raymac46 Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 (edited) Well I had a couple of quiet weeks while my favorite "client" was visiting her family in Nova Scotia but she's ba-ack. Got a call today. "Something's wrong with my computer. I try to load my Christmas card file which I made with Libre Office and it keeps telling me I have to buy Microsoft Office." Hmmm. That one is probably my fault as I installed Libre Office for her without uninstalling all the MS Office trialware. So a quick walk down the street later and a few uninstalls and everything works fine. "While you're here I can't get any email in my Windows Live Mail." Sounds like a password problem so I re-enter her password and test it out. It works now. Windows Live Mail has got to be the vilest email program known to humanity. It has a dumb ribbon interface that makes it almost impossible to send and receive mail without a tutorial. "My Norton Live Update doesn't work." It just refreshed 18 minutes ago but I rerun it and it looks OK to me. Don't know what was wrong before - likely a glitch on the network. I wonder if the average user like Lillian actually pays someone to fix this stuff - or does she just go without Office and email for weeks at a time? Edited November 17, 2013 by raymac46 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Most of my customers who've gone to Best Buy or called their Geek Squad to the house have ended up paying within a range of $150-$300. I charge $90/hr + parts w/ most repairs not requiring parts and taking less than 1 hour. After paying Best Buy $250, they rarely say that I'm too expensive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 18, 2013 Author Share Posted November 18, 2013 Are most of your folks like Lillian who screws things up herself mostly because she doesn't leave well enough alone? Oy.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 The vast majority of problems I see with my customers are due to neglect or lack of common sense when utilizing email or the Internet. In other words, they don't back up anything. They open all emails and attachments no matter who they're from. If they manage to actually have an AV app installed, it's rarely kept up-to-date. Most don't even bother to renew their paid AV subscriptions. This is one of the main reasons I usually wipe all AVs from their systems and install MS Security Essentials set to auto-update/scan. It can be annoying explaining this stuff to same folks over and over again. They just don't get it. They think the computer/Internet is just as simple and safe as their living room television. I guess it's not really their faults. No one really ever explained computers or the Internet to them. Sales folks just want you to buy the stuff. Most of them don't even know how it works or the dangers. My elderly aunts and uncles (only one of whom actually has a computer/Internet in their home) are constantly amazed at the stories about hacking and identity theft they read about in newspaper. They're always asking me how this is done. How can this be? Why are things like this? They're very scared of computers and Internet stuff. I have one uncle who is very curious and always asking me to look stuff up on the Internet for him. I've offered to give him a complete system and set it all up for him, including getting Verizon to turn on his FIOS. He already has Verizon phone and TV. He refuses. He says he wouldn't want to break anything. He's afraid he'll break the Internet. Their world (Depression Era, WWII, Eisenhower Era, etc.) has surely moved on. I feel sorry for them. There's is so much out there in the world these days that they are totally ignorant of. It doesn't have to be that way. I know folks in their 80s online who are sharp as H3LL when it comes to techie stuff. Myeh... it's not for everybody, I guess. I also know a few folks my age and younger who are very ignorant about computers and the Internet. It is what it is, I s'pose... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 (edited) One of the things about being an old guy myself is that the seniors take comfort that I'll understand their problem and fix it without being patronizing. Sometimes they lack confidence that someone my age really knows what he's doing, and I have to bring up the fact that I have 45 years experience with IT. They find that comforting, even though most of it doesn't apply anymore. Edited November 19, 2013 by raymac46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 ...even though most of it doesn't apply anymore. Hmm... I know that feeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 The other thing I've noticed about the seniors around here is that they don't worry about the real threats like Cryptolocker or phony ransomware, but they forward me every hoax threat under the sun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 They think the computer/Internet is just as simple and safe as their living room television. Like a toaster...... I also know a few folks my age and younger who are very ignorant about computers and the Internet. I know the same types. (my age) Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share Posted November 27, 2013 A Wednesday afternoon session at another friend from my Tuesday morning coffee group. He has a Vista desktop (Compaq.) (1) Uninstalled 6 toolbars from the system (either with RevoUninstaller or delete from Chrome Extensions.) (2) 2 different malware scans - removed 200 pieces of malware. (3) Installed Libre Office so he could read a bunch of .pps files he got in emails. (4) Showed him how to delete emails in bunches rather than one at a time. (5) CCleaner fixed his registry and deleted 6GB of temp files. (6) Gave him a brief Linux demo. I'll lend him a Thinkpad 42 laptop I have here with Linux on it so he can play with it. How people can work with computers like this I'll never understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 I think the important thing is that they don't understand, and don't want to take the time to understand. This is why locked down systems are starting to become popular. They don't get infected as badly, and do the very basics online, which is enough for some folks. This is the natural evolution of computing. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share Posted November 27, 2013 (edited) My version of the lockdown is to set up a Linux system and not give the user the admin password. And certainly when and where I worked our NT systems were tightly locked down. However most folks buy their own home based systems and as such demand the right to screw them up. I don't know how you deal with that aside from making them pay to get them fixed. The concept of Bring Your Own Desktop must be a nightmare for IT admins nowadays. Edited November 27, 2013 by raymac46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 My version of the lockdown is to set up a Linux system and not give the user the admin password. HAHA! For sure! Today's client sound a lot like one of mine. The system issues are definitely similar. Compaq and Vista... Whew! Talk about two strikes against you right out of the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Just spent 2.5 hrs cleaning up crap on a laptop and it didn't have a lot of RAM and was slow even after the clean up sadly. It's an older ASUS laptop but does have Windows 7. She had all the right tools onboard but wasn't doing what she needed to do. Had to get things updated for her as well since she wasn't doing that either. They have finally learned a lesson and has made notes to remind her to do the CCleaner cleanup daily after closing the browser, and weekly running (after update of course) Malwarebytes Antimalware and update SpywareBlaster as well as doing a plugins check. She had finally learned to do her backups weekly and removing the drive after she does the backup which took a while to get her to learn that too. But when she started doing a note to herself to do it, she said it got done. So I think she will do that this time as well since she did the same thing because she made herself a note. She now has two notes on her laptop to remind her about these two very important items. This was by the way the third time I have had to clean this type of stuff off her computer in the last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 28, 2013 Author Share Posted November 28, 2013 Well having worked with Windows 7 a fair bit now I've lost most of my Vista-phobia. It's really not as bad as I thought, although the user account control is still mighty annoying. Also I don't think I've ever seen an O/S that takes as long to boot up or shut down as Vista does. Most issues with slowness do relate to lack of RAM, that is for sure. Remember those Vista capable crapboxes with 256 MB? One other thought. I have a few "clients" who think getting crap is a natural process with Windows and they want me to clean things up on an annual or semi-annual basis. This is like a kid abusing toys knowing that dad will fix them if they break them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Vista really is at best an ancient slug, a shadow of Windows 7's former self as it were. There are some similarities, but even with all the updates to Vista, it still thinks about things WAY TOO LONG just to do anything! From what I have seen, even with more RAM it still slugs down quite a bit compared to Windows 7. However, I do see what you mean somewhat, try Windows 7 Home Premium on 1GB or 2GB RAM and it slugs down a bit too, but still not as badly as Vista. Just my opinion. I know others have embraced Vista and I hear ya, but I have never been able to do so. It's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 28, 2013 Author Share Posted November 28, 2013 I don't think "embrace" would be my choice of words with Vista but "tolerate" might be OK. I still would never run it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewmur Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 The other thing I've noticed about the seniors around here is that they don't worry about the real threats like Cryptolocker or phony ransomware, but they forward me every hoax threat under the sun. I had an 80 year old lady call me the other day because she was having a printer problem. It turned out she had a 13 year old computer running Win98!!! I was amazed. It loaded Word just as fast as a new computer would. She's never had a virus!! Her secret? No internet connection!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 That's how I kept my XP Pro/SP3 on my main system in good shape since 2006. I cripple it... no networking installed. I only use it for gaming. Hey! I have a 13 year old printer, an HP Deskjet 842C. It still prints like a champ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 How do you get ink? Refill kits? Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Hey! I have a 13 year old printer, an HP Deskjet 842C. It still prints like a champ! We have several that still work including that one from that era that takes same cartridges. We buy ours online Adam at those Inkjet places. They are professionally refurbished and refilled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Last time we got several on eBay and they were originals! Two blacks and a color one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 HP cartridges for this machine are still available in most retail stores... Office Depot, Best Buy, etc. However, I haven't bought an OEM cartridge in nearly a decade. I buy refilled/refurbed from a place called Inksmile.com. Also, I haven't bought a color cartridge in a decade. I still have that dried up old one installed. My printers are set to print grayscale only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 We don't generally buy the OEMs either, but the ones we got on eBay were such a great price we couldn't pass them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 If the price is right. Hey! What are you doing posting on the forum at this time on a Saturday evening? You're on the radio now, aren't you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Saturday night? I thought it was Thursday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 HP cartridges for this machine are still available in most retail stores... Office Depot, Best Buy, etc. Wow... and those printer models are almost 15 years old....... :jawdrop: Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Yep, so true. They are old standards that just work. They are work horses that take a lickin' and keep on printin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Saturday night? I thought it was Thursday? Yup. Figured that out by the time I made this post... http://forums.scotsnewsletter.com/index.php?showtopic=66706entry385139 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 (edited) We're still using an HP 662 from 1995 first used in DOS and with Win 3.11 and an 720 model from 1997. My husband prefers the 720 to the newest AIO unit. I have his 2K computer, off the internet, on another desk, with the 720 attached. He uses this to print about 1500 mailing labels 3 or 4 times a year. It just keeps on working. edited because I typed the wrong model number Edited November 30, 2013 by zlim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 29, 2013 Author Share Posted November 29, 2013 I've got an HP 648C down in the museum. It was retired when I inherited my son-in-law's 5550. Still works though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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