Everyone has had a computer problem of some kind. It could be a little thing like having bad internet connection to a blood-chilling problem like a complete crash while writing a last-minute paper. Sometimes I think it would just be easier to go back to using a typewriter or sending letters instead of e-mails. The first problem begins with the Internet. All of us are guilty of wasting hours of time watching You Tube or playing around on MySpace when we should have been doing something important. The Internet can be just one big toy with endless possibilities. The distraction can be never ending with the growth of the Internet. Any random person can add any random site to the hoards of other sites floating around in cyber space. Just in writing this article, I know that I will stop for a “short break” and cruise around the Internet. There is also the power of eBay or any other bidding site. People buy and sell some of the strangest things just so they can. I’ve actually seen a person selling a used tube of tooth paste and it even had a bid. EBay can be an addiction, with the thrill of wondering did you win, should you bid higher or how am I going to pay for this. Then there are the chat rooms and gaming chat rooms. Whether it’s the game part or the chatting part that is more interesting, it can quickly become yet another addiction. As the hours pass by, people can lose themselves in the cyber world of interaction and find they have bloodshot eyes and a num butt. Following the problem of the Internet are the many viruses that come attached to the enjoyment of cruising the Internet. Luckily, Western does offer students a free download of Norton Anti-Virus. Since I am no computer expert, and I don’t pretend to know much about them, I’m not sure how Norton ranks on the scale of quality virus protection. I do, however, know what can happen when a virus decides to make its home inside someone’s computer. Files are erased or corrupted, pop-ups can cause unwanted mess or the computer can completely crash. That’s only the beginning, and viruses can probably do things to a computer that I never even thought possible. Finally, there is the computer’s sense of humor. Over the years of using a computer, I have discovered that they enjoy making people cry, scream or propel objects. It starts out with only a simple misunderstanding that can be easily corrected by someone close by or by just clicking around until it does what you want. But then it escalates into something much worse and dark. Finally, it comes down to needing to call customer service or anyone from IT. We threaten, yell, hit, cuss and flip-off the computer in trying to understand what has happened. Yet despite all the stress and anger that computers can cause, we still go back to them. They almost always win. However distracting the computer can be, it does allow us to accomplish incredible things that weren’t possible before. The Internet gives us access to worlds and people that we might not normally be able to experience. Anyone can express his or her view with others or have instant access to news and events.