It was Arthur C Clarke, the great science fiction writer, who said that any sufficiently advanced technology will be indistinguishable from magic. I totally agree, particularly when the technology in question suddenly stops working for no reason.
If you are reading this post, everything will have sorted itself out. But just in case it hasn't, and you never hear from me again, I leave this little account behind to inform future generations of the demise of Prof. Madder and his wonderful blog, due to the mysterious Dark Magic of my newly-installed Streamyx broadband connection.
I have been happy as a lark on amphetamines ever since I got broadband yesterday. The Internet has ceased to be a slow, comatose crawl and has come vividly and actively to life, thanks to the fast connection speed and a spanking brand new PC.
So last night, I couldn’t wait to get home from work to play with my new toy. The Internet opened itself like a flash, and I made good use of the speakers I just installed to watch a couple of videos on the net. Then, I decided to install some software for my mobile phone and my video camera.
Everything seemed to go smoothly, until my dear Mum phoned up from her villa in Spain. When I spoke to mum on the phone, her voice was drowned out in a sea of electronic computer noise that reminded me of fax traffic with a few R2D2 whistles thrown in. It was just like talking to someone on the other side of the street in a heavy rain storm.
And when I got back to the computer, which I had just restarted after installing the video software, I couldn’t connect to the net. My little blue Streamyx modem should have shown five lights, but only four were shining. Oh dear, what had I done?
Was it my mum’s phone call that somehow interfered with the signal? Can’t be, because she called us yesterday and I was able to use the Net without trouble. Was it because I had restarted the PC after installing the software? I can’t understand why. Or was it because I had just drunk a cup of coffee with four digestive biscuits? You never know! Or maybe it was just magic? It may as well have been for all I know!
When I phoned the guy who installed the modem, he seemed to suggest that this kind of thing often happens and that I should just see if the problem re-occurs tomorrow. So I just have to sit back and wait for the little PPP light to wink on, then I can re-connect to the net.
But don’t you think it’s a bit silly, having technology that works well for a while, then suddenly, inexplicably, doesn’t work, through absolutely no fault of your own? And the solution doesn’t come as a result of careful, logical diagnosis, but pops up purely by chance?!?
Maybe Harry Potter might appreciate the irony of this situation. But I do not.
PS - there are five lights shining now!!
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