technology is wonderful!?!?

Computers - my friend and my frustration. Actually it is called a communication device which is really necessary but..... Soon after I first got the eyegaze attachment I discovered it only worked when on battery. We had preevosly bought a second battery so I rarely used it when pluged in. I have a tendency to forget I am on a leash and either pull the plug out or get completely tangled up. Back to the story. Todd called tech support and after they tried several things remotely decided the problem was the charger. (it is fun to watch the cursor move and pages change while not touching anything ). They sent a new charger and I assumed everything would be fine but did not check. Bad idea. When I finally tried it when the local Dynavox rep was here it did not work. Damn. Okay so now the next thing was to send the entire unit to Dynavox so they could figure it out. One problem. I needed a loaned unit to use while it was gone. The rep had already loaned her spare, but hoped to have it back soon. Our ALS chapter had one in the loan closet but the assistive technology person was in Medford for the week. Anyway she did soon set me up with a device and transferred most of my data. In the office she was able to adjust everything so I could get in the car with it attached to my chair. This is a big deal because previously it had been higher than my head to get a good connection with my eyes. I left my device there for the Dynavox rep to pick up because she had a good shipping box. l told the rep that I had separation anxiety when I left it. Anyway it was shipped and they figured out it was a bad circuit board. Of course it had to be shipped to Philadelphia where winter was not leaving. Finally they were able to ship it out just before another storm battered the area. Meanwhile we were struggling to adjust the eyegaze so it would stay focused on my eyes. Fortunately I still have the option of using my foot so I was not in complete silence. When the rep brought my unit back she checked everything and had the same frustration as my caregivers. After removing my glasses everything worked great except I could not read the words. That did answer the question about the adjustment problems. For some people there is a glare off their glasses so back to raising the unit up to a different angle and all worked well. I realize that technology is my friend and necessary for my survival and ability to communicate but that does not mean everything is wonderful.