...than about your experience as a user. It's been getting worse in this respect for years. When you add in the extreme DRM included, I will never "upgrade" to any version of Vista for my own use.
It's true, the customer service aspect, and helping people with their technological problems that will get you a good rep and long time gainful employment.
I charge $300 per machine, though everyone qualifies for a referal or multiple machine discount of $50, so the net is $250. Seem high? Not really, when you consider that it includes a year of support. After the initial fixup of the machine(s) and resolution of all issues, they pay a minor gas fee for an actual visit.
How to I manage to make a living and survive? I fix the machine right the first time. Might take several days in my office, depending on how infested and crappified the box is. I've been doing this for over 20 years, so I got the chops to fix almost any problem that might arise. Then most calls are questions on how to accompish some task, like emailing a photo or such, or some new problem or infection.
I don't advertise at all. All clients are given my card directly, or refered from a current client. It took a while, but I have no unsatisifed clients, and have never had a bounced check. I do not take credit cards. I do help people asking questions in stores and such if I happen to hear and can help, and then give them my card.
Step one is to Ghost or TrueImage the drive or drives, and make sure you can boot from the backup. Then you can always go back and start over or retrieve data if necessary. An additional benefit is that you'll find out if the hard drive is starting to go bad.
Don't talk down to them. Make an analogy that they can understand to explain. And never get angry or short with them, no matter how annoying they may be. It's not their fault that they are stupid about computers - and you are making it your job to help them, so be as kind as possible. Even when they call you as your hot dinner hits the table, or just as you get into the bath.
That would be on my Linux bootable flash drive. Still working on making that one complete, but it would have stuff like nmap, nessus, etc. Not to mention the Linux boot doctor and numerous other tasty items. But I would not actually have decss code on ANY physical media, nor any sexy wallpapers. I work on kids computers too, and would want nothing risque on such media.
Hijack This. Spybot & Ad Aware. Various Virus scanners & fixes. Ghost and TrueImage. MSCONFIG for Win2k machines. Keyfinder. reg files for particular tasks. hosts file to limit access (to myspace!). Windows Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe). IE5 & IE6 install files. IEradicator. CPUZ. Winsockfix. Various standard network drivers for all Windows OSes including USB network drivers. Office updates, various versions. Zone Alarm. Winzip & WinRAR. Some DOS windows unix util ports, i.e. kill.exe to kill processes. Editpad. VNC. WS_FTP. PCAnywhere. MBM5. Prime95. Powertoys for Windows various versions. Process Guard. Microsoft Virtual PC & VMware. Windows Fax installation files for Windows various versions. Panicware Pop-up Stopper Free.
Non-Utils:
Nice PD wallpapers & screensavers. Windows XP wallpaper powertoy. Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition. Google Earth. WinAmp. WinDVD trial version. Various Codecs.
I've probably forgotten an item or two, but that pretty much lists everything I might need beyond specific hardware drivers.
Slashdot Mirror
...than about your experience as a user. It's been getting worse in this respect for years. When you add in the extreme DRM included, I will never "upgrade" to any version of Vista for my own use.
It's true, the customer service aspect, and helping people with their technological problems that will get you a good rep and long time gainful employment. I charge $300 per machine, though everyone qualifies for a referal or multiple machine discount of $50, so the net is $250. Seem high? Not really, when you consider that it includes a year of support. After the initial fixup of the machine(s) and resolution of all issues, they pay a minor gas fee for an actual visit. How to I manage to make a living and survive? I fix the machine right the first time. Might take several days in my office, depending on how infested and crappified the box is. I've been doing this for over 20 years, so I got the chops to fix almost any problem that might arise. Then most calls are questions on how to accompish some task, like emailing a photo or such, or some new problem or infection. I don't advertise at all. All clients are given my card directly, or refered from a current client. It took a while, but I have no unsatisifed clients, and have never had a bounced check. I do not take credit cards. I do help people asking questions in stores and such if I happen to hear and can help, and then give them my card. Step one is to Ghost or TrueImage the drive or drives, and make sure you can boot from the backup. Then you can always go back and start over or retrieve data if necessary. An additional benefit is that you'll find out if the hard drive is starting to go bad. Don't talk down to them. Make an analogy that they can understand to explain. And never get angry or short with them, no matter how annoying they may be. It's not their fault that they are stupid about computers - and you are making it your job to help them, so be as kind as possible. Even when they call you as your hot dinner hits the table, or just as you get into the bath.
That would be on my Linux bootable flash drive. Still working on making that one complete, but it would have stuff like nmap, nessus, etc. Not to mention the Linux boot doctor and numerous other tasty items. But I would not actually have decss code on ANY physical media, nor any sexy wallpapers. I work on kids computers too, and would want nothing risque on such media.
Utils:
Hijack This. Spybot & Ad Aware. Various Virus scanners & fixes. Ghost and TrueImage. MSCONFIG for Win2k machines. Keyfinder. reg files for particular tasks. hosts file to limit access (to myspace!). Windows Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe). IE5 & IE6 install files. IEradicator. CPUZ. Winsockfix. Various standard network drivers for all Windows OSes including USB network drivers. Office updates, various versions. Zone Alarm. Winzip & WinRAR. Some DOS windows unix util ports, i.e. kill.exe to kill processes. Editpad. VNC. WS_FTP. PCAnywhere. MBM5. Prime95. Powertoys for Windows various versions. Process Guard. Microsoft Virtual PC & VMware. Windows Fax installation files for Windows various versions. Panicware Pop-up Stopper Free.
Non-Utils:
Nice PD wallpapers & screensavers. Windows XP wallpaper powertoy. Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition. Google Earth. WinAmp. WinDVD trial version. Various Codecs.
I've probably forgotten an item or two, but that pretty much lists everything I might need beyond specific hardware drivers.