13 Things your computer person won't tell you

[PowerMac]

http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/13-things-your-computer-person-wont-tell-you/article95455.html

[fohfoh]

The funny thing is... as much as that sounds like common sense to us... most people don't understand it.

[bcr123]

A better title for that article is "13 things your computer guy told you repeatedly...  but you weren't listening."

[iindigo]

Not bad, but...

8. Give it a rest. Turning off your computer when it's not in use saves energy and clears out the RAM, or temporary memory, which would otherwise slow your machine over time.

I think this highly depends on the OS you're running. On Windows, sure, I'd agree with this, but I've kept OS X and Linux systems up for months on end without even a hint of a performance decrease.

[GoGeTa006]

Not bad, but...

8. Give it a rest. Turning off your computer when it's not in use saves energy and clears out the RAM, or temporary memory, which would otherwise slow your machine over time.

I think this highly depends on the OS you're running. On Windows, sure, I'd agree with this, but I've kept OS X and Linux systems up for months on end without even a hint of a performance decrease.

yup at my highschool they left the macs on all week while the PCs had to be shut down each day

The funny thing is... as much as that sounds like common sense to us... most people don't understand it.

yeah i think its funny how  "civilians" dont know shit about computers. . . they are overrated when they say they are delicate and must treat with extreme care. . . hell to take out that freakin RAM stick *and to put it back inn* i had to use manly strenght. . .

and when you explain simple *or so i think* concepts they go like "what?" so then you have to go
"well the HD is like a part of your brain and it stores all your memories. . ."

and "yes you can fit 1000 songs in an ipod. . ."

and yes 1 GB flash is enough for word files and school use. . .

and "norton isnt good. . .get AVG"

[iindigo]

yeah i think its funny how  "civilians" dont know shit about computers. . . they are overrated when they say they are delicate and must treat with extreme care. . . hell to take out that freakin RAM stick *and to put it back inn* i had to use manly strenght. . .

and when you explain simple *or so i think* concepts they go like "what?" so then you have to go
"well the HD is like a part of your brain and it stores all your memories. . ."

and "yes you can fit 1000 songs in an ipod. . ."

and yes 1 GB flash is enough for word files and school use. . .

and "norton isnt good. . .get AVG"

I know exactly what you speak of. I'm getting sick of explaining to people how the size of your internal HD has no bearing on the computer's speed, how RAM and HD space are totally different beasts, that deleting shortcuts off the desktop DOES NOT uninstall programs, and that you can in fact view the internet in its entirety with something other than Internet Exploder.

Is this commoner computer stupidity only rampant in the US or has it infected other nations as well?

[Slykester]

and "norton isnt good. . .get AVG"

That may have been true for quite some time, but recently Symantec has gotten much better. Somehow my family manages to break AVG, to my dismay, consistently. NIS2008 is the only one that has been able to hold down the fort. Although I expect no one will believe it.

[fohfoh]

I haven't checked norton. But I hear it's slightly better. I'm still not going to go to it though... I'd easily take AVG over McAfee though. That thing is a piece of garbage.

I mean... microsoft needs some maintenance here and there... it's not hard. You have no idea how many people thing I'm a genius for "speeding up their computer" when all i do is a cache cleaning, cookie cleaning, defrag and a quick msconfig to turn off shitty programs at boot up.

But then again we have "mac geniuses" who can transfer files from windows to macs.... WHICH IS SO FUCKING HARD TO DO IN THE FIRST PLACE??

[PowerMac]

I haven't checked norton. But I hear it's slightly better. I'm still not going to go to it though... I'd easily take AVG over McAfee though. That thing is a piece of garbage.

I mean... microsoft needs some maintenance here and there... it's not hard. You have no idea how many people thing I'm a genius for "speeding up their computer" when all i do is a cache cleaning, cookie cleaning, defrag and a quick msconfig to turn off shitty programs at boot up.

But then again we have "mac geniuses" who can transfer files from windows to macs.... WHICH IS SO FUCKING HARD TO DO IN THE FIRST PLACE??

For a lot of users it is above their heads how to transfer files from and old computer to a new one, thats why Apple offers it for free so users wont have that as an excuse not to buy a new machine.

Plus the "Geniuses" do much more than transfer files. They handle virtually all issues with Apple products. For example its up to them if a repair is covered under warranty. They also do many repairs right there in the store depending on the size of the store (in general the smaller the store the less they will do in store, but the bigger ones handle most of the work in house)

Example, my Mac Mini had some problems with its Bluetooth connection. Took it to the store and they installed a new bluetooth card and antenna in about an hour. (took a while for them to do it because they were interrupted several times by  other people with questions).

[AceHigh]

I think this highly depends on the OS you're running. On Windows, sure, I'd agree with this, but I've kept OS X and Linux systems up for months on end without even a hint of a performance decrease

WOW!!! I am running my PC (Windows XP) for months too and I frequently use different resource heave apps like games and CAD programs.... without any performance decrease. Sorry for bursting you perfect bubble of Mac cockiness.

[Pigeon]

WOW!!! I am running my PC (Windows XP) for months too and I frequently use different resource heave apps like games and CAD programs.... without any performance decrease. Sorry for bursting you perfect bubble of Mac cockiness.

++

I typically leave all my systems on 24/7, regardless of OS, and regardless of what this article tells me to do. No real problems.

I will say that my first course of action given any windows problem is to reboot the thing.

And transferring files is hard? wtf?

[kureshii]

I know exactly what you speak of. I'm getting sick of explaining to people how the size of your internal HD has no bearing on the computer's speed, how RAM and HD space are totally different beasts, that deleting shortcuts off the desktop DOES NOT uninstall programs, and that you can in fact view the internet in its entirety with something other than Internet Exploder.

Is this commoner computer stupidity only rampant in the US or has it infected other nations as well?

I LOLed. Reminds me of the angel-vs-devil battle that sometimes goes on in my head:

Friend: "Does hard drive size affect how fast my computer is?"

Me: "It depends, but generally it doesn't."

Friend: "So why does my computer run so slow on my old 40GB hard drive but so quickly on my new 250GB hard drive?"

* kureshii takes a deep breath...

A: "Go ahead! Enlighten him on drive latency and mechanical drive-head seeking, platter spin speeds vs number of platters, storage density etc, he'll be a much better consumer for it!"

D: "Oh, what's the fucking point?"

[Proin Drakenzol]

Not bad, but...

8. Give it a rest. Turning off your computer when it's not in use saves energy and clears out the RAM, or temporary memory, which would otherwise slow your machine over time.

I think this highly depends on the OS you're running. On Windows, sure, I'd agree with this, but I've kept OS X and Linux systems up for months on end without even a hint of a performance decrease.

Wrong. I never shut down my computer unless I'm installing updates that require it. And I don't turn off my computer after installing a game.

And I run Windows Vista.

And I haven't had a "hint of a performance decrease."

Also wrong is number 6. There are established "free" services... such as Boxtorrents.

Number 10 is only because the majority of users are stupid.

Number 13 means the guy's job could be done by a retarded monkey. If the user doesn't understand you it's because computers are special pieces of equipment. You shouldn't expect someone to understand how computers work... just that they do.

[PowerMac]

Proin,

#6 is referring to P2P networks that are swarming with malware, Like LimeWire, Kazaa and the like.
#10  Thats saying something when even the stupid users can use their Macs without problems
#13  If you can't explain things in a way the user can understand, then your not a very good Technician.  Helping the user understand what is wrong is part of the Job.

[moonspot]

and "norton isnt good. . .get AVG"

I would recommend a combination avast! and spybot before AVG

[wolkec]

and "norton isnt good. . .get AVG"

I would recommend a combination avast! and spybot before AVG

LOL hahahaha, yes  get AVG or whatever that cheap shit is, since most people cant afford norton, or their comp is slow like shit, doesnt mean norton or Nod32 is bad, its actualy best av

[k0d0chaa]

i didn't see anything like: if your computer is slow, hit it a couple times. that'll solve it

yeah i think its funny how  "civilians" dont know shit about computers. . .

i just wish more people who made videos understood the vast complexities of Ctrl + +

[iindigo]

I think this highly depends on the OS you're running. On Windows, sure, I'd agree with this, but I've kept OS X and Linux systems up for months on end without even a hint of a performance decrease

WOW!!! I am running my PC (Windows XP) for months too and I frequently use different resource heave apps like games and CAD programs.... without any performance decrease. Sorry for bursting you perfect bubble of Mac cockiness.

Wasn't trying to be cocky, just stated my observations. XP may indeed be capable of that, I don't know, because while I know how to use it quite well I haven't used Windows for my primary operating system (and thus haven't run it for long periods of time) in many years. Last time I did was back in 2000 with Win98SE.

[Pigeon]

#13  If you can't explain things in a way the user can understand, then your not a very good Technician.  Helping the user understand what is wrong is part of the Job.

No, you're thinking tech support. And regardless of what tech support companies give as job titles for their tech support monkies, they're still not technicians.

[LordLethis]

They missed the Layer 8 Error in #12 

But I can't see why that is supposed to be an insult - it is nothing but the truth... How can 'Your computer does not work as it should because you messed everything up' be an insult? Is calling a prostitute a prostitute an insult, too?