*stabs Monday*

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

I often find that I start out on a call supporting our own software but then have to wade into teaching someone Windows operations. When it's really basic I can help, but then I start to get out of my depth and have to tell them I can't go any further. Even worse are the ones who are so computer-illiterate and difficult to teach that they need an expert teacher who knows the OS inside and out to fix their problems.

I'm not talking about the stereotypical PEBKAC users here. I just spent half an hour on the phone with a guy who was a programmer back in the '60s, loved Windows 95 and did all kinds of things with it, and is now seventy-five years old and completely buffaloed by Vista. He needed more help than I could give him, and I wish there was a service I could refer him to that could help with Vista in general.

Is there a service like that, that's free or cheap and geared towards helping elderly/young/n00bish computer users with general tasks as long as they're willing to learn?

I do this as much as I can because I think the standard model of each product having its own support line is absolutely useless for these people. Sometimes you just don't know when the problem is with Windows or with the third-party application, and the user ends up being ping-ponged back and forth because MS support blames Dell and Dell support blames us and we blame MS. My calls are not timed and I'm the only support rep for a small-distribution app, so I can spend time with users if I want to, and not cut them off to preserve my performance rating at the cost of not actually resolving their problems.

I just took a course on bicycle maintenance, for cyclists to learn the ins and outs of their own machines and lessen their dependence on service shops. This same outfit also has a walk-in workshop where you can get access to tools plus expert volunteer help and advice for about ten bucks an hour. That's what there needs to be for computers.

Hmmm

[polarbee.livejournal.com]

This window popped up as I was working on a client's workstation this morning. I had to capture it for posterity. I'm just wondering what type of ink exactly I need to purchase now.

( Methinks the Gateway Ink Monitor has issues )

This post brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department.

Oooookay..

[polarbee.livejournal.com]

A webdesigner in town screwed up one of our client's MX records. (As in, they no longer exist.)
I really have to wonder, however, how this webdesigner got the job. Would you take them seriously with this as their homepage?

(As an edit I thought I should notate that this website is SFW. Nothing pornographic, I promise. Unless he changes it sometime after I post this. Who knows.)

Just wow

[leetmasterjames.livejournal.com]

Had a client call in, weve done work for him in the past. I knew he was far from the brightest bulb in the box but today he asked if we could help him remove a tracking device from what he called a "hot" laptop.

...

No.

Really sir, Like I want to risk an entire business with a 15 year reputation to make at best $100 for helping you steal stuff, where do I sign up?

(no subject)

[tmercenary.livejournal.com]

I work in a data center. I get a call from someone who monitors servers from off site.
"Yes, I was working on the server, and disabled the NIC. Somehow I lost connectivity to the server, can you fix it?" he inquired.
..."Do you understand how connectivity was lost when you TS into a machine and disable the network card." I asked.
"If you could investigate and find out how this happened and let us know, that would be great!" He exclaimed.


__________

http://dragcave.net/user/tmercenary