Once upon a time, a content management system for microsoft.com was a plug in for VS. And also a plug in for Word. And these two plugins had different feature sets, so you had to use both to manage content on microsoft.com. Don’t ask how I know.
Me: open the form, add my field. Now VS crashes. I have to open the form code in a different editor and delete all the code VS added to the form when I opened it in the form editor.
Installing WordPress through a traditional Apache server shared hosting account only requires one click, and you can host as many sites as you want for like $9 per month.
Just today I tried to understand the backup principle behind Veeam with my senior.
After that I (soft) bricked my head trying to visualize the GFS principle.
Lol that was fun.
But then I remembered someone imagined the whole backup cycle and not only invent it but the dev team needed have so much knowledge to not only adapt it into software but that it’s considered beyond business critical software.
In Germany we have the saying “Kein Backup, kein Mitleid” (No backup, no pity) and we literally just hope the software does as it’s told to do.
Even if we test backups it’s crazy how we rely on it.
A long, long time ago in an internship far, far away, I encountered a user who did not need management. He remembered his passwords without writing them down, even as they changed. He could be trusted to apply software patches himself and return the media the same day. He needed nothing more from us than a friendly hello.
It has been over six hundred million seconds since then and I have yet to encounter another user such as this.
Yeah one of these views is more valid than the other:
“I got an error message! It says, Please right click the application and select ‘Run As Administrator…’ What does it mean?! What do I do!!! Why are these instructions so confusing?!”
“I got an error on the page! It says ‘Password incorrect’ What does that mean? How do I fix it?” “Have you tried using the correct password?”
Why on earth are you putting double quotation marks inside double quotation marks? We have single and double quotation marks for this exact reason. It took me forever to understand what you’re saying
Yeah, I’m in the IT dept (companys conatantly flop between throwing software into engineering, IT, or its own dept) and the other day, 5 minutes before I leave for a week long vacation a user comes up and asks if we’re ignoring her.
Outlook is constantly asking for a password to one of the emails she uses. She doesn’t know it and keeps clicking close on the popup. So she sends an email, FROM THE ACCOUNT SHE IS LOGGED OUT OF, to helpdesk a few days earlier.
I’ve had to walk someone over the phone through a prompt that says “Click OK to continue” and there was nothing else except the OK button.
Also when I used to work for Federal Student Aide help center it was common for (people who were about to enter into higher education) to get stuck at the end of the online form when a final screen came up with the options “Submit” and “Cancel”
That just seems like bad software design with a prompt like that, unless its for audit trail purposes and it’s used to log the user is actively accepting to continue.
If this is a situation you relate with, you might be an arrogant asshole.
I help people all the time with computer related issues, and they love that I do that. None of them give me the stink eye, and I never judge them or think they’re idiots for not being specialized in general computing.
I decided to make a career change into IT (didn’t stick). When I was working the other employees were just other people trying to make ends meet and I never judged them for, like you said, not being specialized in general computing. I did however judge some of the other admins for their decisions and attitudes. It was so weird being an “admin” and this being told I’m “above” the general employees.
I mean, you have a bit of a point, they’re not exactly idiots even if they seem that way, but I definitely get the stink eye. You must know a lot of nice people.
I used to provide some user support at a previous job. (It wasn’t exactly my job, but people would ask for help.) And it’d be easy to get frustrated, thinking people were stupid or incompetent, but I’d remind myself that being good at computers isn’t part of their job, it’s part of my job. These people were hired for other areas of expertise. If I had to do take on parts of their jobs, I’d look stupid and incompetent too.
That said… sometimes the level of incomprehension people have really is incomprehensible to me. There’s a level where you’re reaching wilful ignorance. When I point at something on the screen and tell the person to click on that… and they can’t or won’t move the mouse there and click on it…
There should be a basic level of understanding a skillset when using a computer when using a computer is part of your job. Users shouldn’t be required to fix technical issues but they should know the terminology (click the file menu, select properties…, or right-click on your desktop and select an option.
Its amazing how people use these tools daily but never learn how to use them. Imagine using saws, lathes, grinders, etc, but not knowing how to safely use them. It’s the same for computers. If you don’t know basic safety, you’ll infect your work network with malware, encrypt important files with CryptoLocker-type malware, etc. Honestly, companies should force a base-level of competence before allowing users on the network, but a lot of the users causing issues are directors or the CEO.
There should be a computer license, like a driving license, that you need to get before you can operate computers connected to the internet in the modern world.
One thing that's really interesting is that general technological aptitude seems to have peaked with the millennials. A lot of employers are now complaining that gen z lack technology skills of all things.
I can absolutely believe that because personal computing went from being something where you basically have fully powered computer hardware with all the positives and negatives of that and the learning curve to being carefully sculpted and focus tested black boxes.kids aren't good with computers, they're good with facebook and YouTube.
Is it pissible for programmers to encounter a silly little meme without taking it serious and going into a frenzy explaining that actually its premise is wrong
I immediately angrility opened the comments to respond. I think it’s just a side effect of working in this field. I have to be completely literal to the computer so in communication I prefer the same style. I will argue with people on the use of ambiguous language. More so if they are analysts. I can understand the business doesn’t always fully grasp the concept but if you give me a functional analysis it best be 100% clear. And yes, I’ve been tested for autism, it certainly flagged up as a possible trait, but it’s hard to know if this hasn’t just become an ingrained preference. Sure does help me when communicating with neurodivergent people, and I’ve heard from several neurotypical people as well that they actually appreciate the clarity!
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