I haven’t had a chance to write many posts ahead of time lately.  In addition to regular work, I’ve been pretty busy handling technology messes.  If I’d had a chance to post this last night as I had intended, it wouldn’t have been a Whimsical post because I forgot today is Wednesday.

So, what technology messes have I been handling?  Glad you asked!

First, I have been having a great deal of trouble with my DSL connection.  It’s an INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. 

I hate those.  What that means is that when the repairman (no, I’m not being chauvinistic, all of the repair persons have been males) comes to check the connection, it is working fine.  When he leaves, the connection can drop 10 times in an hour.

The phone company (who shall remain nameless, except to say that it is a combination of the companies who were previously separated) has replaced my older modem, and a dedicated line was run directly from the modem to an outside filter.  I’d say that pretty much eliminates the possibility of any wiring problems from the computer to the outside lines, right?

So, why does the company insist on sending a technician to check the connection every time I call?  No explanation.

So, last Friday (yes, at that point, I knew what day it was) I finally called the Public Service Commission.  And, at their suggestion, filed a complaint with the FCC.  Kinda scary.  The FCC…  We’ll see what happens.  I got a nice call from a woman in the “Executive Escalation” department yesterday.  Film at 11.

The second problem occurred when I tried to download and install a trial of Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional software.  Ever heard of Error 1606?  Neither had I.  But, we’re now old friends.  After talking to support folks from Adobe, Dell and Microsoft, I learned a few things.

First, NO ONE knows how to handle Error 1606.  Second, NO ONE is responsible for assisting someone who is getting an Error 1606.  Pretty amazing, huh?

Third, the “escalation” at Adobe is truly amazing.  Most of the time, when a problem is “escalated” in a tech firm, that means you are transferred to a more senior-level technician.  At Adobe, it means that after the tech you’re talking to fills out about 10 minutes worth of paperwork documenting the issue, you can expect a call back from the “escalation team” within 48 hours.  48 HOURS.  The world could end in that amount of time.

Needless to say, I didn’t have 48 hours to wait.  Needless to say, I no longer use Adobe Acrobat.  Ever heard of Nitro PDF Professional?  It works pretty well.  If anyone has a suggestion for the best alternative to Adobe, however, please let me know.