Over the Thanksgiving holiday the Microsoft Word program on my laptop went kaput. I was unable to open any previous columns I had written, so I couldn’t write any new scintillating, informative columns for Quality Digest Daily that readers have become accustomed to. (OK, the laughing can stop now.)

After numerous attempts to troubleshoot, I decided to call Microsoft for technical support. As is the norm, I was connected with Michael in India. After more than an hour on the phone I was told my laptop had 337 failures or errors affecting the Word program. Michael said for $200 he could remove the errors and restore the Word program. This would be a one-time fix, but for an additional $100 I would have a trained technician at my disposal for three years. I thanked Michael and said I would cogitate (I like that word) his proposal.

After the call to Microsoft I contacted HP, the maker of my laptop. HP's tech person claimed there were 100 failures or errors, and for $200 HP could restore my laptop to an error-free environment. Again I thanked the representative and said I would take this offer under advisement.

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