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86 Comments
- xBobx, on 11/25/2008, -1/+32Considering I AM the IT department in a small business (a staff of 10) It's painful to read about company "presidents" who fail to educate themselves on basic computer procedures, protocols, and maintenance and don't take the time to stop and think about the equipment they're using and how they use it--wildly clicking, slamming mice on their desktop. Whining about you "fear" of computers and lack of an IT staff is ridiculous. Act like it's your personal computer and treat it with the investment of time and care that it deserves.
- SamusAu, on 11/26/2008, -1/+25Sweet baby Jesus don't take advice from Geek Squad about computing, and ESPECIALLY about small business computing. The small business section is an entirely different level of incompetent then normal Geek Squad.
- lutherblissett, on 11/25/2008, -4/+22Oh man, I am so hungry right now.
I want some grilled creole cooking.
Dunno anyplace around here that might have that tho. - thenativeraver, on 11/26/2008, -0/+14I miss the days when there was nothing but intelligent geeks on this site.
-Buried. - deadapostle, on 11/26/2008, -1/+15The only fatal error was not backing up.
/Jesus Saves - vertigo32, on 11/26/2008, -0/+12They hire you so they don't need to invest that time and money.
Accept that an IT job is really a glorified (and highly paid) janitor position and it will make your life. Your boss doesn't pay you to sit around on Digg all day, he pays you to be there to clean up the messes he makes.
IT is vital infrastructure, but so is garbage and plumbing. If a trash can is overflowing, your boss isn't going to take the time to empty it...if a toilet is backed up, he's going to tell someone to fix it not educate himself on plunging.
I work in the IT field, and it made my job much easier when I realized that I was there to support everyone else's work, not the other way around. Far too many people in IT get it backwards. Just be glad that most people can't tell the difference between you working 8 hours a day and you working 15 minutes and screwing around on the internet the other 7:45 hours. - BiggyMcFinch, on 11/26/2008, -0/+11"The computer and I don't like each other," = "The computer wants me to do things I'm expected to know while using it but am too ignorant to learn about"
- imasuperDOTcom, on 11/26/2008, -0/+10You know, because most digg users have a hard time getting their machine to work.
- cecilpl, on 11/26/2008, -0/+9This is the best part.
"So six months ago, when Windows unexpectedly shut down and gave him the dreaded "fatal error" message, he knew how to get started.
He restarted the computer in safe mode to work directly in the operating system. He then deleted a recent software update -- the most recent change he had made to his computer. Next he ran an antivirus software program, which found and deleted a tracking cookie.
Confident that he had solved the problem, Keyes rebooted his computer, installed the software update and was back online.
Everything worked smoothly from there, although Keyes says the whole project took about three hours out of his normal workday." - kerunt, on 11/26/2008, -1/+9Hello, Dell?
- Good morning sir.
My computer is down, I can't turn it on.
- OK sir, I'm going to need you to go to dell.com and click... - SamusAu, on 11/26/2008, -0/+8Very true. And screwing around on the internet is "keeping up with current IT advancements and trends" remember
- spyderveloce, on 11/26/2008, -0/+7If you know so much about fixing computers, why would you have them over in the first place!?!
- kurough, on 11/26/2008, -0/+6I was pondering this just the other day. I'm an IT support person for a very large company and hold the only title in the North American region.
It's frustrating dealing with people who know nothing about computers, but it's even more frustrating dealing with people that know nothing but still take action themselves.
I am a complete newb when it comes to cars, but I would never go farther than turning it off and on to fix it before taking it straight to a mechanic.
I have found that arrogant people that know nothing about computers tend to screw PC's up the most. - SamusAu, on 11/26/2008, -2/+8I've worked in IT for business of various sizes and unfortunately that view appears to be the norm, not the exception. Most people will never bother to learn anything about how a computer works, be it because they are scared of technology, don't have time, don't care, etc. And while a good grounding in technology might help them, in reality they shouldn't have to learn these things. How many people know how a car really works? My wife uses one every day but she would have no idea how you pressing on a peddle makes the car go, or how to check the oil or brake fluid. When a car breaks you take it to someone who knows what they are doing. The same thing happens with a computer. The real issue is so many (small) businesses don't see the value in having dedicated IT staff who can setup the proper systems and procedures so issues like this don't happen, or when they do are fixed as quickly as possible.
- zadadka, on 11/26/2008, -1/+7Most people see PCs in the same way most of us see the motor car.
They require, and indeed, expect, it to "just work".
When it doesn't, it's an inconvenience, at best, and they arrange for the appropriate mechanic to fix it.
Beyond normal operation, they're simply not interested in the maintenance aspect, be that changing oil, or flushing Temp folders.
That's what us "computer guys" are for. - jamangold, on 11/26/2008, -0/+6Why not? Was it too much much hassle for the money you were making?
- jamangold, on 11/26/2008, -0/+6I'd like a big bowl of homemade chili with tender elk meat and garden-grown tomatoes saturated with chipotle and simmered slowly to tasty perfection.
- vertigo32, on 11/26/2008, -0/+5Yup. as I said in an earlier post, we are glorified janitors.
If your boss backs up the toilet, he doesn't go looking for a plunger or try to learn how to snake out the pipes. He tells someone to go fix it.
And for the same reasons you say, we are never going to see a widespread change from the typical Windows PC we see today. The business world will never go to widespread use of Macs or Linux for the same reason that someone who has never driven anything but a Model T can get into a modern automobile and - generally - know how to operate it. Most people don't want or care to learn something new or learn about what they are doing, they want it to work and be familiar.
It's taken ten to twenty years of widespread PC use for people to get to this point. A major change, even to a new OS, takes a massive amount of time and capital. If it's not broke, don't fix it.
But as for people not wanting to learn about computers, If you work in IT, be glad of that. It's job security. - protogenxl, on 11/26/2008, -0/+5Actual call from someone very high up in my company's accounting department.
"I am in this excel sheet made by my predecessor and when I click on this one cell the number goes away and is replaced by a long sentence. Did she do something I should tell HR about?"
Hand to Heart the women had been an accountant for 15 years and had never used an Excel Formula. - pyromaster114, on 11/26/2008, -0/+5Why, exactly, is a tracking cookie going to do anything?
Its named TRACKING cookie for a reason... it does...well... tracking.
Cookies don't crash your entire system.
A virus, contained in a faulty or fake update, sure, why not? In fact, my latest thing I wrote (quite a while ago now... several years ago in fact, I'm not in the malicious business, and don't have the time to create stuff to mess around with for the fun of it...) was a fake update to windows. It simply filled your RAM with crap upon being installed as a "free upgrade to XP pro" from microsoft... we never distributed it, cause we thought it was too easy to get rid of, and would just be annoying/mean. This article makes me want to distribute something like it, get the stupid people off the internet. - vertigo32, on 11/26/2008, -0/+5This is why I laugh when Mac fanboys talk about how the Mac is going to go mainstream.
It's hard enough to get people to learn the basics of using a PC. Anyone who thinks businesses are going to invest the time and money to train their employees to use an entirely different interface is crazy. Even if Macs / Linux were both a better technical and economical IT solution, PCs that look and work like Windows 95 will be mainstream until everyone born prior to 1980 has retired.
And of course, the next comment is about how a Mac is a 'better' IT solution for a business. - thenativeraver, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4I think I want some fish and chips today.
- palehorse864, on 11/26/2008, -1/+5The System is Down!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx1eDmuYQg8 - mrroarke, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4"Blue-screen blues?" What about kernel panic panic?
- breakaway, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4A lady came into my workplace once, telling me the little red light on her dash had been on all day. She had been driving around with the OIL PRESSURE light on. If you didn't know, this is potentially fatal for a car, low oil pressure will destroy engine (bearings) in no time.
My point: Very few people care or know how the equipment and machinery they use everyday actually works. That's why we have specialists - mechanics for cars, IT guys for computers. Articles like this are ultimately pointless, except in that experts can point and laugh. - MeatMountain, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4I can usually use my imagination long enough to finish up, then troubleshoot the crash.
- InorganicMatter, on 11/26/2008, -1/+5This is what happens every workstation is on a workgroup, has one user account per system, and every single one is an administrator.
I really don't understand businesses that shoot themselves in the foot like this with technology. They punish themselves for no apparent reason. You can get a brand new PowerEdge from Dell for dirt cheap, complete with Windows Small Business Server 2008 (aka "Windows Server for Dummies"). It doesn't take and IT pro to unpack the new server, turn it on, choose a domain name, and create users. - Palaceguard, on 11/26/2008, -1/+5I build my own PC. No blue screens and if I do get them, which is rare, it's up and running the next day
- SamusAu, on 11/26/2008, -1/+4lol, yes, its WAY more hassle that its worth. I also use to do this and id say 4/5 business I dealt with made me want to kill myself.
- SilentBobSC, on 11/26/2008, -3/+6I was with ya right till ya went off the Apple Fanboy deep end... here's one of the more frequent situations I've encountered:
Customer - "Yeah, my daughter convinced me to get a Mac for my business laptop, but now my files won't load anymore."
Tech - "Most likely, you will need to install the software on the computer first."
Customer - "Oh, well, they don't have a version for Apple"
Tech - "Well, you can pickup Parallels or Bootcamp, but you will still have to have a legitimate Windows key to install XP, and that's ~$130"
Cust - "I'm not sure what you mean, I thought the idea was to get away from Windows?"
Tech - "Generally that is the idea, but the software you use does not support Apple, so you will have to use this work around"
Cust - "So, it will cost me $130 plus your hourly labor rate to set it up, then I still could issues with the label-printer it uses?"
Tech - "Yep"
Cust - "So, instead of spending $800 on the PC you recommended, I paid $1,800 for this Apple and I now have to spend another several hundred dollars just to be able to do my work?!"
Tech - "Yep"
Cust - "Ok, well then what about my Adobe CS3 Suite that I paid $1k+ for?"
Tech - "You'll have to purchase a side-grade for it, but that's only if you're getting the same version and they just released CS4 so you'll just have to purchase at the upgrade price and specify you want the Mac version"
Cust - "But that's $600 and it was working fine, I wasn't even going to upgrade it!"
Tech - "Yeah, it sucks." - staplemaniac, on 11/26/2008, -0/+3Gretzky with the rebound HE SCORES!!
- inactive, on 11/26/2008, -2/+5Back in the day, I used to actually make a bit of money fixing things like the for small business owners.
I don't do it any more. - danj484, on 11/26/2008, -0/+3Apparently a Geek Squad employee aware of his own organization's incompetence, telling everyone that even if you don't know what you're doing, it's still better than Geek Squad.
- naslai, on 11/26/2008, -0/+3You can't really compare a car and a computer. With computers, especially IT problems, sometimes or most of the time the problem was caused by the user itself. When your car breaks down, regardless of whether or not you know what happens when you push down the gas the car is still *****. For example, even if I have diagnosed that the starter motor is old and sticky doesn't mean I can fix it.
Also, if you've ever fixed your car yourself you'll realize within the first 10 seconds its alot harder, messier, and a lot less pleasant than fixing ur computer, which makes the mechanic a far more viable option than the computer equivalent. - SilentBobSC, on 11/26/2008, -0/+3"Doing it yourself is not a bad strategy. The vast majority of small-business IT needs are similar to those of individual PC users, says Derek Meister, a service agent at Geek Squad"
FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL - oninbonin, on 11/26/2008, -0/+3Yeah totally! As a fellow Sys Admin I love how when everything works I get no recognition but as soon as something breaks it's all my fault and I never do anything right! I love when I spend the weekend day/nights bringing up a domain controller or exchange server or file server while juggling data around and it's all seamless to everyone else and they have no ***** clue how much time and effort I put into my job. (I actually love my job though, and it's totally worth it :)
- ClevelandBrown, on 11/26/2008, -6/+8Snappy mac fanboi remark.
- garrettg84, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2Your boss is just humoring you. Watch for his eyes to glaze over the next time you speak 'IT department' to him. He is not really learning, nor does he care. He just wishes you were not on his payroll and only keeps you there so he DOESN'T have to learn anything.
- DiggzDE, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2It is raining hard here in Cali, and even though I've never had elk meat before, that sounds really freaking good.
- turbodiesel, on 11/27/2008, -0/+2I really like all the Buy a Mac comments. I fix macs for a living, and the more they sell the more money I make. Because they break as much as any other computer.
Except people get pissed off when they break, because they are supposed to Just Work.
A customer was mad at how much it cost to replace a hard drive on his macbook pro, until i showed him it took over 30 screws to replace it versus 3 on a regular macbook, or 1 on his old Thinkpad - EntropyFan, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2I wish I could digg you up 1000 times.
A friend just brought me their year old Mac with a dead hard drive. For some reason, he refuses to believe I can't magically make the family photos, finance, and genealogy data reappear. - SamusAu, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2Its not designed to either. The SBS box has to be the PDC of its domain. You can have other member servers but they cannot take away that role.
- bromac, on 11/26/2008, -1/+3Have you ever tried to merge a SBS DC into an existing domain?
Small Business Server doesn't play nice with others. - ozziek, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2Waiting for the inevitable "switch to mac" comment
- PabloMac, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2TCO
- SilentBobSC, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2First let's start with the fact that no self-respecting techie would even consider working at/for Geek Squad... hell I'd sooner deliver pizzas.
Second, if you're handy with computers, there's no reason you should even have your machines being worked on BY those schmucks. I could *maybe* understand a warranty issue, but once again a TRUE geek builds their own machine and handles his/her own tech support.
Third - "Stealing Pr0n" - hate to tell you this but if you're dumb enough to leave pr0n on a computer that you take in to be worked on, odds are it's going to be copied off. Triple the chance if it's embarrasing webcam footage of you and/or a g/f. Mutliply that by 10 if you're dumb enough to leave it in My Pictures. Call it wrong, call it 'theft' but at the end of the you should be a little smarter than that.
Fourth - Using a Boot CD does *NOT* mean they were wrong about the Hard Drive, if anything it only reinforces the fact that the Hard Drive was the problem.
Fifth - It helps your point if you actually KNOW what you're talking about, and even moreso when you're trying to get help because we techs don't tolerate stupid. - vertigo32, on 11/26/2008, -1/+3@thenativeraver
Or notice that most of your software won't install...or that most of your staff is only familiar with Windows. - inactive, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2So you have all day to jack Geek Squad around.
- PabloMac, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2"…No blue screens and if I do get them, which is rare…"
Huh? - SuperTonic, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2Elk meat is actually pretty delicious. My mom uses it in her spaghetti sauce. I think I will tell her to cook me some of that tonight. Then we can make turkey. Turkey is good with gravy on top of it.
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