Why are computers so frustrating?

I like to think of myself as relatively technically competent person. Not an expert yet no newbie either. I have a couple of Microsoft Qualifications which must count for something, old as the hills by today’s standards, but got em I did.

I spend a lot of time with my computers, I've three in the house of varying ages, one I only ever turn on if I want to play a very old game or read emails I sent and received years ago, one that looks and plays terribly on my laptop, its that old. One PC I only use for work stuff and then there's my real workhorse, the trusty laptop, which gets a hell of a lot of use.

All of them have benefited from many hours of fine tuning and tweeking on my part, they run well and usually I have very few problems with them. As technology has advanced I find myself having to actually know less to be able to do more with my computers. Hell, take this blogging lark - simple as it is, the writing is harder than setting up the blog and doing anything else. Some elementary HTML skills and a bit of common sense and, hey presto, a functional working blog. I am skipbo….

Recently I've been trying to record music mixes onto my computer so I can then burn em onto CD - you know share em with friends, keep a audio record of what’s cranking my wheels at a given point in time and possibly the biggest reason, cause I can. A very straight forward process and one would think simple and easy to setup. It is, I’ve done a bit of reading, got the correct cables and software needed and even almost brought the right recordable CDs, so onwards and upwards… but oh how stupid can you be.....

Having laboured away at this, sorting the theory and then setup I am still some way away from getting a clean and editable sound from the mixer to my computer. Perhaps I think about it more than I should, maybe. But its still been a process that has been harder and taken longer than it should have.

Man its been frustrating, more so cause I know how simple it is and should be. Imagine a frown on me brow and clenched fist thrust towards the screen.

After mucking around with different outputs from the mixer - yep the logical one doesn't work as it should and the one I know I shouldn't use, does... a few different editing programs to load and tweek the mix in have been road tested and most discounted cause they look and feel dumb and I am not and don't want to be an audio engineer so I want something simple and easy to use.

I've settled on sound forge, for one simple reason, its good, is easy to use for a lay person and perhaps most importantly of all I have a version that is, um, cracked. I shouldn't admit to this as this is piracy, I should know better and I shouldn’t be doing this. I've lost a lot of money due to people taking an attitude similar to mine here with regards to music (downloading/burning and well countless other reasons but that’s another story). Yet do it I have. I can justify away my actions kind of, yet that doesn't make it right. Well actually to be blunt I have no excuse that stands up to any real scrutiny.

I could even go as far as to say I've had a bad year financially so maybe I'll purchase the program once things start to look up - but that would be a complete fib, I have no intention of buying this program, as good as it is. If I was to purchase something I'd go for a more professional program that allowed for more music creation than simple editing, which I also won’t be doing as those programs run into the thousands of dollars and for at best a hobbyist unless I find myself super rich and a bit dim – why would I? For now at least. I am a pirate, minus parrot and a wooden leg. Now If I could just perfect the beard.

So anyway, is there a point to this? Well if there is I guess my point is, something that should be and is so bloody simple when applied to a computer is more often than not, a frustrating and overly complicated process.

Once it works, it is damn simple, but getting a bunch of already installed programs to not conflict with new ones, virus software that always seems to muck with system settings and start running whenever you don't want the damn things to etc. then to finally install and having running as one desires the software and get a clean sound from ‘a’ to ‘b’ has been a process I haven’t really enjoyed much. I am so close I can small the freshly burnt CDs filled with Daktari mixes, mashes and mulches.

Last night I all but sorted out my recording dramas, which means I shall soon - today maybe, be able to make my own mix CDs.

Then I and my musical buddy Mark, will be able to record our musical adventures and journeys, for prosperity. I should perhaps apologise in advance to those I shall unleash these CDs on – save for the bath, not the car…

I used to make mini disc mixes but unfortunately mini disc has become largely redundant compared to the uptake of the Ipod and other MP3 players. A shame cause mini discs in my view totally rock – and they are so easy to make.

Once I’ve isolated the weird sound that’s been buggering me around the last few days I’m away. Then the real hard and fun work shall start. For myself and my musical buddy Mark, have a lot of mixes to make, for no other real reason than we can. It’s a great way to play around with the far too many records both of us have and are continually accumulating. Dare I say it, hell yes, its way more fun than watching a game of rugby!

Technology is a wonderful thing when working well, computers have liberated and enabled us mere mortals to do things we probably shouldn’t.

With that in mind, once I’ve completed my chores for the day I shall be getting to work on my train set – no not a real train set…. my set of musical works loosely related to trains for my first proper mix CD – its going to sound well odd, I can’t wait til I get it right.

toot toot