Technololgy Companies. We Hate You.

http://www.whattofix.com/blog/archives/2009/03/technology-comp.php

by DanielBMarkham • 17 years ago

18 26 17 years ago

whattofix.com

run4yourlives2• 17 years ago

I noticed he didn't bother to cancel is wacko internet account.

And he wonders why things are so bad...

DanielBMarkham5• 17 years ago

"he" is stuck with wacko internet account because he lives in a place where you have 2 options: dial-up, or wacko.

run4yourlives2• 17 years ago

Heh, didn't notice you were also the submitter. Sorry. I feel for you, but seriously, no other options? Wow.

Could I ask then why you bought Norton? I've installed avast on my mother's machine and haven't heard from her since, and it was free.

Also, as much as I hate the phrase "buy a mac", I'm convinced that all non-tech users should be using one of these machines.

katz2• 17 years ago

I know the suffering of dial-up (dirty phone lines in rural areas) or other means (e.g. GRPS) - it is awful.

Isn't there an EDGE or 3G network available? Maybe something like CDMA2000?

randrews2• 17 years ago

I found the last bullet really interesting. At first I thought "wait, UPS isn't a tech company" but when you think about it, any time you buy something on the internet, you're giving money to UPS (or a competitor).

potatolicious2• 17 years ago

Actually, interesting anecdote... my former roommate once had to ship a load of stuff (100+ lbs) from the US to Canada via DHL. DHL quoted him about $1000 for the whole thing.

Then we went through our employer, who had a deal with DHL... $70 and change.

randrews2• 17 years ago

A friend of mine used to ship things to his office for much the same reason, it was cheaper to ship a large load to a business address (something to do with rates for freight). Once he ordered ten huge CRT monitors, and then sold nine of them to his friends. Ended up both getting a new monitor and making a profit.

noodle• 17 years ago

simple solution: go out of your way to use and promote smaller/better companies wherever possible.

i go out of my way to avoid giving money to best buy, norton, microsoft, etc..

these companies won't get better if you complain about them but continue to give them money. feed their competitors and you might see change.

jcromartie• 17 years ago

What!?

Alternative: Go to the Apple store and buy a MacBook. Turn it on. You're done.

spoiledtechie• 17 years ago

Wait, doesn't the macbook cost the same amount of money for what he just went through?

macbook $ = Articles $.

Hmm. How much is your time worth....

potatolicious2• 17 years ago

Regardless, even if the MacBook cost more, at least you don't have the do the following:

- Install Norton, or any sort of anti-malware anti-spyware crap. A stock machine out of the box will work and be reasonably secure for the home user.

- No need to image the HDD before giving the machine to the user... Because unless your grandma suddenly learned how to sudo, the odds of them crapping up their partition is really low.

- No need to order instructional material on Amazon. Apple's website provides a large number of introductory videos that show a user how to use MacOS X.

My mother still hasn't quite learned how to use a computer. My hope is to get her a Mac in the next year and maybe finally she can check her own email :)

unalone3• 17 years ago

My time is worth a shitload, pardon my French. I will pay for things that prevent me from wasting time. In general that's the only thing I'll pay for.

Jem2• 17 years ago

If the guy's mum needs that much help with using a computer - assuming she has zero knowledge on computing at all - buying a Mac isn't going to get her any further along.

Technololgy Companies. We Hate You.

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