual activity” from my account, which did not exist 5 minutes ago, and they won’t let me into it until I give them my phone number. I suspect this is a clever ploy to get access to my phone and download the phone version of Windows 10 on it. Having had 4 days of more Windows 10 related fun than I can really stand, I passed on that exciting opportunity.

So I’m living with Cortana for now and hunting down copies of all my old software that Microsoft vaporized. But the computer is functional. I didn’t loose any of my old blog posts or precious kitty pictures and that is all I had really hoped for. As I said, I’m calling this a draw.

But….

Do you have any idea how many hours I spent arguing with my computer instead of knitting? LOTS!

I’m glad to have it done and over with. I need to get back to my knitting. Not only am I behind on that but I have a fair amount of frustration and aggravation that I need to work through and only playing with yarn will help. Yes, its going to take lots of yarn time to recover from getting my new operating system.

What are the Roving Crafters buying?

When you make a purchase from one of my affiliates, I get a small commission. It doesn’t change the final price at all but it does help support this site and keep it free. Here is what some of my readers have bought (and a big thank-you to them!).

Options Interchangeable Rainbow Wood Circular Knitting Needle Set

Stitch Encyclopedia – Knitting

Heirloom Lace Edgings