You won’t believe this. Yesterday, when I received my new notebook computer, I was unable to get an Internet connection. I called Charter (my ISP) for help. The technician had me try various things, but we were unable to get a connection. I asked her to send someone to my house. This afternoon, a man came out. I had the notebook computer on and ready. He pulled the Ethernet cable out of my desktop’s tower, hooked it to the notebook via the USB adapter I purchased at Radio Shack, and pulled the power cord out of the modem. A few seconds later, he plugged the cord back in. The computer was connected to the Internet. He turned the computer toward me so I could see the Google page. I was flabbergasted. Part of me didn’t believe that I was online, so I typed “Frankenstein” into the Google box (don’t ask how that word came to me) and got the Wikipedia entry on Frankenstein on the screen. How embarrassing! I have no idea why the telephone technician didn’t tell me to pull the power cord out of the modem. It would have saved the man a trip, and me some money. Anyway, I now have two ways to get on the Internet, which gives me peace of mind. If the video card on my desktop stops working (the screen is still faint and faded), I won’t miss a beat, at least as far as the Internet is concerned. I plan to call the Geek Squad for assistance with the video card. If replacement of the card doesn’t take too long, I’ll have the technician set up a router for my computers. Then I won’t have to swap cables.

Addendum: I found this site during a Google search. It explains how to set up a wired network. It looks easy, but there is no doubt that I’d mess it up.