Techno-babble

computer_wiring_nightm.jpg, originally uploaded by macslost.

The picture you see here is merely a visual aid as to the techno-nightmare I am in the middle of dealing with. Now, I'm no techno-nerd. I leave all the fiddlings to my friends like Jeff, Conrad, Scott, etc. I'm more of a bungler/bushwacker. (sounds dirty, right?) I'll just push through the quickest/easiest way from point A to point B, checking with Google from time to time if something doesn't work.

Now, onto this week's adventure.

I got the Leopard upgrade. Whoops! Pain in my ASS. Knocked my printer offline, killed my pdf maker, Photoshop and who knows what nightmares have yet to be uncovered. It does some cool other stuff, but this isn't about that. This is about my ass-pain.

I got Dinah Airport Express for Christmas (wireless router for the stereo so you can stream iTunes through the main system), but in order to do that, I also needed an Airport Extreme base unit. I had tried to install the base unit earlier, but it wouldn't pick up the internet or pass it through to my Vonage network, so I undid everything and shelved it until later.

Well, we uploaded Leopard, shenanigans ensued, and then our printer got knocked offline (it's wireless) and I finally had to bite the bullet, sit down and start FIXING shit.

Long story short(er), the base is up and working, Express is large & in charge and the printer is online again. PLUS, by having the base unit, I can now host Xbox Live sessions and my video ichat works all the time. Downside: The base unit moves at the speed of the lowest common denominator, so now I have to route my OLD wireless through the new base and move all the wireless g stuff to that router so the laptops can enjoy the wireless n capabilities of the new router. I got the CS3 upgrade for Photoshop 7.0 (which simply won't work in Leopard) and I already used it once. The bonus? It's WAY faster than 7.0. I hated using 7.0 if I was working on other things at the same time because of the drag opening it and closing it. Cs3 is super fast with everything, so that's nice.

So now I have to figure out the bullshit with PDF. I'm told it's a grievance I have to take up with Adobe directly. It's on the list of things to do. Maybe tomorrow.

Leopard's 10.5.2 upgrade went live this week, so that's supposed to help with some of the squirreliness, so there's that.