Sad Mac

Remember when Macintosh computers used to show the "Sad Mac" icon when something significantly bad happened within the operating system? My beautiful Mac G5 would be scowling right now if it could, but they have removed that expression from the new OS.

Right now, my computer is sitting in "terminal" mode. I was attempting to create another user account on my machine so a co-worker could log in and access all the old newsletters, catalogs, and schedules of classes that I have stored. Something horrible happened in the process! Now, the regular Aqua OSX interface won't launch. I just get the Darwin terminal mode (a black screen with a blank line where you can enter commands - that is if you understand UNIX and/or Darwin commands. And I do not.) I am more visually oriented. I need the icons, windows, colors, and motions that are built into OSX to get anything done.

I called our software support specialist, Tim, and he apparently has had the good sense to take this beautiful fall afternoon off. So, I called our campus' other Mac person, Mike. Right now he is doing some research and will hopefully get back to me soon. I hate to leave my computer in this mess over the weekend. The whole Publications Office world is stored on that computer. Most of it is backed up - but it would be a major disruption if the computer went "down." I'm not going to worry, however. I know Tim and Mike will find a solution.

I will just have to rake leaves and plant bulbs and not worry about my sad mac this weekend.

Update: 11/7/05

Tim fixed the problem by reinstalling the system. When the install finished, I asked: "where are my widgets?" He calmly asked "you were using Tiger?" In my panic, I had grabbed the original disk that came with the computer, not remembering that I had upgraded to the newer "Tiger" operating system last spring. I was embarrassed - but Tim is one of the most patient people I know.