Modules and Wholes

I sometimes get irrational when upset, and believe the gods are cursing me. I try to install a simple piece of software, or simple peripheral, and things go haywire. I generally go through three stages of anguish: 1) did I do something wrong? I re-read instructions and wonder 2) did something else screw this up (the cat, which runs around the cables with indifference might be the culprit.) Finally my deductive mind just can't figure what is wrong. So I wonder if something is defective. In too many cases, the answer is a qualified yes.

I've spent the weekend installing bits and bobs and have encountered numerous problems. A free text database program called Sticky Brains doesn't like the "Tiger" OS on the Mac. My Belkin KVM switch erratically stops switching between the two computers it is connected to. A Java-based Oxford Chinese dictionary is disabling any Internet program on the PC. I learn its not me! User forums don't tell me how to fix these issues, but they give me comfort that others are having the same problems. Of course, they also contain the replies along the lines of "it's working fine for me." So some people are luckier than others after all.