28/05/2008

Thanks from France

Many thanks to all of you for your comments on Rona. They are all much appreciated. I'm afraid catching up with your blogs will have to wait until we get home in ten days or so because any sort of internet work is proving impossible with the slowness of dial-up and distractions of visitors compounded by major computer troubles.

My laptop refused to co-operate from our first day here in France - last Thursday. Even when it was connected to the mains it still thought it was using battery power which of course was being depleted rapidly. I took it straight away to the pc repairman recommended by Ludovic from Cafe de la Paix. He took one look at it - and me, obviously a computer illiterate stupid Englishwoman- and started explaining to me how batteries on laptops didn't last long and it probably just needed a new one. Eventually I managed to explain that it just wouldn't run from the mains regardless of the state of the battery and he promised to phone me the next day to say what was the solution.

It didn't take even that long. He phoned later the same day to say the laptop was dead. He didn't know why but said it would be uneconomical to repair.....then he was surprised when I said I'd collect it later....Anyway I got it back and another IT shop is looking at it. At least this second shop doesn't charge for just looking, unlike the first that charged an arm and a leg.

Fingers crossed.

I'm having to use Michael's laptop which of course isn't set up with any of what I do....

So, sorry, but no photos this time.

Good news though, I've found out that we can get broadband here, even on the edge of the village, and I've found a provider who has an English helpline and offers free calls to the UK as part of its monthly package. I'll check this out in more detail from home and get it set up for the summer.

2 comments:

gilraen said...

Good luck!! It sounds like he was chancing his luck!!

Tusa said...

You are doing well to be posting at all. Hope you are having a wonderful time and good luck with the laptop.