Anyway:
I have a crappy Dell with even crappier Windows Vista.
The latter seems to be a consensus, but many may disagree, but go on...
I'm having connection speed problems. It goes from 54 to 48 to 36 to 24 to 1 to 2 to 5 to 11 to 18 Mbps. It's a home network. My internet is Road Runner from Time Warner Cable. I've already had someone come to my home once to try to fix the problem. Obviously... that didn't work. The computer in question is a computer upstairs in my home. The computer the router is connected to is a computer downstairs, on my first floor, in my dining room in my home. I believe what detects the wireless is a Dell Wireless Antenna, which is a small black box that is physically screwed in to the back of the tower of the computer. At least... I think that's what is detecting the wireless.
Okay, time out here.
It sounds like the problem is the wireless more than it is the Internet connection. Wireless reception will, I repeat,
WILL fluctuate under any of the following conditions:
1) Interference from wireless devices on the same 2.4 Ghz frequency, like cordless phones.
2) Thick concrete or brick walls between the computer and the router
So what you need to do is either:
a) Increase your signal somehow
b) Eliminate anything causing interference
c) Avoid the whole mess and run a super-long Ethernet cable from your router to your PC
or
d) Avoid the whole mess and have your cable modem and router relocated closer to your computer.
I'm getting tired of one problem after another on this computer and I want a freaking new one.
A new computer won't solve wireless problems.
I've seen MANY that I would LOVE to have on QVC, but I'm not rich enough for ANY of them and plus QVC is expecting you to pay $100-some dollars to pay off the computer in 5-6 months, which is BS in my opinion. I HATE Dell. Dell sucks in my opinion.
Honestly, my company works with a LOT of Dells, and they seem to do just fine (I'm typing this message from a Dell Latitude D830 myself). Their consumer tech support is crap (India? Pakistan? Or Bangladesh this time?), but their business tech support is decent (I guess Fortune 500 companies have more clout to make Dell's life miserable if they talk to Ahmed-who-claims-to-be-Steve).
I've read and heard a lot of bad things about them and my experience with my current Dell has been AWFUL.
Correlation does not imply causation. If your awful experiences have been mostly with your Internet service, then you're focusing your blame in the wrong place. To paraphrase an old saying: "I've seen my enemy, and it is I."
I've also read and heard a lot of bad things about Vista as well. So Vista also sucks in my opinion.
Are you basing this solely on the bad things you've heard?
Vista without a service pack sucks.
Vista on a computer that's more than 3 years old usually sucks.
Vista on a computer with less than 1 GB of RAM sucks and with less than 2 GB of RAM may suck, depending on whether there's a bunch of other crap installed. Again, check on these things. "I've seen my enemy, and it is I."
Vista with Service Pack 2, the DirectX 11 Platform update, and all other updates on it, more than 2 GB of RAM (preferably 64-bit and 4+ GB of RAM IMO), and at least a fast 250 GB SATA drive runs almost like Windows 7 in my opinion.
I can't get a job. I've tried because my parents FORCED me to. No one has called me.
Not sure how this is relevant to the issue. This is Computer Hope, not the unemployment office.
I know that sounds harsh, but dude, a lot of people are going through this--it's the state of the US (and, really, global) economy.
10% of life is the stuff that happens, while the other 90% is how we handle it. Internal motivation (because you want it) is far stronger than external motivation (because your parents are forcing you). If you go to a job interview for the primary reason that your parents want you to get a job, employers will see that in your body language and demeanor: "It's just some kid that doesn't want to be here--only here because his mom and dad told him to be here...I think we'll do better finding someone that wants to be here and cares about our company."
So really..."No one has called me" doesn't fly, even in this economy. Call them. Show them that you want to be there. If they tell you that they found someone more experienced, ask them what type of experience. The more you learn about how others see you, the better you present yourself in future job interviews. After all, if you don't know what kind of salary you command, what makes you think others will?
PLEASE DON'T TELL ME TO TRY HARDER. DO YOU HONESTLY THINK I'M GOING TO BE ABLE TO FIND A JOB IN THE CURRENT U.S. ECONOMY?!
It's tough, but it can happen. It depends on the opportunities present, your credentials, and how you present yourself.
My parents seem to REFUSE to help me
What do you expect them to do? Hold a gun up to an HR representative's head and threaten to shoot if they don't hire you? If they had the ability to help you, then they could single-handedly turn around the entire economy...but they can't, can they?
and I'm starting to LOSE MY FREAKING MIND without being able to do everything I used to be able to do on a computer. I'm starting to REALLY hate technology and I'm starting to LOATH the fact that you can't do ANYTHING without some sort of computer use currently in the present.
Technology can be frustrating...mostly because it can behave in ways that we don't understand and don't think we can control. Anger is a manifestation of three things: hurt, fear, and frustration. Fear is a reaction to a perceived loss of control. Find a way to gain some degree of control (whether it'd be through resolution, management, circumvention, or acceptance), and take away the fear. Take away the fear and take away 1/3 of the anger. Since frustration is a manifestation of helplessness, gaining control can take that away as well. Guess what? 2 out of 3! The hurt just heals up after that.
Someone help me before I snap.
See above, but only I think you might have the ability to help yourself more than you think.
Oh and before I forget... I thought I knew a lot about computers... but... I realized I don't.
There's always something more to learn when it comes to computers. I've been in the business for 10 years (3 years help desk, 1 year temporary work, 6 years consulting), and there's STILL things I have yet to learn. As good as I am with some things, there will always be someone that will make me look like a chump! You know what? That's fine. I don't look at it as a threat. I look at it as an opportunity to learn something new.
As mentioned, I got starting doing help desk work. I started at the bottom. I didn't just magically become an IT consultant with multiple certifications. For that reason, I don't like flaunting my accomplishments in other people's faces--I make myself available as a knowledge pool to create opportunities for others.
Also... I can't afford to get a technician to come down to my home to look at the computer. Unless they do it for FREE that is, which is OBVIOUSLY not going to happen.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well...that's life. Find something you like to do that you would be willing to do for free...and then find a way to make money doing it. You just happen to be on the business end of someone else following that philosophy.
Either way, take a deep breath. You'll find that a lot of your answers are right in front of you. You might have to get out of your comfort zone a lot to pursue them, but hey...don't we all?
