[Grovenet] MACs for Christmas

[Jeff Howden]

Chuck,

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> From: chuck [mailto:chuck at grovenet.net]
> 
> Your industry and field of expertise, and mine are
> completely different.  Although we are both 'technical
> people', it appears you deal more with corporate
> customers, while I deal with the average mom and pop
> computer user, and sometimes small business owner.
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Over the years I have become "technical support" for family, friends,
friends of family, friends of friends, and even clients who range from one
man operations (some with very little computer experience) to experienced
(mostly) corporate users.

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> [...] I have had women in tears when I told them their
> hard drive was gone, and all their grandbaby photos
> could not be retrieved.  I have seen sheer panic in
> business owners at the thought of recreating 3 years
> worth of Quickbooks databases, or the idea of having to
> do payroll by hand.  Or taxes, or entire music librarys,
> or important documents. [...]
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These users are paying the consequence for not implementing a simple backup
strategy, something anyone using a computer (regardless of OS) should be
doing religiously if anything on their computer is worth not losing.

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> [...] Why should they have to purchase yet 'another'
> copy of Windows to put on a different computer - they
> paid for the original - it should be theirs to do with
> whatever they wish. [...]
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Now we're getting into the nasty world of licensing issues, but my
understanding is that you are allowed to install it on another machine
provided it's either removed from the previous machine it was installed on
or the previous machine it was installed on is destroyed.

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> [...] Another copy of Office?  Why won't my old one
> work? [...]
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No one using a Windows machine is *required* to use Office.  They're free to
go download and install one of the alternatives.  That said, if they want to
use Office, they need to pay to license it for each machine it's installed
on.  That's not just a "Microsoft thing", but a typical requirement for
licensing in general.

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> [...] Where's the Parallel Port on this new printer? 
> Why do I need a new computer when the old one worked
> just fine? [...]
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Technology changes.  You can't expect to drive a 20 year old car and reap
the benefits available on newer cars without purchasing a newer car.
Sometimes it just takes explaining to the customer why these changes were
made, like USB instead of the parallel port and how much faster the print
data can be sent to the printer with USB along with cartridge ink level
warnings, etc.

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> [...] And Vista?  Why do I have to have it in order to
> run the latest Quickbooks? [...]
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... because that is part of Quickbooks system requirements.  That's not an
issue inherent to Windows.  That's standard with pretty much every bit of
software you find out there.

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> [...] Why can't I just buy Vista and install it on my
> old P3, 700Mhz, 256M RAM Dell?  [...]
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Because your old technology (the Dell) is too outdated for the new
technology (Vista).  Again, it comes down to system requirements.  It's not
just Vista to blame here either, all software is requiring increasingly more
RAM, increasingly faster processors, increasingly more harddrive space, etc.

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> [...] I just bought this new Vista machine, in order to
> run Quickbooks, and now my old Printer doesn't work
> anymore? [...]
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Probably because they need to simply download a Vista print driver for that
printer.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I was very pleasantly surprised
to hear that my father had a 5 year old printer "just work" on a new Vista
machine he purchased.  It even located, downloaded, and installed the proper
print driver when he plugged the old printer in to the new Vista machine.

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> [...] Why did I get a Virus - I had McAfee installed 5
> years ago when I bought it?  I gotta go buy WHAT NOW?
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... probably because they didn't keep the virus definitions up to date.  If
you don't want to pay for the subscription-based virus protection (who
*would* want to pay for that), then there are free alternatives available.
Personally, I wouldn't touch anything Norton or McAfee.  I recommend AVG
from Grisoft for those that qualify for their free license (some don't, read
the fine print).

Customer: Why are two of my four tires worn out?  
          When I bought my car they were all brand new?

Auto Tech: Have you had them rotated per the
           recommendations in your owner's manual?

Customer: No, should I have?  How much for two new tires?

Auto Tech: Yes, you should have and I wouldn't recommend
           just buying two replacements as differences in
           tire properties could lead to problems.

Customer: Am I being punished for not having my tires
          Rotated?

Auto Tech: Yes, but not by me.  I'm just here to sell you
           tires.

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> That is 'our' Microsoft frustrations.
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No, those are your *computer* frustrations.  There isn't anything inherently
"Microsofty" in there.  It's just the nature of technology.

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> [...] Microsoft Vista was supposed to be a huge security
> upgrade - I just haven't seen it yet.  All I've heard
> about, read about, or experienced directly - are the
> headaches and nightmares. [...]
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As long as you work in the computer service/repair segment, you aren't
likely to hear much about the positives of computers.  My experience with
Vista is that's easier to use and more secure.

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> [...] I hope Microsoft gets their act together.  [...]
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No company out there acquires 90%+ marketshare without having act together.


Jeff