Windows Rant

[Mike McGinn]

On Monday 12 July 2010 08:53:44 Amedee Van Gasse (ub) wrote:
> On Sun, July 11, 2010 23:44, Angus MacGyver wrote:
> > Good grief - have you no heart ?
> > Are people *REALLY* that greedy these days ?
> > Have we lost compassion for one another, the joy of gifting and most
> > importantly love ?
> > I'm appalled and disappointed.
> 
> Read my mail again. Read it very carefully.
> I can't help it if it causes cognitive dissonance in your mind, but it has
> *NOTHING* to do with greed.
> 
> Obviously you don't work in IT. Obviously you never heard questions like
> these:
> * Hey Mark, I don't have a modem and can't connect to the Internet, can
> you fix this?"
> * "I removed some of the pins from my monitor cable because it didn't seem
> to fit right, now it's not working at all...can you fix my computer?"
> * Hey Sally, Can you fix my Internet, everytime I visit a website it says
> my host is unknown"
> 
> 
> 
> So why am I on this mailing list, for free? Because here I can choose. I
> only answer the questions that I find interesting. I am truly fascinated
> by interesting problems, and the joy of learning that goes with it. I
> really want to share that joy. But only on my terms. I will respect you if
> you respect me, and vice versa. There is nothing wrong with that, on the
> contrary: this world needs more respect.
> 
> 
> The Thinkgeek tshirt is tongue-in-cheek, but if you want to read a serious
> blog post that I agree with, then I recommend this one:
> http://www.broowaha.com/articles/3671/no-i-will-not-fix-your-computer
> 
> Thanks for your attention.
> 
> Amedee.
> 
When I started at my current company as the only in-house programmer (I wrote 
the billing system) I was hammered with requests to also be the PC support 
guy. I told them, and I still do, your computer is your responsibility. If you 
do something that breaks it, you get to fix it.

I am also an electronics hobbyist. I started out as a technician and ended up 
as an engineer. I know how to design a circuit and build it and make it work. 
I will not work on TV's VCR's or CD players. They are not worth my time and 
effort. I do enjoy buying old broken test equipment and fixing it, as well as a 
vintage radio once in a while. I am in complete agreement with the blog. I 
fixed televisions when I was in high school, and the biggest problem I had was 
getting paid for my time. People did not understand that I was not fixing TV 
sets for d\fun, but to make money so I could buy the parts for the latest 
amplifier I wanted to build.

I have spent many years acquiring the skills I have, and at 54 years old, I 
would rather curl up with a good book at night than somebody's broken piece of 
crap. Besides, parts for most of this stuff are unavailable, as is any kind of 
documentation.

My two cents.
-- 
Mike McGinn		FACOCM
No electrons were harmed in sending this message.
My deeds are my dearest companions.  I am the beneficiary of my deeds.
My deeds are the ground on which I stand.  ** Registered Linux User 377849