Why can't computers just ...work?

Now my e-mail is hosed via Outlook. I accessed my e-mails via a webmail service from my ISP instead of Outlook, and now Outlook doesn't recognize any of my outgoing servers. So I can read what you write, but I can't answer. And all I did was look at my e-mail with a different viewer. This doesn't make sense. I miss the old days, when I knew DOS and I could write batch files and all the programs were so much simpler -- you could understand how it worked, and therefore you could fix it. But right now, there are so many variables in any piece of software you get, that it's easy to overlook that ONE little setting that's going to make it all better.

It's not just computers, though. It's  your smartphone. And your television. And you car, even. Everything runs off a computer nowadays, and while I like the ease of use when it all works, I absolutely loathe the feeling of helplessness when one minor thing is just "off" enough to royally hose things. Sigh.

So, color me helpless today.


Lucky me, I've got a wonderful wife who looks at me and says "BREATHE, Honey."