By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher, was a student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle. That means he was one smart dude.
So, when he said necessity is the mother of invention, history tells us he was right as rain.
I experienced that truism a few years ago after returning from a business trip to Alabama. My tablet computer was on the blink and I felt sure that the airport security folks had handled it too roughly.
As a confessed low-tech redneck, I turned to tech-savvy family members, co-workers and others for advice on how to fix the handy little device…but all to no avail.
I turned it off and on and reset it twice but the blue screen, squiggly lines and blinking lights persisted. It looked like a couple of the cell phones I had clumsily submerged in Cave Run Lake.
Totally frustrated and faced with doing without the tablet, I suddenly recalled the advice of a friend who works in information technology. He says that when all else fails, the IT professionals humble themselves and go to Google for answers. But he also says to be careful about who knows that secret.
But I am so excited that I am forced to out myself today with this admission that I went to Google, the incredible Internet search engine launched in 1998.
At first I was overwhelmed by the number of responses from IT technicians, technical writers, computer self-help sites and others who posted suggestions for eliminating the blue screen.
I scanned the list carefully before selecting a YouTube entry that asked if I had ever “spanked” my tablet.
Worried at first that I might have hit one of those naughty Internet sites, I carefully opened the link to find a fully-clothed young woman holding up a tablet computer with a blue screen.
She literally spanked the machine twice on the back, turned it over and the normal screen images immediately returned.
I did the same trick with my tablet and got the same joyful result. Yes, I am available for autographs…and high consulting fees.
Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
