Revival of the Computer
My main computer is finally working again. Or rather, whatever I plug into an USB port finally works again, most importantly my wireless internet antenna.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
Not that working on Henri the Laptop was that bad, but you know.10'1 screen vs 18', full keyboard, all my files not being completely isolated... It's a relief.
I finally dragged my ass to the computer shop (small place, one-man gig, but the guy is very good and charges very, very fairly) to have it checked after not having opened it for almost a month (with Henri to tide me over, I was lazy). A surprise awaited me: anything and everything the guy plugged into an USB port worked. WTF. Apparently, some equipment of mine 'blew up' my USB ports or something, and if I left the computer alone long enough they'd just come back on their own. I brought the annoying thing back home, tried my USB key first, and voilà! Everything was fine and dandy.
He didn't charge me a penny, so that's awesome. He also suggested that I try connecting things one by one and give them a few hours each to see if they make things go kablooey again. He suspects that my (goddamn old) iPod Nano might be the culprit, since he saw a similar case before, but I've been charging it through Henri and nothing went wrong yet. So that leaves the printer and the scanner. We shall see.
I'm just happy to have my big screen and the internet at the same time again.