Technology That Ticks You Off

Perhaps I shouldn’t write when I’m upset, but that I’m upset in the first place is bad, especially since I should be writing instead of being upset. Did I lose you? Stick with me – it gets better.

I bought a digital recorder a while back – an Olympus VN-4100PC. Since my old recorder died (and I was tired of buying tapes), it was love at first hook-up. I quickly learned to set the microphone on Low to eliminate background noise, and the machine took me from zero to fluent in under 20 minutes. But there are flaws.

First, why would you manufacture a machine that doesn’t have a power adapter? This thing doesn’t eat through batteries, but I do a lot of phone interviewing. A lot. The lack of AC power has caused me a few panic-stricken moments during interviews when the power bars are dwindling.

And tell me why the software that comes with this beast doesn’t work. Please. Someone tell me why a digital recorder with cutting-edge technology has such lousy software. I’m talking IF it works, you’re limited to downloading only one of the four folders or everything on the recorder. Seriously. I can download either all of it or none of it. Usually my options are limited to nothing.

I’ve tried re-installing software. Again, repeating the same steps nets me the same crappy software. And online help? Limited to a manual that doesn’t even discuss software, a FAQ that doesn’t discuss software, and a support button that keeps you in the same manual/FAQ loop. No way to contact support other than screaming at the top of your lungs over the Internet. So I am. Right here.

I wasted an hour of my time trying to re-install, reboot, upload to different places, and just trying to get this recorder to function with some modicum of ease. Oh, and I went through another set of batteries trying all that. And let’s not forget this was with an article due and a client call.

Anyone out there have a digital recorder? Is it the same or different? How has your experience been?