by David Payne

Created on: July 28, 2011

The modern computer is undeniably the greatest invention of the twentieth century, an endless amount of information and technology is on tap at the click of a button or with the swipe of a touch screen, in short the sum of mankind's knowledge is accessible to any person that has an Internet connection. But as with any great piece of technology there is a certain amount of trade off that must be expected, the modern computer can leave the user feeling perplexed and frustrated within a very short time.

Unless you are computer literate and can turn off a multitude of unnecessary start up programs you will need the patience of a saint to endure the simple act of turning on the device. It can take several minutes after initially hitting the power button to be able to use your computer in an efficient manner.

Any thought of a free roaming computer session is soon cut short when you are kindly informed by your computer that there are updates that must be installed for security purposes, these files are not just small pieces of information, but rather humongous data encryption that will only eat into your memory. Megabyte after megabyte of precious memory space is taken up to fix the last update that you previously installed, apparently it had a security flaw that needed fixing. As the update for the update nears completion another restart looms on the horizon, and so the frustrating cycle of computing begins anew.

The consumer is often told that a good anti-virus software program is an essential day one purchase that will protect their computer from malicious software, and while anti-virus software is absolutely necessary the frustration associated with the software can at times feeling overwhelming. The highest rated anti-virus software programmes are often the worst, not only do these programmes make your computer painfully slow but in real world terms they do nothing to protect your computer from viruses. Viruses can range in severity from a minor error screen to shutting your computer down entirely. A savvy computer nerd may be able to remove said virus after several hours of fiddling, however the average computer user can only disconnect their computer and patiently wait for a local computer shop to fix it. A frustrating week or two may pass before the computer is supposedly fixed and ready to be taken home.

The unstable nature of computer software means that stored data is anything but safe, a single virus or software error can erase personal photos, videos and work files within the blink of an eye, unless you have backed up these files then they are gone forever. There can be nothing more galling than having years of personal memories erased because your computer software was no longer compatible with the latest drivers. Computing can for a brief period be a joyful experience, for the majority of the time it is a frustrating ride into the cutting edge world of digital technology.

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