a simple day at the hospital, wasn't simple

[freshstart]

Today is a day I am having a test at the hospital, after which I would spend 4hrs flat on my back. I am not a daytime tv person, wasn't Sure if would be able to hold a book over my head for four hrs and I detest lying around doing nothing. So I decided I would use their free wifi and watch Netflix with headphones. Easy, right? Tried out laptop and iPad, decided iPad, a mini, would be great. Don't use it as much I should so I did all updates, tried to make sure all passwords were shared among devices, made sure Netflix worked. Checked email is working. Packed phone and mini, good to go.

The mini connected to the hospital wifi but recalled no passwords which of course I have not retained. Won't get email. Try phone, won't connect to wifi and says cell connection weak.

I know now it's me and that apple products play well together, I just can't seem to do it properly. I did pay for a year of One to One lessons, hour sessions unlimited for a year. I need to get my butt back in there. This post is the only thing that worked in all those hours, lol. Flat on my back for 24 hrs at home. One word- books! Am I the only one who wants the benefits of technology but keeps messing it all up?

[kib]

You are not! I have come to dread anything that involves electronics. I watch the tv commercials and think oh, that would be nice! And then *I* try to edit pictures, or find a format so I can watch a movie on my phone on an airplane, or get my tv to listen to my wifi signal, or bluetooth my phone to my car for any extended period of time, and I want to shoot myself.

[bekkilyn]

I make sure that I download the books I want to read on my iPod before I go anywhere that may have a flaky (or no) wifi connection. Then as long as it stays charged, it doesn't need the internet. I suspect that if I knew I'd be waiting around for 4+ hours, I'd very likely bring a physical book too just in case.

[SteveinMN]

Am I the only one who wants the benefits of technology but keeps messing it all up?
No. You picked an opportune day to post this.

For a long time I could receive and send personal email on my smartphone but could only receive email on my business account (same host). I thought it was because my hosting company periodically ages out the existing passwords and maybe I hadn't changed it yet on the phone. I tried a few configuration settings and was getting nowhere, so I thought I'd look at the email domain on the hosting company Web site to see if I'd missed something. Well, I could log into the server, but I couldn't get to the email configuration section. Finally, I called the hosting company. "Oh, yeah, we saw several attempts to connect to that server [me], so we blocked [your] IP address." No word on when they were going to tell me that. They have a bunch of addresses and a phone number for me. Maybe they just figured I'd call in if I had a problem. Maybe they were right. !thumbsup!

Every time I change even the smallest setting with those people, it ends up being hours of work to fix something that their support knowledgebase claims is a piece of cake. And every time I swear I'm going to find another hosting company that isn't so cavalier about its customers' time. And then I remember how much fun this was to set up and I wonder if I would have to go through that again. And so far I'm still here. And sending email still doesn't work.

[freshstart]

That level of complexity drove me nuts at work, our IT guy was just a guy plucked from the finance dept, no experience, we got our IT from a rockin' secretary.

my dying mom learned her mini faster than I, but I helped. It was a gift from tech genius brother who probably had three and gave her one, set up her email and per usual bailed. But we managed together to figure out the basics and it's opened the world back up to her. She watches docs and Ted talks from my Netflix queue, sort of surfs the web and does jig saw puzzles for hours. So much better than watching her just lie there. my brother can be not very nice, will not help family because he is not our "personal tech guy", so it has been incredible that it has worked so well for her. Not so nice- I get up to use the BR and my cell rings at 3am, "I see we are both up! Perfect, can you come help me with my mini?" Sometimes I hate my brother, lol, sorta. I listen to all his medical issues, then say I am not his personal nurse, but help him anyway. The "genius " only selectively understands irony.

I bought amini mini when my nook bit the dust. A refurbed groupon deal. Then my mom goes, your brother left a nook, I don't use it. But I have to get savvy with this. The biggest problem is passwords not really syncing and even though I use very similar passwords for most sites, let's just say this is when that ginormous IQ drop I have had really shows up.

Didnt bring my my hardcover library book, thinking I wouldn't have been able to hold it over my head all day. Figured I have nook app. Yup but couldn't recall that password, it never "synced", nor with just about everything other thing I tried. Netflix worked but with the headphones on, the only audio was music and background sounds. Realized showtime password was the same, I tried that, same audio issues. I really hope this is just a case of cheap headphones.

The new OS has a backward button for safari, it drove me crazy that there was no back button. So it's time for my mini and me to make friends. Have to get my butt into my One to One sessions at Apple. They have been great, an hour just you and a genius for as many times as you want in a year. I am going to fix the password nonsense and get all 3 devices working together if it kills me.

[ToomuchStuff]

I tend to try to find out about restrictions on Wifi, personally. Bandwidth costs money and I know some places give you the ability to surf and such, but resource users like Torrents, or streaming, etc. might be throttled or stopped all together.
I am also leery about checking email or ANYTHING with a password over a foreign network. Between things like Keystroke loggers or the ability to set up a false access point (I could do it>8)), that capture your data, on the way to the actual access point, I know the security risks.

[freshstart]

I tend to try to find out about restrictions on Wifi, personally. Bandwidth costs money and I know some places give you the ability to surf and such, but resource users like Torrents, or streaming, etc. might be throttled or stopped all together.
I am also leery about checking email or ANYTHING with a password over a foreign network.

so really if the hospital offers guest wifi, you shouldn't use it? Because when my dad goes in for surgery soon, I'd like to use streaming video, like netflix. I figured out crappy headphones were the issue. I could use phone data instead, I guess. just have to keep checking how much used

[ToomuchStuff]

so really if the hospital offers guest wifi, you shouldn't use it? Because when my dad goes in for surgery soon, I'd like to use streaming video, like netflix. I figured out crappy headphones were the issue. I could use phone data instead, I guess. just have to keep checking how much used


Shouldn't? No, it is there for a reason. That said, if you reread what I wrote, you might ask them if there are restrictions on it (things like Netflix might not work if the admin is controlling bandwidth, ports, or other technical to you stuff).
You didn't make it clear that sound was your only issue. (thought it might not stream) Sound has volume controls and that might be where you need to look to see if the headphones were muted, etc.
Your won't connect could be throttling as above, or the way the hospital is built (acts as a Faraday cage, which catches signals, not allowing them out, or other stuff to interfere with medical equipment).

I DON'T save passwords on systems. What happens if your computer is lost, hacked or stolen? (lets make purchases on Amazon with their saved info) Also, those that tend to save them on the computers, tend to forget them for when they need them and not on that computer, or it is broken. So personally, while I might read this site from some other location, I wouldn't be logged in and typing on it without going through some stuff more advanced then your going to be comfortable with. (one federal officer I know, ran some basic, freely available scanner software and picked up my LEO relatives passwords he was transmitting out of the air. so call me paranoid, but I know what I can do, and I have no desire to be bad)

[freshstart]

do you write your passwords down or remember then?

my brother can do all that stuff, too but he and his friends just don't. In HS, in the 80s, he hung out with all these RPI techies. Working part time, he somehow made 2x what my dad made and it was the local university hiring him. Then one day, an FBI agent came to the door. 2 of his friends had been hacking AT&T (or whatever they were called back then). They cleared my brother but the other 2 got probation and they had job restrictions placed on them. Nothing like today

[Dhiana]

I usually have problems with the free bigger wifi networks at places like airports, hotels, etc so I've just stop relying on them.
My iPhone has the kindle app loaded with books and I even have a couple movies downloaded.
No need to rely on another's network for all day entertainment.

Oh, and I have a spare battery just in case, too. It was less than $25 and use it often, mostly when I travel.

[ToomuchStuff]

Remember them, or if you want them down somewhere to read, then you have to remember ONE password, to open and encrypted password file. (I do the former)
There are tricks people do to make and remember passwords, but those can be looked up.

[Tammy]

I use 1password. It's the safest option I'm aware of.

[SteveinMN]

I use 1password. It's the safest option I'm aware of.
1Password user here as well. It works very well. My Web browsers are set, as much as possible, to use secured pages and I use ad-blocking software (at least on the desktop; haven't upgraded my iPhone or DW's iPad yet to the software which will let me use ad blockers on iOS). I also signed up for an inexpensive VPN (Virtual Private Network) that I can use on public Wi-Fi networks if I'm doing work that I'd rather keep private. At $30 a year, it's cheap insurance.

[freshstart]

I think I'll try 1Password. Apple keychain works perfect on my macbook, if I could just get it to do the same on phone and mini, I'd be golden.

thanks for the idea