Do I Need To Separate You Two?

Despite thinking of myself as quite tech-savvy I admit that there are still times in which I am dumbfounded by just how awesome computers can be. I'm not even taking about those moments when they do incredible and complex actions which took a team of engineers and a platoon of programmers to even imagine and would have caused a person born in the 1800's head to explode - no, I'm continually impressed when they do relatively simple tasks, even though I shouldn't be. I think the worst simple thing I am always floored by is when computers talk to one another without being commanded to. I mean, the internet has been around since I was a teen, which means this should be old hat to me. However, I can't help but be impressed when computers on the same network run the same software without having to download it twice. I'll give you an example - a couple of months ago I got a new laptop. I was planning to upload all my old bookmarks and such to it, but I was not looking forward to the process. (Anyone who owned a phone from the late 90s knows how much a pain it can be to transfer information one contact at a time.) So you can imagine how impressed I was when I downloaded Google Chrome, signed in and all my information had transferred over to the new computer without having to tell it to do that. I know Google probably told me they were going to do that and just hid it within all the legal jargon, but it was still a pleasant surprise when it worked.

It is because I am still so impressed that machines will do this without anyone having to tell it to so that I feel slightly bad that I am about to complain about it, but here we go anyway. The problem, like all things, boils down to too much of a good thing. Now that my laptop and my desktop have linked up they have turned in to those two kids from high school who sat in the back row and just talked to each other about everything all day long, which I do not want. Suddenly I can't make an edit on one computer's settings without it showing up on the other's which is not good because I would like them to have a few differences since they are not being used for the same stuff. You see, I still use my desktop as my primary work computer because I recognize that I just don't get as much work done when I am using my laptop. Since the laptop is so much newer and faster than my desktop it can run multiple programs at the same time. I know that sounds like a good thing but after years of having my attention span beaten down by the internet, being able to have 5 windows open to check sports scores, watch that video of the woman in Oklahoma finding her dog for the 5th time while simultaneously finding out what everyone is talking about on Twitter just doesn't help my productivity. In some ways my older desktop which only allows me to run one program at a time (and even then gives me ample time to think about it while that program loads) is the best way to be productive.

On top of that I would like to keep my laptop relatively crap-free and able to open programs in less time than it takes me to go downstairs for a sandwich and unfortunately some of the files I work with on my desktop are large. The last thing I want it to start filling up valuable memory space for duplicate files. I have no doubt I will fill my laptop with pictures and music files which will slow its performance before too long because that is just what computers do, but no need to make that happen any faster than it normally would. Still, I can't deny having duplicates of files is actually preferable to the alternative, which is what I experienced today when I noticed a file on my laptop which I only need on the desktop, deleted it from my laptop and when I went back to work on it later discovered it was now missing from both locations. I had visions of having to start the entire thing over from scratch and immediately began cursing everyone who had ever worked on completing this system. Fortunately, I found the file had just moved to the recycling bin and not been permanently deleted from existence, otherwise I would have thrown both computer out the window, allowing them to share one last experience together.

This all goes back to that newest of first-world problems, which is that nothing is more frustrating than a computer which doesn't do everything you want it to do, exactly as you want it to be done the first time. Basically they have an idea of what I expect from them but they haven't quite figured out all my preferences just yet. It's a little reminiscent of the early days of TiVo when you would ask it to record "Blazing Saddles" and come home to find your library full of every western which aired that day. I essentially need these computer to learn not to blindly follow an order I gave one time. What needs to happen now is I have to figure out how I can pick which programs the two systems pass between one another. It'll be more of a pain if I no longer sync them up and have to perform some tasks twice, but maybe it is for the best. I'm no conspiracy theorist, but it probably would be better if my computers at least checked with me before they both started downloading a program I only need on one of them. If I don't nip it in the bud now than there is no telling what files they will decide I "need" to have and I don't think copyright lawyers have begun accepting the, "my computer illegally downloaded all that music on its own" defense.