re: #159 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

That is a scary thought: I could not do my job (translating, proofreading and copywriting) without access to a computer.

Even my teaching work relies on accessing and downloading lessons and lesson plans/reports.

I use Apache office instead of Microsoft, which does lead to certain compatibility issues, but in general I can get around them.

But I would be right f***ed without a computer and high-speed Internet access. The only thing that slows me down is my crappy little $400 computer.

We don’t have high speed Internet access here. The only computers in the entire village are the village office, the library, my wife’s, and mine. That’s it. No one else wants any thing to do with them, and after my wrangling with Microsoft (their “We want your feedback!” page is a joke, with thousands of people making the same complaint I did, including the complaint their instructions are nonsensical), it is obvious they hold their customers in contempt.

My job (editing) requires a computer, but does not require an Internet connexion (I could send a flash drive or CD to my company instead). The overwhelming majority of jobs here do not require computers at all, most people here don’t want them because they are not designed to be used by a person with average intellect and education, &c.

That is also why you can’t use credit cards here (no computers or Internet connexions). When credit card companies got rid of paper receipts, credit cards disappeared here entirely. On the other hand, very few people here have credit card debt.