We have a home wireless router hooked up to a cable modem that just craps out every once in a while. Certain p2p things will work, but browsers won't; someone told me that was a DNS problem. Regardless, I tried a number of technical, reasonable fixes. Nothing.
So, if you unplug the router and modem and plug them in IMMEDIATELY, it still doesn't work. But if you lerave it unplugged long enough for the hamsters inside to forget whatever the problem was (say 5-10 minutes, these are rocket scientist hamsters) it works. Until the next time it craps out again.
I'm not working in technology (I'm in university and working a summer job in dealing with conferences on campus) but I have a ton of interaction with customers. Specifically, we have a huge group (~1200) of elderly schoolteachers here. These people expect hotel level care and convenience from a fairly spread out dormitory campus, which we just aren't prepared to provide.
We do as much as we can (a 24 hour help desk, for instance; I'm working 16 hour days with generous OT), but eventually you need to tell people that you cannot help them. Some tricks to this:
1. As other people have said, for the love of god stay calm. More reasonable people will cool off when they realize they're the only ones yelling, but many won't, so... 2. Also be firm. Let them know that you can't help them until they leave (even if it's not strictly true). If they get out of your hair, they may cool off. 3. Pawning them off on a supervisor is always effective, or even someone imposing who might appear to be a supervisor. 4. My boss told me this on the first day, and even if I can't always follow it, it's a good ideal: "Never say 'no,' always present an alternative.
It could be worse. They could have called it the Boba Fett.
Then it would have had even more overtly obvious trademark references...AND the stigma of being attached to a character who gets eaten by a stationary killing machine.
I tried to switch my parents to Mac computers, because they are more forgiving to users, but they didn't want to.
I make lists for them in extremely untechnical language and leave them in an easy to find place. Then whenever they call I tell them to look at the lists. They contain such helpful information as "unplug the purple thing (modem) and the silver thing (router). Plug them back in." Once you see what problems crop up over and over, you can deal with them like this.
Also, try switching them to less dangerous software, ie, teach them to use BitTorrent instead of limewire or something. That saved me a lot of time.
Finally, know when to refuse to help. When you've taught them how to run ad-aware a thousand times for naught, get out of there, and maybe reference them to someone who's paid to deal with inanity.
Politicians don't need to "appeal" to any group under a mandatory voting system. They just need to make sure their name is more publicized than the other guy's.
Think of some of those little positions no one cares about when you're at the polls. Very few people form opinions on who should be the municipal soil and water conservation manager, and so they pick the guy whose name is recognizable or interesting.
Under mandatory voting, people would be doing that for more powerful positions, and while a guy named "Brock Bannon" sounds cool, he may not be the best choice for President.
You laugh, but I'm almost like that, and it was a lot worse when I was younger. I really like to have some motivation for doing what I'm doing, but it doesn't take much. For instance, knowing simply that Ninjas have kidnapped the president and that only I may be a bad enough dude to save him is enogh for me.
Can I roleplay an East Asian sweatshop worker who virtually makes these virtual shirts? Would there be some sort of sewing machine mingame?
What would I be payed? Because, I mean, if the shirt costs retail one dollar, that means it's produced for two or three cents, and the laborers would only make hundredths of a cent per day. How will they virtually feed their virtual families?
How can the FBI even use a term like "Radical Militant Librarian" in seriousness?
Also, in the spirit of Dave Barry, the Radical Militant Librarians would be a great name for a rock band.
Is GNOME Unique in its lack of female...popularity, for lack of a better word? I was under the impression that it was mainly because few girls major in computer science and the like; in that case, sponsorships don't make sense because it's part of a larger trend. Maybe, on the other hand, that's completely wrong, and the comp sci classes are FULL of girls, and they all hate GNOME. I doubt it, though. I would have seen these girls in class, probably.
Hm. I wonder if the cost of the beer I've consumed is equal or greater than the cost of the beer...Tough, I consume a pretty large quantity of extremely cheap beer.
Slashdot Mirror
Are we talking like triple-ply soft tissue?
Shouldn't what is apparently a published piece of scientific work use the apostrophe correctly to indicate ownership? (top of page 4, pdf in TFA).
Like that big alien from that episode of the Venture Bros...
D03s t3h 1337 c0unt as a t4rget l4nguage? C4n 1 st111 c0njug4te th1s w4y?
On the one hand, I feel the colorful lettering and 1915-era scared people is almost too silly to be true.
On the other hand, this is the American public we're talking about. Stupid people in large groups, that sort of thing.
That song is going to be absolutely killer.
in a related study, 95% of teenagers said they don't care if its legal, they want their goddamn Kanye West CD.
We have a home wireless router hooked up to a cable modem that just craps out every once in a while. Certain p2p things will work, but browsers won't; someone told me that was a DNS problem. Regardless, I tried a number of technical, reasonable fixes. Nothing. So, if you unplug the router and modem and plug them in IMMEDIATELY, it still doesn't work. But if you lerave it unplugged long enough for the hamsters inside to forget whatever the problem was (say 5-10 minutes, these are rocket scientist hamsters) it works. Until the next time it craps out again.
Couldn't you spend some of the 1.54 million dollars, on, I don't know, flea repellant?
I'm not working in technology (I'm in university and working a summer job in dealing with conferences on campus) but I have a ton of interaction with customers. Specifically, we have a huge group (~1200) of elderly schoolteachers here. These people expect hotel level care and convenience from a fairly spread out dormitory campus, which we just aren't prepared to provide.
We do as much as we can (a 24 hour help desk, for instance; I'm working 16 hour days with generous OT), but eventually you need to tell people that you cannot help them. Some tricks to this:
1. As other people have said, for the love of god stay calm. More reasonable people will cool off when they realize they're the only ones yelling, but many won't, so...
2. Also be firm. Let them know that you can't help them until they leave (even if it's not strictly true). If they get out of your hair, they may cool off.
3. Pawning them off on a supervisor is always effective, or even someone imposing who might appear to be a supervisor.
4. My boss told me this on the first day, and even if I can't always follow it, it's a good ideal: "Never say 'no,' always present an alternative.
It could be worse. They could have called it the Boba Fett. Then it would have had even more overtly obvious trademark references...AND the stigma of being attached to a character who gets eaten by a stationary killing machine.
Google "Magical Jellybean Software" and get that key extractor/changer. Silly name, good results.
I tried to switch my parents to Mac computers, because they are more forgiving to users, but they didn't want to.
I make lists for them in extremely untechnical language and leave them in an easy to find place. Then whenever they call I tell them to look at the lists. They contain such helpful information as "unplug the purple thing (modem) and the silver thing (router). Plug them back in." Once you see what problems crop up over and over, you can deal with them like this.
Also, try switching them to less dangerous software, ie, teach them to use BitTorrent instead of limewire or something. That saved me a lot of time.
Finally, know when to refuse to help. When you've taught them how to run ad-aware a thousand times for naught, get out of there, and maybe reference them to someone who's paid to deal with inanity.
Politicians don't need to "appeal" to any group under a mandatory voting system. They just need to make sure their name is more publicized than the other guy's. Think of some of those little positions no one cares about when you're at the polls. Very few people form opinions on who should be the municipal soil and water conservation manager, and so they pick the guy whose name is recognizable or interesting. Under mandatory voting, people would be doing that for more powerful positions, and while a guy named "Brock Bannon" sounds cool, he may not be the best choice for President.
I bet it helps prepare food and tells you when that food is ready. Unfortunately, it's extremely unhelpful, saying only "follow your nose!"
You laugh, but I'm almost like that, and it was a lot worse when I was younger. I really like to have some motivation for doing what I'm doing, but it doesn't take much. For instance, knowing simply that Ninjas have kidnapped the president and that only I may be a bad enough dude to save him is enogh for me.
Dragons...they're basically big flying snakes, right?
motherf*cking snakes... THAT ARE motherf*cking planes!
Forty-two.
Can I roleplay an East Asian sweatshop worker who virtually makes these virtual shirts? Would there be some sort of sewing machine mingame?
What would I be payed? Because, I mean, if the shirt costs retail one dollar, that means it's produced for two or three cents, and the laborers would only make hundredths of a cent per day. How will they virtually feed their virtual families?
How can the FBI even use a term like "Radical Militant Librarian" in seriousness? Also, in the spirit of Dave Barry, the Radical Militant Librarians would be a great name for a rock band.
In with Jager-bombs!
uh..why do you think they use Apple? it's pretty.
Well, that and the vastly superior user interface compared to windows.
But mostly the shiny.
Is GNOME Unique in its lack of female...popularity, for lack of a better word? I was under the impression that it was mainly because few girls major in computer science and the like; in that case, sponsorships don't make sense because it's part of a larger trend. Maybe, on the other hand, that's completely wrong, and the comp sci classes are FULL of girls, and they all hate GNOME. I doubt it, though. I would have seen these girls in class, probably.
Hm. I wonder if the cost of the beer I've consumed is equal or greater than the cost of the beer...Tough, I consume a pretty large quantity of extremely cheap beer.