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BBC Writer Tries PC Repair, Finds Poor Software
twitter writes "BBC author Paul Rubens tried out amateur computer repair and wrote about it. All of the software was for Windows, and he finds what most of us do: "Most of the problems I've been called to look at have been caused by viruses and spyware, some by strange software [conflicts], and only one by faulty hardware." He then flames the whole world of computer repairmen as 'a bunch of unqualified amateurs.'"
Pee Wee fixes computers? (Heh, heh!)
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
Any story by Paul Ruebens has to be met with a certain level of healthy skepticism on my part. :-)
To the mods: Post is meant to be funny.
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...he didn't try to become a pilot!
-Valiss
If they knew what they were doing, they wouldn't be wasting their time cleaning spyware off grandma's machine for $12/hr.
You're right, I charge $40/hr
My family and friends don't bug me that much about computer problems, but when they do, they know that:
And I outside of the occasional meal, I am free.
Seriously though, what can you expect from an article written by PeeWee Herman?
Fortunately, the hardware problem ended up being a temporary issue.
"Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold." -- Joseph Chilton Pearce
For a small fee, I can tell you how to close an HTML tag. This may prove helpful to you in your chosen career as a website designer.
Why wait 80 years? Let's kill them NOW!
Computers can add binary numbers, and that is all.
I have a Mr. Turing on line one for you. He wants to discuss this Universal Machine thing he's invented.
A little more than the average comment from an Anonymous Coward
;)
(this included
Jupiter is the name of the lander... ...the actual landing site is in my backyard, and I assure you, it is indeed rocky. Noisy and tough on the garden, too.
"We have to go forth and crush every world view that doesn't believe in tolerance and free speech." - David Brin
In my experience when people try to fix their own computers my billable hours go UP!
Wait! Wait! I know this!
(AHEM!) 'The difference between auto mechanics and computer repairmen is that the auto mechanic knows when they are lying.'
A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
Is that how I get people to stop asking me to fix their spyware-laden computers; just tell them I charge way more than the PFY down the street?
10Brett-T
Oh, bother.
Heh. Lightweight. I break their computer and then they have to pay me to get an all-new one. And if they're too cheap to get one, problem solved.
I haven't done too many home computers, because the owners are just too uninformed about the things, and once I touch it, they figure anything that goes wrong with it after that is somehow my fault.
One home user I went to had something like 26 viruses and over 100 malware/spyware-related objects on the machine. After spending three hours fixing everything, I looked at they guy's history, and there were hundreds of porn and gambling sites. This guy's wife is extremely religious, and supposedly he is too, so I kept my mouth shut so as not to embarrass him, but I wanted to say, "If you'd stay off the ****ing porn and gambling sites, you'd have no problems.
That was five months ago. Last week he called me back with the same problems. Same viruses; same malware; same history list.
Good grief!
Proverbs 21:19
Hmm... perhaps you're onto something there! If we could advertise Firefox as "the best browser for viewing porn sites without screwing your PC", I wonder if even more people would want to install it?
But then, I guess that might put you out of business, so probably isn't worth the hassle for you to install for people!
Organic free-range music... yum!
Wow, I guess you had to walk uphill both ways to school in 7ft snow and didn't even get weekends off.... Give me a break, we would still be fixing computers old-school if parts were not so cheap. Why pay $400 on labor to fix a $150.00 monitor? Why pay $900 to fix a MB when a replacement is $50.00? I myself remember diagnosing & repairing, but to hell with that I would rather stick in a new video card or whatever, charge $30.00 and move on with my day. I'm glad those days are gone. Why in the heck would you go into Best Buy if you know there are Windidiots there anyways? I give them a gruff look and tell them I don't need help, thank you. Avoids lots of hassle. I buy 99% of my stuff online anyways, get what I want, without hassle. I for one applaud M$, I love Windows, keeps my family fed.
If Kerry was the answer, it must have been a stupid question.
The UN - The largest "political" cause of death.
Man who annoy computer fixer often have broken computer.