Aloha everyone!
This is the biggest gripe by far ^^ of all the complaints I hear about computers and even though I have broached this subject before with brilliant insight and tongue-in-cheek genius, but I thought I would revisit this and related issues for your amusement and perhaps, edification.
So, your computer is ‘slow’. It couldn’t be the nut attached to the keyboard, could it? LOL…
zOMG! we have such wild and unreasonable expectations of everything. We kick and scream inside our heads when the elevator stops on a floor we weren’t expecting to let someone on or off and they are only going ONE FLOOR! (“USE THE STAIRS YOU LAZY COW!” You scream!) Of course if we need to go one floor on the elevator, it’s entirely justified. Because of course we are, well, us.
That is kind of the point of what I am driving at. Your perspective of ‘speed’ is skewed because of the pressure on you and the expectations you have for everything. I get it, I am right there with you, but when it comes to computers, I just have such low expectations.
If they even boot up and get to the internets I am overjoyed because of the sheer complexity of the whole of it. It is really quite amazing. But I digress. Your computer will NEVER be as fast as the 1st time you turn it on. NEVER. So learn to get along with what your computer needs and you will be less stressed and get more done.
I often hear, ‘This system is so much slower than my home system.’ LOL. I mean, duh. Your home system is not required to authenticate to a server, run security scans and service requests to large hosted databases. Seriously, these are NOT home systems, they are working machines.
One of the best things you can do for yourself is to reboot your system at the end of the day, log back into the network and then secure your system by locking the screen (CTRL + ALT + DEL , Lock This Computer, for you noobs) and turning off the monitor.
When you come back into the office the next day, updates and scans are finished and the system is all warm and ready to provide you with the benefit of its multi-core processor. But even getting people to do this 90 second procedure is tough. Some users think logging off is the same as rebooting. (It’s not) Some users think that just leaving it running with everything open is just as good. (It’s not)
Despite how I present ways to enhance your computing experience, I meet resistance and derision of the systems, the network, the programs, etc. But when you use things how they are meant to be used, they respond accordingly.
Is this all your fault? No. Do computers suck sometimes? Yes. But how do I tell the difference between a squeaky wheel and a legitimate complaint? It’s all in the way it’s presented. If you have a problem, you need to be able to reproduce it on demand. If you provide a ‘this is slow’ or ‘this crashed one time’ kind of vague complaint it sounds more like whining than someone who has a problem that needs to be resolved.
To let you down even further, lower your expectations of what you want computers to do and instead, work with them. Don’t open and close your applications all day long. Every time you do that you reduce available ‘memory’ for your system. Leave your programs open and move between windows as needed, but try to keep the windows down to an ‘as needed’ basis.
Not all programs get along with other programs. They don’t play well together. That is a tough nut to crack because each program believes that it is the reason you are on a network and have a computer. They could care less your other programs crap out when they are in command.
Do me a favor though. When you do have a crash or an identifiable problem, screen capture and or document the instance of the problem so that we can search for solutions and fix your problem. To screen cap simply use CTRL + PrntScr to grab the active window, then paste it into an email or into WordPad and send it to us. Voila!
For more obscure issues without an error screen, document the problem. As in, every time I do A., B. happens. It helps us help you.
That is really what this is all about. We want to help you be productive and (reasonably) satisfied with your professional computing experience. But it takes two to tango and we need you to follow these simple directives so we can all get along.
Thanks for listening and Happy Monday!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Turn Off, Look Around, Disconnect ~ Or not....
Aloha! Brian from MB Tech here, assailing you in electronic format, trying to get your attention for just a few seconds.
You see, the saturation of technology and the intrusion of it into our lives is both a blessing and a curse, don’t you know?
Sure I can Google anything from Anarchy (Sons of) to Santorum (Don’t look that one up) and get millions of hits, but getting the information I want quickly and efficiently without having to go down the rabbit hole to get it, or sift through millions of irrelevant junk links, are just a couple of the many challenges facing us each day we turn on our computers.
LOL! Yeah, right. Turn ON your computers. Your computer, like mine, is likely ALWAYS ON. What is the point of turning it off anymore? If not the PC, what about your mobile device, your tablet, your laptop, your netbook, your iPhone, your kids computer, your TV, your TiVo, etc.? Always on, always connected, GPS Tracking, Location Broadcasting, your work PC two clicks away, it just never ends.
I was just reading a story about ‘sleep texting’ because people leave their phones on the nightstand as an alarm clock, it buzzes, they wake up, half asleep, knock out a text or two, wake up the next day and have no memory of it.
Is this a luddite kind of warning, asking us to hearken back to more innocent times? Ah, the halcyon days of our youth when everything was perfect, perfectly innocent and gumdrop trees spilled their magical fruit into our mouths and all was right with the world?
Of course not. This is a guide to managing your online life, your devices and your sanity, as mine (Sanity and patience) is under assault as well.
As the old saying goes, ‘I have one nerve left, and you are standing on it!’, is about how I feel sometimes with the crush of constant access required by everyone 24/7/365. It is just non-stop and fraught with ‘OMG! 911’ importance, according to some users anyway.
Turns out, not so much. If Timothy Leary were still alive, maybe his motto ‘Turn on, Tune in, Drop Out’ would be better said as ‘Turn Off, Look Around, Disconnect’. Hello! McFly!??! ANYONE IN THERE?! Put down the phone and LOOK AT ME. And please quit yelling into your phone while on the elevator hoping that the voice on the other end can somehow magically hear you! YOU ARE IN AN ELEVATOR!
Trust me, I am guilty of it too. (Not the elevator part) But again, this is supposed to be a note that might help you gain some perspective on the unending onslaught of information, computers, devices and demands to be available and connected at all times. It is NOT sustainable.
It is certainly going to increase before it decreases, unless you take steps to manage it now. I will tell you one thing, Dick Tracy never saw this coming.
The answer, quite simply, is to set boundaries. Like no remote access to work. No work email to your mobile device. No texting while walking down Bishop. Put your hands in your pocket and look up at the sky for a change. Disconnect each and every day for an hour, two or more.
This isn’t helping, I know. We all know better, but it is so compelling. There is a feeling of power that comes from the ability to connect from anywhere at all times, but you are paying a steep price for it. Is it really worth it?
Turn Off, Look Around, Disconnect and Rejoin the Human Race. Or Google it.
Of course if you want to create new connections, configure your mobile device for more access, add a new computer, server or service to your quiver of access capable devices, let us know. We aim to please.
Aloha! Brian
You see, the saturation of technology and the intrusion of it into our lives is both a blessing and a curse, don’t you know?
Sure I can Google anything from Anarchy (Sons of) to Santorum (Don’t look that one up) and get millions of hits, but getting the information I want quickly and efficiently without having to go down the rabbit hole to get it, or sift through millions of irrelevant junk links, are just a couple of the many challenges facing us each day we turn on our computers.
LOL! Yeah, right. Turn ON your computers. Your computer, like mine, is likely ALWAYS ON. What is the point of turning it off anymore? If not the PC, what about your mobile device, your tablet, your laptop, your netbook, your iPhone, your kids computer, your TV, your TiVo, etc.? Always on, always connected, GPS Tracking, Location Broadcasting, your work PC two clicks away, it just never ends.
I was just reading a story about ‘sleep texting’ because people leave their phones on the nightstand as an alarm clock, it buzzes, they wake up, half asleep, knock out a text or two, wake up the next day and have no memory of it.
Is this a luddite kind of warning, asking us to hearken back to more innocent times? Ah, the halcyon days of our youth when everything was perfect, perfectly innocent and gumdrop trees spilled their magical fruit into our mouths and all was right with the world?
Of course not. This is a guide to managing your online life, your devices and your sanity, as mine (Sanity and patience) is under assault as well.
As the old saying goes, ‘I have one nerve left, and you are standing on it!’, is about how I feel sometimes with the crush of constant access required by everyone 24/7/365. It is just non-stop and fraught with ‘OMG! 911’ importance, according to some users anyway.
Turns out, not so much. If Timothy Leary were still alive, maybe his motto ‘Turn on, Tune in, Drop Out’ would be better said as ‘Turn Off, Look Around, Disconnect’. Hello! McFly!??! ANYONE IN THERE?! Put down the phone and LOOK AT ME. And please quit yelling into your phone while on the elevator hoping that the voice on the other end can somehow magically hear you! YOU ARE IN AN ELEVATOR!
Trust me, I am guilty of it too. (Not the elevator part) But again, this is supposed to be a note that might help you gain some perspective on the unending onslaught of information, computers, devices and demands to be available and connected at all times. It is NOT sustainable.
It is certainly going to increase before it decreases, unless you take steps to manage it now. I will tell you one thing, Dick Tracy never saw this coming.
The answer, quite simply, is to set boundaries. Like no remote access to work. No work email to your mobile device. No texting while walking down Bishop. Put your hands in your pocket and look up at the sky for a change. Disconnect each and every day for an hour, two or more.
This isn’t helping, I know. We all know better, but it is so compelling. There is a feeling of power that comes from the ability to connect from anywhere at all times, but you are paying a steep price for it. Is it really worth it?
Turn Off, Look Around, Disconnect and Rejoin the Human Race. Or Google it.
Of course if you want to create new connections, configure your mobile device for more access, add a new computer, server or service to your quiver of access capable devices, let us know. We aim to please.
Aloha! Brian
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
