ah, your good with 'computers' aren't you?
Discussion
Are you the IT support Lackey who unknowingly took the job of having to help your family/friends with all their computer/tech problems?
I bet when they spotted you were good with "computers", it was then your status of 'IT Guru' was eternally cemented in their minds.
If you've never had this role, you might be wondering "so what, it's nice to help people". Oh for sure, but it never ends ... the requests start off small and then become ridiculous over time - see below:
Example: https://theoatmeal.com/comics/computers
I remember once a friend asked me to help her sort out an issue she had with her mac (powerbook g4??) - I knew nothing about macs/OSX ... the CMD key left me stumped (I'm ok with OSX now). When I told her "I couldn't help because I don't know much about macs" she hit the roof, assuming I was just being uncooperative for the sake of it, "but your good with computas"
In later years, I started to act dumb about ipads and tech in general... this worked, I stopped getting annoying requests. Of course if my immediate family need help with tech I do what I can, everyone else can google.
Are any of you IT support for family/friends - share your stories
I bet when they spotted you were good with "computers", it was then your status of 'IT Guru' was eternally cemented in their minds.
If you've never had this role, you might be wondering "so what, it's nice to help people". Oh for sure, but it never ends ... the requests start off small and then become ridiculous over time - see below:
Example: https://theoatmeal.com/comics/computers
I remember once a friend asked me to help her sort out an issue she had with her mac (powerbook g4??) - I knew nothing about macs/OSX ... the CMD key left me stumped (I'm ok with OSX now). When I told her "I couldn't help because I don't know much about macs" she hit the roof, assuming I was just being uncooperative for the sake of it, "but your good with computas"
In later years, I started to act dumb about ipads and tech in general... this worked, I stopped getting annoying requests. Of course if my immediate family need help with tech I do what I can, everyone else can google.
Are any of you IT support for family/friends - share your stories
When asked for IT hardware support by casual acquantances, I find first assembling the required tools in the presence of the person making the request - a large hammer drill, a small chainsaw, a blowtorch, a 1kg club hammer, a full-face respirator mask, a 5 litre can of petrol and a couple of fire extinguishers - tends to put them off a bit, generally even before I can get the chainsaw started.
I noticed a sign on a rug shop the other day that said "looking for part-time shop assistant - must be good with computers".
Good with computers in what way? How good? What sort of computer skills do you need to work in a rug shop? Did they really mean you just needed to be under the age of about 60 and be able to operate Word and internet browsers?
Good with computers in what way? How good? What sort of computer skills do you need to work in a rug shop? Did they really mean you just needed to be under the age of about 60 and be able to operate Word and internet browsers?
Bussolini said:
I noticed a sign on a rug shop the other day that said "looking for part-time shop assistant - must be good with computers".
Good with computers in what way? How good? What sort of computer skills do you need to work in a rug shop? Did they really mean you just needed to be under the age of about 60 and be able to operate Word and internet browsers?
Perhaps they take a photo of the customer and then superimpose the wigs on to achieve the desired hirsute look on the computer?Good with computers in what way? How good? What sort of computer skills do you need to work in a rug shop? Did they really mean you just needed to be under the age of about 60 and be able to operate Word and internet browsers?
Oh yes, not just computers now, phones as well. Including the mother-in-law wondering why her data allowance runs out withing days of a new billing cycle. Video calling us on WhatsApp having somehow turned off the Wi-Fi won't help with that will it?
The computers are usually because they've clicked yes to some search bar add-on or any other item of malware and the computer grinds to a halt.
Then I shoot myself in the foot with a load of over-complicated stuff like that at home e.g. home theatre PC with a TV card to act as a PVR, nice idea but has now decided to be as flaky as hell, keeps losing the tuners, and needs rebooting daily. A future tech much be certified wife / kid friendly before being rolled out.
The computers are usually because they've clicked yes to some search bar add-on or any other item of malware and the computer grinds to a halt.
Then I shoot myself in the foot with a load of over-complicated stuff like that at home e.g. home theatre PC with a TV card to act as a PVR, nice idea but has now decided to be as flaky as hell, keeps losing the tuners, and needs rebooting daily. A future tech much be certified wife / kid friendly before being rolled out.
Explaining that it is a problem with the chair/keyboard interface normally stops them coming back.
The days of spending hours setting up all the fiddly bits for them like pdf readers, zip file openers and all those other annoying first time popups, are long gone.
They usually destroy any good work you do or just dont understand or appreciate it.
I'm happy to make sure someone's photos are all backed up and safe, but if they arent bothered why should I be?
I still know people who lose all their contacts everytime they upgrade. And I still ask each time "do you want me to set it up so they carry over and are safe?". And each time they say "nah not bothered".
The days of spending hours setting up all the fiddly bits for them like pdf readers, zip file openers and all those other annoying first time popups, are long gone.
They usually destroy any good work you do or just dont understand or appreciate it.
I'm happy to make sure someone's photos are all backed up and safe, but if they arent bothered why should I be?
I still know people who lose all their contacts everytime they upgrade. And I still ask each time "do you want me to set it up so they carry over and are safe?". And each time they say "nah not bothered".
C0ffin D0dger said:
A future tech much be certified wife / kid friendly before being rolled out.
I used to love doing stuff like that, buying early media streamers and the like. Several years ago I realized that stable, and not needing intervention by me under any circumstance were the only real requirements.I used a PS3 (2 of them, upstairs and down) for many years - DVD player, bluray player, most of the main streaming services, job done. Updates from time to time, but just works. Bluetooth remote, so out of sight, etc.
Finally replaced them by a Roku and and Amazon fire TV cube. I occasionally have to troubleshoot the fire cube (go to settings reboot, did that fix it? good).
I loathe having to fix my wife's computer issues, because she gets upset when I tell her I've no idea what the issue is and ask her to google it.
"but you spend all day fixing people's stuff and now you're telling me to reboot it"
"Look, I tell people all day long 'that'll need a platform reset on 7071, it'll take 15 minutes' - that's a reboot, same thing".
I am quite good with computers and used to sort out my kids' problems with theirs. I've been asked to help with the computers of their friends and some are quite stroppy when I've either said they need to buy something or when I've opened a DVD drive with a pin.
I once fixed the computer of receptionist of a chiropractors I went to (there's £360 I'll never see again) while I was waiting. I noticed they were using an outdated version of Word and said it might be the time to upgrade. 'No money,' I was told. 'The price of equipment is very high.' What, with my £360? I told them of an alternative, as well as a freebie. The next visit I was thanked by the chiropractor for the help, both with the computer and the WP. No reduction in charges.
I fixed my boss's computer a couple of times, saving him money. One was very obscure and I took the damn thing home and stripped it down, trying various bits on mine.
At that time, I designed and managed a website on the job's intranet and also ran two of my own. I was the only person in the rather big department who did so. This was a time when I produced a report, with rather complex research including legal hurdles, on ways to save money, quite a lot of money, and also improve cross-force feedback and information. I was rather pleased with myself. When the deputy chief constable was shown round my unit by my boss, he described me to the DCC as the chap who runs his own website.
Good with computers you see. Trumps coming up with good ideas to save money and be both more efficient and more effective every time.
I once fixed the computer of receptionist of a chiropractors I went to (there's £360 I'll never see again) while I was waiting. I noticed they were using an outdated version of Word and said it might be the time to upgrade. 'No money,' I was told. 'The price of equipment is very high.' What, with my £360? I told them of an alternative, as well as a freebie. The next visit I was thanked by the chiropractor for the help, both with the computer and the WP. No reduction in charges.
I fixed my boss's computer a couple of times, saving him money. One was very obscure and I took the damn thing home and stripped it down, trying various bits on mine.
At that time, I designed and managed a website on the job's intranet and also ran two of my own. I was the only person in the rather big department who did so. This was a time when I produced a report, with rather complex research including legal hurdles, on ways to save money, quite a lot of money, and also improve cross-force feedback and information. I was rather pleased with myself. When the deputy chief constable was shown round my unit by my boss, he described me to the DCC as the chap who runs his own website.
Good with computers you see. Trumps coming up with good ideas to save money and be both more efficient and more effective every time.
jimmyjimjim said:
C0ffin D0dger said:
A future tech much be certified wife / kid friendly before being rolled out.
I used to love doing stuff like that, buying early media streamers and the like. Several years ago I realized that stable, and not needing intervention by me under any circumstance were the only real requirements.I used a PS3 (2 of them, upstairs and down) for many years - DVD player, bluray player, most of the main streaming services, job done. Updates from time to time, but just works. Bluetooth remote, so out of sight, etc.
Finally replaced them by a Roku and and Amazon fire TV cube. I occasionally have to troubleshoot the fire cube (go to settings reboot, did that fix it? good).
I loathe having to fix my wife's computer issues, because she gets upset when I tell her I've no idea what the issue is and ask her to google it.
"but you spend all day fixing people's stuff and now you're telling me to reboot it"
"Look, I tell people all day long 'that'll need a platform reset on 7071, it'll take 15 minutes' - that's a reboot, same thing".
I was also similar to the above with complex personalised solutions but frankly I just want plug and play now ... I'm a big believer in keeping it as simple as as possible.
Last time I touched Windows was with a system my daughter had.....upgrade to Win10 took an entire afternoon with multiple excruciatingly slow reboots.
Support for Windows had already been a nightmare for me.....this was around 2014 - I am sure Windows is better now, although I hate a work Lenovo I have with a passion.....
Around then I vowed to move us to Mac OSX.
Backups was the kicker for me: with kids about to head to Uni, I knew I couldn’t support them remotely, & having used it for a year or two myself, I knew I could trust Time Machine.
Having some reasonable student discount helped.
Since then, almost zero support needed
Around 2015, I thought “what if the entire Mac died a horrible death”, & picked up a s/h unit for around £600. Actually figured it could be useful for me: I use my own for work...
That turned into the best insurance ever when my son had a friend round who knocked a glass of water all over his Mac.
Just days from handing in his dissertation.
We raced down the next morning (3 hr drive), restored his time machine disk to the “spare”: managed to get the last bits from his via USB which spluttered briefly to life (with all manner of screen display streaks and error messages!).......so by noon that day he was where he had been at 6pm the previous, at the time of The Incident™
Now yes, a huge amount was stored “in the cloud”, and I suspect given enough hours he would have managed something, but that was at a mssively stressful time for a final year student, so I’m glad we did what we did.
Good job too....he got a First (proud father moment!).
Postscript.....I hate the way Apple have moved, with zero ports, rubbish keyboards etc....I believe 2014 was “peak Apple”, and dread the day mine fails me, no idea what I would do next!!
Support for Windows had already been a nightmare for me.....this was around 2014 - I am sure Windows is better now, although I hate a work Lenovo I have with a passion.....
Around then I vowed to move us to Mac OSX.
Backups was the kicker for me: with kids about to head to Uni, I knew I couldn’t support them remotely, & having used it for a year or two myself, I knew I could trust Time Machine.
Having some reasonable student discount helped.
Since then, almost zero support needed
Around 2015, I thought “what if the entire Mac died a horrible death”, & picked up a s/h unit for around £600. Actually figured it could be useful for me: I use my own for work...
That turned into the best insurance ever when my son had a friend round who knocked a glass of water all over his Mac.
Just days from handing in his dissertation.
We raced down the next morning (3 hr drive), restored his time machine disk to the “spare”: managed to get the last bits from his via USB which spluttered briefly to life (with all manner of screen display streaks and error messages!).......so by noon that day he was where he had been at 6pm the previous, at the time of The Incident™
Now yes, a huge amount was stored “in the cloud”, and I suspect given enough hours he would have managed something, but that was at a mssively stressful time for a final year student, so I’m glad we did what we did.
Good job too....he got a First (proud father moment!).
Postscript.....I hate the way Apple have moved, with zero ports, rubbish keyboards etc....I believe 2014 was “peak Apple”, and dread the day mine fails me, no idea what I would do next!!
Although to be fair she's pretty tech savvy having been a programmer in the late 60's early 70's.Not anymore for theses reasons :
When you have fixed the machine the person then thinks they are entitled to 24/7 support free of charge indefinitely even if it was just a favour.
People do not value your skills and expect you to do the job for free or a beer. Spend 5 hours on a job ? Thanks mate here’s a 4 pack. Try saying that to a plumber.
Peoples entitled and selfish attitude.
I do fix my neighbours machines or help whenever I can and usually immediately. I don’t charge him. He’s a plumber and if I ever have a problem he does the same !
When you have fixed the machine the person then thinks they are entitled to 24/7 support free of charge indefinitely even if it was just a favour.
People do not value your skills and expect you to do the job for free or a beer. Spend 5 hours on a job ? Thanks mate here’s a 4 pack. Try saying that to a plumber.
Peoples entitled and selfish attitude.
I do fix my neighbours machines or help whenever I can and usually immediately. I don’t charge him. He’s a plumber and if I ever have a problem he does the same !
Edited by Narcisus on Tuesday 10th December 08:14
My favourite has always been
Person: hey I was working on my laptop when an error message popped up.
Me: OK, so what did the error say?
Person: I cant really remember, some thing about failure.
Me: so what were you doing at the time?
Person: just working you know nothing special. So what do you think it is.
Me: sigh, probably nothing major, maybe an organic component failure. Keep using it and if it happens again, take a pic of the error and send it to me.
Person: hey I was working on my laptop when an error message popped up.
Me: OK, so what did the error say?
Person: I cant really remember, some thing about failure.
Me: so what were you doing at the time?
Person: just working you know nothing special. So what do you think it is.
Me: sigh, probably nothing major, maybe an organic component failure. Keep using it and if it happens again, take a pic of the error and send it to me.
ARHarh said:
If Asked I insist on showing people how to diagnose a problem, so it wastes as much of their time as mine. Type the problem into "Google" and folow the instructions, thats how I do it, I am not some kind of mythical god.
The problem "these people" have is that they type into google exactly what they say. E.g. Computher has an error message. Then perhaps "error message on screen". They don't get the results they want.C0ffin D0dger said:
Oh yes, not just computers now, phones as well. Including the mother-in-law wondering why her data allowance runs out withing days of a new billing cycle. Video calling us on WhatsApp having somehow turned off the Wi-Fi won't help with that will it?
The computers are usually because they've clicked yes to some search bar add-on or any other item of malware and the computer grinds to a halt.
Then I shoot myself in the foot with a load of over-complicated stuff like that at home e.g. home theatre PC with a TV card to act as a PVR, nice idea but has now decided to be as flaky as hell, keeps losing the tuners, and needs rebooting daily. A future tech much be certified wife / kid friendly before being rolled out.
And I clearly need a new keyboard having re-read that The computers are usually because they've clicked yes to some search bar add-on or any other item of malware and the computer grinds to a halt.
Then I shoot myself in the foot with a load of over-complicated stuff like that at home e.g. home theatre PC with a TV card to act as a PVR, nice idea but has now decided to be as flaky as hell, keeps losing the tuners, and needs rebooting daily. A future tech much be certified wife / kid friendly before being rolled out.
Can sympathise with all of the above.
I can drive a computer but don't fully understand the "mechanics"
But as a result I apparently know everything there is to know.
Son and wife now on iPhones, I know F all about Apple stuff, have had serious arguments with an old iPod of my wifes. He's 14, has more ambition than talent as far as Mac is concerned but knows more than me. Trouble is, when something pops up on the screen that he doesn't understand he ignores it, whereas I tend to read everything and think before the next click. That's when the fight starts.....
On a completely different subject, way back, I was considered the one in the family that "knew about cars". Was asked by relations to go with their 17 year old to look at a mini. It was crap, told him so, he bought it anyway and suffered the consequences. Always felt there was feeling of ill will from the grown ups.
Ditto, went with my Dad, (who should have known better) to view a new car. It was between a Triumph 1500 and a Renault 5. Turned out I knew the son of the Renault seller but there was a bit of rust coming through the back wing. Triumph looked better although may have been repainted. Told him to buy the Triumph, he bought the Renault and watched it disintegrate...
Don't go with anyone now, except my wife, if a new car is required.
I can drive a computer but don't fully understand the "mechanics"
But as a result I apparently know everything there is to know.
Son and wife now on iPhones, I know F all about Apple stuff, have had serious arguments with an old iPod of my wifes. He's 14, has more ambition than talent as far as Mac is concerned but knows more than me. Trouble is, when something pops up on the screen that he doesn't understand he ignores it, whereas I tend to read everything and think before the next click. That's when the fight starts.....
On a completely different subject, way back, I was considered the one in the family that "knew about cars". Was asked by relations to go with their 17 year old to look at a mini. It was crap, told him so, he bought it anyway and suffered the consequences. Always felt there was feeling of ill will from the grown ups.
Ditto, went with my Dad, (who should have known better) to view a new car. It was between a Triumph 1500 and a Renault 5. Turned out I knew the son of the Renault seller but there was a bit of rust coming through the back wing. Triumph looked better although may have been repainted. Told him to buy the Triumph, he bought the Renault and watched it disintegrate...
Don't go with anyone now, except my wife, if a new car is required.
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