How often do friends/family call you for tech support?
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Never (Score:5, Interesting)
It used to be all the time. I was running windows and so was everyone else. I eventually switched completely to Linux (and started using the "I don't use windows anymore, no clue"... excuse) but that didn't stop the tech support calls.
Moving the family to OSX however did. That was 3 years ago and there has not been a single tech support issue since then.
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Never (Score:4, Interesting)
People use automatic transmissions because why the hell would you want to complicate things? Would you prefer a non-power-steering car with a hand crank to start the motor, too?
Re:Never (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:Never (Score:4, Informative)
It's my understanding that typically, a manual car gets better gas mileage than an automatic, as has been linked in other replies. However, I think this may be because the automatic is at a disadvantage; they often have one less gear than their manual cousins. For example, I just looked up a Toyota Corolla; the base model is a 5-speed manual at 30 mpg, while the upgraded model is a 4-speed automatic at 29 mpg.
This isn't always true; I also looked at the Honda Accord; they offer a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic, but the automatic only comes on a hungrier engine, so they can't be compared. They do offer a CVT as an upgrade to the manual though, and that does get better mileage.
I think it all comes down to price; usually, the automatic gearbox is gimped to get the price closer to the manual, since many people see the automatic gearbox as a necessity, not an upgrade. To save on costs, they use one less gear, and hence the source of the "manuals save gas" generalization.
Re:Never (Score:5, Informative)
The disadvantage automatics had in years past was lots and lots of friction. Old automatics where basically dozens of clutches that where rarely fully engaged until you get to top gear. Then you have the torque converter which transferred power through a fluid. Manual transmissions where more efficient because you had a hard clutch that was either engaged or not, just a hard link between the engine and transmission.
Modern DSG transmissions are basically 2 manual transmissions with an electronically actuated pair of clutches, all of the advantages of a manual without the slushyness of an automatic. CVT's *CAN* be more efficient (see Toyota Prius' planetary gear set http://eahart.com/prius/psd/ [eahart.com]), or it could be crap (see Nissan's metal v-belt with varying pulleys)...depends on the design.
I personally have a Prius for daily driving and a RX7 for weekend fun.
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Ob /. (Score:2)
Re:Never (Score:5, Informative)
"Classic" automatics get worse gas mileage, but CVT and dual-clutch (or "automated manual") get better mileage (with the latter providing faster shifts and better acceleration).
And here's [fueleconomy.gov] a better source. With actual studies listed at the bottom of the page.
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In long-term maintenance, manual transmissions are far more reliable. They can use new fluid maybe once every 70k-100k miles and eventually the synchros will wear out (making shifting less convenient but still possible), apart from that they're rock-solid-reliable. You'll get better mileage, better performance, better engine wear (since auto gearboxes can't recognize a hill, they keep the revs low and often cause pinging), and lower initial and running costs on the gearbox itself.
All modern manuals have a c
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A computer can manage the engine better than a person, but not your average automatic transmission control unit, and the efficiency losses are a mechanical reality of the components used in an automatic transmission.. And modern autos would still be lucky to match the reliability of a manual, never mind surpass it. I'd like to see any statistics that indicate that modern autos are MORE reliable.
Furthermore a jet engine requires more advanced manufacturing techniques but is actually mechanically simpler than
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Safety is a third reason to drive manual over automatic. When was the last time you heard of someone "accidentally hitting the accelerator instead of the brake" using a manual? I can't think of a single time that has happened but I'm sure someone will pull up the lone time this happened.
Then of course there's the fact that it is much more fun to drive a manual than an automatic.
Alas, people have grown lazy and i
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I hit the accelerator all the time when I brake... It's call heel-toe downshifting ;) But seriously, it is nice to have an engine disconnect pedal convenient to prevent problems.
Almost all of the problems with automatics and manuals that people are discussing here are bull. It comes down to personal preference at this point if you enjoy shifting or you could care less what gears do in a car. I personally like the benefit no one discusses about manuals: It limits who asks if they can drive my car :P It also
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Agree, I love my wife but, I got a manual so she would never drive my car. That and they are far more fun!
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Why not teach the wife to drive stick? My girlfriend knows, but she isn't particularly good at it. I'm going to rectify that this summer because I've already told her that I don't plan on ever buying an automatic again (and by extension, us if we get married).
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I've actually tried to teach her. I think it would be good for her to know how to drive a standard. She's not bad at it, she just doesn't feel comfortable yet.
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I tried that. She decided she didn't like being excluded and demanded I teach her how to drive the manual. I did. She proceeded to burn out two clutches because she didn't believe me about riding the clutch pedal. She DID believe the mechanic who installed the third clutch, though. Her husband, COMPLETELY WRONG. Random stranger in a greasy overall? GOD'S OWN TRUTH.
Marriage. Feh.
What were we talking about?
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Safety is a third reason to drive manual over automatic. When was the last time you heard of someone "accidentally hitting the accelerator instead of the brake" using a manual? I can't think of a single time that has happened but I'm sure someone will pull up the lone time this happened.
Another issue are the drivers who have killed themselves or others when the brakes went warm, because they didn't know how to engine brake when going down long declines. The mountains in BC are infamous for that.
Sure, paddle shifters can alleviate the problem, if only drivers used them. They don't; the typical American automatic driver thinks paddles are only useful to gear down to go faster, not gear down to go slower.
The problem, as I see it, is with technology not being used for assisting those who kno
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Too many Slashdotters hate on the Mac without really considering that it's Unix, so you can do a lot of things with it straight from the Linux ecosystem. There are at least two (command line) package managers I know of that even try to maintain cross-compatible binaries for the Darwin platform. That earns it a special place for geeks like myself tired of trying to maintain things X11 configuration files (the newish auto-configuration systems make it
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Many people, like me, hate Apple just because of the way the company behaves. The "walled garden" of the iTunes store plus no allowance for 3rd party stores smells too much like censorship to me. Plus their rediculous money-grab wanting 30% of any in-app purchases from places like the Kindle and Nook stores and dropbox. If I am going to drop a few hundred on a device, I want to be the one who decides what goes on there. I would hate having to play "mother may I" with a company to intall the appls that t
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I can agree that Apple is reprehensible. That's not to say it does what it does for evil reasons. If you compare the iOS app ecosystem with the Android app ecosystem, you can see that Apple's stranglehold on apps increases security *for the average user* (meaning people who would happily install viruses on Android no matter how many times the OS warns them not to). Fragmentation is not a problem with iOS either, although that's as much about hardware control as about software control. Their overall strategy
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There is no point for manuals anymore, just like there isn't a point for carbs, or points and condensers.
Wrong! There's not much point in manuals for town driving. But automatics are no good off the road.
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Consider me one of those who think it's sporty. In fact I love driving a standard. It's far more fun and I love the instant power it provides.
When you are cruising at highway speed in your automatic and you decide to hit the gas, it takes what seems to me, forever, for the auto transmission to guess the correct gear downshift and then finally you have the power. This might only be a second or 2 but it's 1 or 2 seconds too long for me. In my car I downshift and then when I hit the gas pedal, imagine this
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There is no point for manuals anymore, just like there isn't a point for carbs, or points and condensers.
Sure there is - for starters, automatics are pure rubbish on the trail. Secondly, there are situations in which electronic controls are not what you want. Third, when stranded, it's a fairly trivial matter to jury-rig a carb and points type ignition well enough to limp it home (a carburetor is basically a controlled fuel leak).
On the extreme end of the spectrum - carbs and points are not adversely affected by EMP bursts.
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Those people are idiots, considering how elementary it is to downshift once you're stopped. The ones who roll backwards three feet before pulling out when stopped on a hill are the frightening ones, though.
Those people shouldn't be allowed to drive at all! They might not do that in an automatic, but they still wouldn't be safe.
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I haven't seen anyone roll back in years. I have seen quite a few burnouts on hill starts, though.
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Yay! You just earned the Slashdot achievement "Let's Bring It Back Around"! Unfortunately your attempt to bring the discussion back to the topic that spawned it is ultimately futile. So sad!
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I've got one. Haven't been able to hand crank it since I mounted the winch in front of the crank access hole.
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Shifting is fun. There's no need to be defensive about not knowing how.
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An automatic transmission **does** complicate things. A much more complicated system. More things to go wrong and costlier to fix.
Apple or Windows 7 is "easier" to use. But the implementation is very complicated and prone to failure. The implementation is far from simple and very opaque. That's why I drive a stick and use dwm as my window manager.
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People use automatic transmissions because why the hell would you want to complicate things? Would you prefer a non-power-steering car with a hand crank to start the motor, too?
The way I see it is that each of your examples actually complicates the car. Automatics are more complex than manuals, power steering requires either adding a hydrolic or electric assist, the starting motor is an additional component added. Now you could say it's making it easier, but it's not making it less complicated.
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Better performance, better efficiency, better traction, push starting, and it's cheaper to replace a bad clutch than it is an automatic transmission. You get all this in exchange for an ever so slightly steeper learning curve, which you only have to traverse once.
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I use a manual transmission because nobody knows how to drive with one. After I got both my vehicles with a manual transmission nobody asks to borrow them anymore.
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Well, since I live at the southern tip of Africa (y'know: that huge piece of land on the middle of your World Map) I know very little about Icy Roads (never even seen one, thank goodness) and I have never driven an automatic car e
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Just as automatic transmissions were invented for people who didn't know how to drive, so Apple computers were invented for people who didn't know how to use a computer.
It's perfectly reasonable. Most people don't really want a computer. They want a browser, word processor, spreadsheet, photo-chopper, etc. Just like they don't want a transmission and an internal combustion engine in a body with associated equipment. They want a personal transportation device.
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I guess the definition of "knowing how to use a computer" is a moving target.
Windows 8 PC is not the only definition of computer.
Macs are computers, as are iPads, iPhones, and XBOX 360.
BTW...OS X is Unix based. Would you say that Unix is for people who don't know how to use a computer? I suspect some Unix guys would say that about Windows.
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Re:Never (Score:5, Insightful)
Moving the family to OSX however did. That was 3 years ago and there has not been a single tech support issue since then.
The question is whether this is because they have no problems, or because they're reluctant to call the person who inflicted OSX on them.
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Moving the family to OSX however did. That was 3 years ago and there has not been a single tech support issue since then.
The question is whether this is because they have no problems, or because they're reluctant to call the person who inflicted OSX on them.
I totally agree. My father decided to get a iMac. I thought great then I have to keep explaining, finding software and the NAS never worked correctly ! Personally I'm grateful after 7 long years to get him back on Windows 7.
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I totally agree. My father decided to get a iMac. I thought great then I have to keep explaining, finding software and the NAS never worked correctly ! Personally I'm grateful after 7 long years to get him back on Windows 7.
Sounds like the issue may have been with the support person rather than OS X. I've seen a number of Windows people who just never manage to get past the fact that OS X simply doesn't behave like Windows.
When I switched from Windows to Mac - back in 2003 - I initially ran into a number of minor but irritating problems. Eventually a Mac-using friend advised me "Stop thinking about how something would work in Windows, or where you'd find some function in Windows. Think about how it should work, and look there
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I totally agree. My father decided to get a iMac. I thought great then I have to keep explaining, finding software and the NAS never worked correctly ! Personally I'm grateful after 7 long years to get him back on Windows 7.
Sounds like the issue may have been with the support person rather than OS X. I've seen a number of Windows people who just never manage to get past the fact that OS X simply doesn't behave like Windows.
When I switched from Windows to Mac - back in 2003 - I initially ran into a number of minor but irritating problems. Eventually a Mac-using friend advised me "Stop thinking about how something would work in Windows, or where you'd find some function in Windows. Think about how it should work, and look there - 90% of the time that will be the correct location."
He was right.
Ditto, a lot of the complaints I get about OS X boil down to it not working like Windows, Gnome, KDE, (name your poison).... The same goes for Gnome 3 haters, Gnome 3 is different, if you want Gnome 2 back get one of the numerous forks and move on. Just stop bothering the rest of us with long rants about how Gnome 3 isn't like Gnome 2.
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It's the former.
I've set up several people with OS X. Some came from windows, some from Linux. I picked "once a year" above, though it might be twice. And half the time it's hardware-related.
OS X really simply works. Whatever else you may like or dislike about it, compared to both windows and Linux, it's a lot more hassle-free.
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Moving the family to OSX however did. That was 3 years ago and there has not been a single tech support issue since then.
The question is whether this is because they have no problems, or because they're reluctant to call the person who inflicted OSX on them.
It's OS X not OSX, if you are going to troll this place with juvenile flaimbait, at least try to get your ancronyms right.
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Database stuff (Score:5, Insightful)
Here's a little tip for those who don't want to deal with moochers: never tell people you work in "computers", "IT", or "support". Instead, tell them you do "database stuff". The difference is night and day. When the average person hears "IT", they immediately think "what can I get out of him?" and "is there anything I need?" On the contrary, when the average person hears "database stuff", they cringe and try to change the subject, since taking the conversation further means work for them. In the rare case they do press you further, simply get technical, further distancing yourself from that hopeful chance that you might know "something about computers".
This attitude of taking advantage of IT people stems from the fact that nobody (outside of IT) understands that IT is actual work. They view your position not as one of actual labor, but merely knowledge -- the only difference between you and them is that you know which buttons to push, and they don't. Therefore, fixing their computer is hardly even a "favor", merely a short pit stop in your continuous life of fixing computer problems.
You won't ever see a mechanic asked if he can perform an oil change free of charge. You won't ever see an electrician asked to "do a little clean up" in his spare time, outside of working hours. That's because the average person understands what these professionals actually do, and they can appreciate it. They don't, however, understand what IT work is, and therefore they will never appreciate it as "real work" deserving of "real respect".
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Moving the family to OSX however did. That was 3 years ago and there has not been a single tech support issue since then
Funny that. Attempting to migrate about 50% of people to OSX is a disaster, especially if they are older. My family support calls ended when I gave the people what they wanted, and what they knew (with adequate backup and protection where needed). Isn't that what we do for clients at the end of the day?
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For clients, yes. Clients pay me. Family does not, so it's about what makes *my* life easier, not what they want.
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So you format their hard drive completely blank, destroy their power supply, and change over to an unlisted phone number?
I think your committment to "what makes *my* life easier" is lacking.
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Same hree, but it didn't completely stop. I still newbie questions like searching files, very old printers not working, etc. Meh.
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Exact same here. My parents used to be the largest offenders. Then I bought them MacBooks for Christmas a few years ago. Since then, not a single phone call for tech support.
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Modestly similar experience. Was getting calls almost every week from family and friends. Switched most of them to Linux (based on their needs and wants), now get the occasional call about upgrade installs, finding or using a program to do something, and related miscellany.
One woman still runs Windows - as a vm in VirtualBox atop a Linux host. All her personal stuff gets copied into a /home folder on host. I locked the XP guest down fairly well, and left clear instructions on how to wipe and use a clean
Moving the family to OSX (Score:2)
Almost every day but not quite... (Score:4, Interesting)
For almost a decade I ran my own tech sales/service/support company in a small rural town in NW Montana. I loved the work and really enjoyed being able to create my own schedule, but I was pretty limited as a one-man-band in terms of income potential. The most I could really get away with was around $70/hr and with max scheduling and taking out my costs it limited me on average to around $45,000 - $55,000/yr depending on how hard I worked my customers. The area I live in is pretty expensive ($200,000 will buy you a decent starter home) and most of the industry around here is centered on tourism and service (I live about 45min south of Glacier National Park). I made the decision to close my business and I was EXTREMELY fortunate to get hired as the Network Administrator for a Healthcare organization. I now have benefits, retirement, health insurance, strong job security, and my take home pay is almost double what it was before. Like I said, I am very fortunate.
What does this have to do with the current poll? Well, it has been insanely hard to get it into my customers and friends heads that I am no longer doing freelance tech support. Sure, I have a handful of very loyal (and well paying) customers that supported me for almost a decade that I feel a sense of responsibility for and I just can't bring myself to completely drop support for them. It almost feels like I am betraying them. I always served my customers and friends with the utmost respect and honesty and that's why my business grew like it did, but I would feel that now it would be a slap in the face to them if I simply refused to help them. I haven't been able to find someone I really respect to pass my clients off to... so I feel stuck sometimes.
I love what I do and I'm so glad I chose this line of work when I was a very young teen... but now that I'm in my early 30's and have a family. I would love to reclaim nights and weekends for myself again.
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My kids call me (Score:5, Interesting)
Does it happen very often that kids in their twenties call their mom for tech support on their computer? Mine do, like once a year. I help them, and I help my 85 year old dad, who calls me every two weeks about his computer. Other relatives and friends are on their own, unless they pay my usual hourly rate.
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Does it happen very often that kids in their twenties call their mom for tech support on their computer? Mine do, like once a year. I help them, and I help my 85 year old dad, who calls me every two weeks about his computer. Other relatives and friends are on their own, unless they pay my usual hourly rate.
Same here, and I fully expect to be tech-support for my grandchildren.
Mac only (Score:3)
A single La Madeline au Truffe by Chocopologie by Knipschildt. They can order it on their phone while I fix the computer. No truffle, no fix.
When they find out that my price is a single truffle. They are agreeable. When they find out the price they usually become incensed. I just mention that any time that I spend on their problem is time not spent building my business. Needless to say their emergencies become a whole lot less urgent.
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"La Madeline au Truffe by Chocopologie by Knipschildt", huh? At $5.95/character, that's pretty damn expensive. Literally.
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The
It used to be every week, now just ?s about sites (Score:3)
Now the only questions I get are about when web sites are updated and there's a layout change, or when Google updated gmail and it warned you that it was going to switch you to a new interface, and they want me to click OK because they're not sure if it'll break something
Very infrequently (Score:2)
Almost never (Score:2)
My father's been switched to a Chromebook, my mother can handle herself, the in-laws don't go on the Internet, and my grandmother knows better than to click random things. I'll give the latter a checkup once or twice a year, but that's it.
Down from once a week to once a year (Score:2, Interesting)
Aging parent who just wanted to e-mail her friends and write about her family tree. With the Windows laptop it was about once a week. "Do I right or left click on that?" "Outlooks says something about an error" "I forgot to shut it off last night, did I break anything?"
To iPad. I never hear from her now. People just don't understand how mind boggling awesome an iPad is for people who are not computer literate. iOS may have saved me from defenestration.
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iOS may have saved me from defenestration.
So, if defenestration is when you throw someone out a window, what's the term for when you throw out Windows?
I'm glad to help (Score:2)
I'm glad to be of help to my family and friends (although I do admit that there is a point of saturation somewhere).
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Me too. I really hate for my friends and family to have to pay $80 an hour for GeekSquad or equivalent. What are friends for, if they don't help each other?
Never any more (Score:2)
I switched them all to Linux. They never bother me again.
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Because they hate you. ;-)
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I just killed them all. They never bother me again.
Of course, it's sad being an orphan...
Second level tech support (Score:5, Interesting)
For my immediate family my computer-savvy Mom does first-level tech support. I'm second-level support.
Most of us use Macs, so the tech support requriements are minimal. :-)
...laura
Parent sometimes emails (Score:2)
But doesn't call. Maybe she knows better. Maybe it's the two hour time difference. Maybe it is because she comes from a generation where long distance calls were expensive.
I live in Silicon Valley so most of my friends are either technically savvy themselves or have others they prefer to call on.
Linux, almost none; Windows 8, daily (Score:4, Interesting)
I did fine when my wife had a Linux system. She decided she needed to replace her laptop and we got a "black Friday" special on a Windows 8 laptop. Now it's pretty much a daily ritual to try to figure out how Microsoft obfuscated something that was easy to find and perform under XP or 7. She can't decide whether to stick with Windows 8 because "that's what everyone will want her to know" or take the damn thing back to Windows 7 so we both be productive.
Cheers,
Dave
Move 'em to Macs (Score:4, Insightful)
And then they discovered Apple
So yes - I'm a great fan on Apple Macs. Not for me, of course - wouldn't touch one with a bargepole. But for all the people who used to ring me
How do you scale for type of call? (Score:2)
I don't get called by friends and family that often, but when I do it's usually because something is very broken. So, if the stereotype is that your mom calls you because she can't download her e-mail, my mom calls me when Exchange throws a rod and 500 people (school district) can't download their e-mail.
a lot less now (Score:2)
7% Smart families? (Score:2)
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Genius != computer troubleshooting ability. I think a better explanation is that families don't necessarily share interests. Actually, I think there would likely be a tendency toward diversification of interests through specialization. Why would someone need to learn how to fix the computer if they could rely on a family member that already had that skill?
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I've never been called because my whole family and extended family is in IT and software engineering. Only 7% of slashdot users have families that NEVER need help? I would have assumed that genius ran in more families......
I find it disturbing you assume that /. has a higher predisposition for geniuses.
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I find it comforting.
*rocks back and forth*
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IT and software engineering aren't particularly useful if your problem is that your arm is broken. I'll keep my family just the way it is and answer a few questions each year, thank you very much. I can handle the tech if they handle the doctorin'.
It used to be worse (Score:2)
My dad is a really smart guy. Seriously smart. I've never seen him try anything, and not be successful. He's done everything from whitewater rafting to carpentry, autobody work, racing motorcycles, shooting, gardening, he even built the house I grew up in (and by built the house, I mean he hammered every nail).
Except for computers. He is the fucking *master* as destroying a Windows machine. I can spend half a day, defragging, debugging, running virus scans, backing up, uninstalling crap and by the next day
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Unemployed at the moment (Score:2)
So my time is taken up 100% doing tech support for my wife. She runs businesses from home so a lot of it is helping her with spreadsheets, administering mailing lists, building web apps, that sort of thing.
Tablets, tablets, tablets (Score:2)
Giving an iPad to my mom and a Nexus 7 to my dad cut my tech support calls down to almost none.
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Wow, can you show me how to do that sometime this weekend? You know I'm just not that good with computers...
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All we're seeing from your proof is that you're dumb enough to ignore auto-correction.
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In his screenshot, there's only one vote and the bar doesn't show 100%.
Re: 1st VOTE AND 1st post (Score:2)
The html design assumes it won't be 100% so text saying how many votes is jammed in between the colored part of bar and 100%
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Most of them use Windows.