Email of the day. Discuss.

No good deed... They must know everything.rolleyes

 

Brutal.

I find non-technical people tend to use a halfbaked process of logic on technical problems. You can see them trying to use process of elimination to find the cause of their problem, but there's almost always something they don't know/understand that prevents them from getting right down to it.

For example, I was requested to edit a report (and JUST a report) for our company. Now, my stupid *** put the wrong field on it, and it started displaying the wrong information. I quickly changed it back.

Our shipper calls me up telling me his computer is broken. His report isn't printing this field, but he just tested on another machine, and it is printing fine.

I say, "No, man, I'm sorry. I messed up this report. Its fixed now."
He says, "BULLSHIT. Theirs is working fine. Fix my computer."

Told him to run the report again, and he was awestruck.

"I'm not as dumb as I look, buddy" CLICK

 

But the statement "I'm off to Walmart...." kinda says it all!

 

It's just another day in the life of the technologically superior and yet some how socially 'inferior'. I have never treated some one the way that I have been treated when fixing some jackasses computer.

But that is an entirely different rant.

In the end, you can only offer help, you can't force it on some one. Even when your help is far more valuable than the recipient thinks it is.

 

I was thinking the same thing....LOL


~C

 

Probably an eMachine anyway....

 

Amen, bro'. :cool :major
A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. in tyro's hands.

Bazza

===

 

i have an e-machine!!

 

have you had to replace the power supply yet?

and more importantly, did you buy it at WalMart?

 

PSU issue is getting a little long in the tooth. AFAIK, it hasn't been an issue in quite a while.

 

Really, I still run in to it a lot.

Especially with WalMart bought eMachines.

 

i bought it at costco, and i havent replaced anything, dont understand what you mean by powersupply, (the plug?) and so for the only thing thats 'gone' is the ps2 driver for the keyboard which has been replaced with a usb.

 

no, the power supply is internal to the case and in a lot of WalMart eMachines it goes bad in a hurry.

If yours is still working, my hat is off to you.

 

stop scaring me!!

 

Must be the special aloha-electricity they have in Hawaii, Laurie. Don't let them scare you hun

 

Worst part is, not all that long ago I was thinking of getting a notebook there. My reasoning is that I am skilled enough to fix things, and back then Wally World still had Layaway....

Now I am going to have to go to Rent-a-center and see if they have any repo-ed ones for sale. most of theirs are Dell's (Dude! You got a Dell!) and they aren't as bad as emachines (rep-wise that is, sorry laurie, I wouldn't touch an emachine if you paid me, but that is me, I have also worked on a lot of them.)

OK... ran out of words here.... Wondering if he replied to MA's e-mail.


~C

 

To each their own. I've personally sent in a Dell laptop three times in one in year for repairs.

 

Well all i gotta say MA is for every ingrate out there, there are at least 200 like me who really appreciate the wealth in both knowledge n nice people at this site. I find my self spending more time lurking/reading here.

Also while i'm here i would like to thank the major geeks that keep an eye on us lil geeks and gently steer us in the right direction (i pay attn).

Strange thing is that i downloaded about:buster n used it with no problem, when i had my false alarm in malware forum (thanks for waving the red flag at me Halo)

I have now learned to ask here b-4 i act. Also i keep my random clicking to here, where i can't get in any trouble clicking away. If i wonder far i keep one tab on MG's so i can ask for help (my security blanket)

If the guy had just bothered to ask n admit he did not know what he was doing, his pc would be fixed, so his loss.

Smiles,

Peg

 

there is nothing wrong with them for being nice cheap machines. I sure that yours is fine and there is nothing wrong with it.

 

funny you should bring it up...I have 3 e-machines here with burned up motherboards in them, and Gateway is almost as bad!
@Calltaker what are you looking for in a notebook? Hate to see you go to Wallyworld, or worst Best Buy!

 

Gateway is E-machine.

 

Looking for a 2gig+ system with 80gig+ HDD, DVD/r, good grafx and wireless. Basically something current. I know some friends who got repo'ed PC's at RAC and honestly, the systems were in great shape physically, of course, I pretty much had to reinstall on all of them because of the previous 'owners'. You can get a 2gig, 100+gigHDD system with DVD burner and such with all peripherals for around $200.


~C

PS: Best buy??? You've got to be kidding, only thing I go there for is CD's DVD's and misc stuff like that.

 

OK was wondering because I have a decent source for what your looking for. P.S.S. I don't even buy CD's or DVD's from Best buy! Still trying to figure out how they ran Compusa out of town here!

 

thats depressing! Gateway used to be a good computer, I worked in one of their assembly plants for a while, but seems like after the Gateway 2000 they went to doo-doo

 

Reference MA's e-mail; You can lead souls to knowledge, but you can't make them think!! You just can't help some people, it seems. With them it will always be someone elses fault - not their own . . . and even if you fix their damn machine, they will still have their own ideas about what was REALLY wrong with it . . . rolleyes

@laurieB - I've had two eMachines (one for around 5 years, the other for 3), and have been happy with them. The only problem I ever had with hardware was with the motherboard in the newer one - and I'm pretty sure that I caused the problem by pushing it too hard.

 

Source??? *grin* Lead me to water and let me see how it looks


~C

 

Seconded. My Gateway laptop has been great, and even with HD failure they turned it around on the warranty in 3 days! No complaints - even got offered another 2-3 years warranty at no extra cost.

 

I don't know too much about puters so I agree with Cat. Glad I found all you guys who know what you're doing and are willing to share it - thanks from Scotland!

Linzi

 

Thanks Halo - nice to be acknowledged!:wave

 

Was talking about this last nite at work, cause I thought one of my co-workers was on here. Turns out it isn't him, but I was telling him about the site and since he is pretty much geek like us, I pointed him in our direction. Told him too that when I have a question that I can't answer right off hand, this is my first stop.

Kind of like a knowledge bank


~C

 

That mail could try the patience of a Saint! I'm sure they would not send if they had to give u their primary.

Just an idea, how about creating a GeekCustomerService Dept, you could bump the mail that does not need a technical answer: did not follow procedures, broken link/download...we could check link/download an bump to Mod if needed or reply working but did not update after download, follow directions etc.

That would give the lil geeks something to do to contribute to the site, since we are not able to answer more technical questions and you would have more time to do the things on site rather than answer a lot of mail that does not require a MG's attn.

Don't know the logistics of how to move the mail somewhere that lil geeks could get to it, but i'm sure you all do. In the beginning you would have to monitor replies to make sure it was keeping within the guidelines of the site and screen the staff, but in the end it would free up some of your time.

I think there r some lil geeks that would be willing to help out. Just an idea... might be more trouble than it's worth.

Next idea, all ingrate mail bump to a lil geek to sharpen their claws on! I promise we will only leave lacerations not go for the jugular. I'm sure there are a few lil geeks that could use a scratching post too.

Meow,

Peg

 

I'm with you, Cat. Personally, I worship at the feet of anyone who knows more than me about computers!!! That's not difficult though!!! I don't mess with what I don't understand - would rather ask an expert than get into a situation I can't get out of. Glad I found you guys - you do a really great job - some people just don't have the capacity to be grateful, do they?

 

Kay, first of all? I shop at walmart, because we's po' folk. Kay? Kay.

yes there is alot of Junk to be had and everyone knows you should not buy a computer from there. and e-machines are fabulous for people that just needa computer to not do anything fancy, because they are not geek-fabulous. So stop downing on the common man. Mostly jim, because you know better.

That being said, people that don't understand and are frustrated, knowing they dont understand and are unwilling to admit it, are mean. Period. Their integrity is on the line and they know it so they're mean. Don't hold it against them, politely walk them through a registry recallibrations through Run->regedit, and have them restart. Laugh, and hang up on them.

I used to do tech support, it's patent. They wont EVER ask for your help again. End problem.

But there are a few people in the world that admist they dont understand and ask humbley for assistance. I like those people. When the first words out of there mouth are I broke it and I have no idea how to fix it, and you know all about this kind of thing can you help me??? Fabulous.

And on the subject of power supply... noone can wreck one like I can, screw e-machines. I turned my tower into a lightning ball, and soldered it to the motherboard. Points for me! Ask CP he was so proud he took pictures.... (i wasnt having surges, i was having troughs - now i have a big old battery back-up surge/trough protector. end problem. )

 

Is that a "Tip From Tim"? Thanks for the heads-up MA. I've been window shopping for a laptop & that's one I didn't look into because of past performance. I'm gonna look into it.

 

You said it right there Cat!! They are ashamed to admit they don't know what they are doing!! Then they get offended when you tell them something different than what they had in mind, via the neighbors third cousin's, brothers, sister in law!!

However...I gotta say...I think part of the culprit is these geeks out there that are VERY demeaning and rude to those of lesser intelligence than they!! Especially a lot of these other forums out there in cyberspace!! And unfortunately it ruins it for MG because they have experienced these other places that have made them feel like a pile of doo-doo...and they don't check around here long enough to realize what kind of reputation is floating around here!!

So while I'm on the subject...Hooray MG and it's leaders for the excellent, ongoing work and not letting the negatives get you down and ruining the reputation of this place!!!!

Roger

 

as requested, for clarification purposes, when I seconded a comment about the letter writer going to wal mart to get a PC (as first choice), it was for that only. I just about own 2 full stores now with all the money I have spent there over the years.


OK.

On that note...... WHat i also find interesting, is that so many people see tech work done and just assume that they can do it as well. Of course, I think that is how some of us got started as well. Thing is, when they fry something, whoever it was that they "learned" from will be getting the call. I always tell people that if they want to be able to do it themselves, then ask me to show them the right way to do it, not my way, even though both work


~C

 

I love my HP laptop!! And when I go to get another...it will most likely be an HP!!!!

Roger

 

see now you went and did it!!!! electrickery went out and so did puter, only when the trickery came back on..........ahh poor ting.

so i had to take it to the 'computer repair man' (the only one in a 60 mile area, and surprisingly quite close to where i live). 'The computer repair man' turned out to be about 19, and although that is no judgment on his skills, it did make me laugh. he replaced the power supply thingy with a second hand thingy, in the space of half an hour, charged me $50, and hey presto! the fan appears to have a tad more b*ll*cks, but nothing else appears to have changed. i have updated all my bits and pieces, and hopefully it will now jog along for another three years.

aloha as always.

 

laurieB, Hi. I think you need a UPS, pronto.
Desktops and dodgy power can really benefit from a UPS.
You probably only need one with enough power, in reserve, to allow you to effect a normal shutdown.

Wikipedia entry if anyone is interested.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_Power_Supply

Bazza

 

UPS is the only way to really protect a computer. They are worth every penny you spend on one.

Hell, I use on on my TV and other stuff too. Kind of nice to be able to watch the news for tornado stuff when the power goes out.

 

I live in a rural area and when the wind, rain snow pick up, the power often goes down, either just long enough to shut down my box or as long as 1/2 an hour. I've been lucky not to have had any surge incidents, so yes a UPS is definitely the answer, the only annoyance you get is a shrill beep when the mains go out and there's a button to kill it. My UPS is rated at 1000VA and should last a couple of hours though just for the monitor and main box. A decent return on investment IMO, just open it up once or twice a year to make sure that nothing's leaking. They are basically a car battery.

EDIT: Hehe, I should read the topic title first before posting. Kind of OT here but I don't care. The original point was made.

 

And always remember that the batteries in those things can and do go bad after a while. They are replaceable and it is well worth the investment in some of the bigger models to just replace the battery.

 

:wave

hi guys n gals i am fairly new to computers and so somtimes a bit slow to catch on when i first got this machine about a year ago it was my first exept a radio shack (25 years ago) no internet so no problems.
i downloaded everything in sight just because i could an in no time at all my machine was dead so i went to my local expert an he put me wise about untrustworthy sites he also gave me the web address for MGs and now i just try to learn from the forums(your never too old) thank for a great platform and i will never criticise your work