One thing I repeatedly find myself bumping up against, that insists on being a problem, is that, when it comes to technology, I know a little about a whole lot of things, but I don't know enough about any of those things to really consider myself fluent.
Computers? I love 'em! I use 'em all the time! But, once you start stripping away the layers, eventually it will be revealed just how many applications I know very little about. I've tinkered with PhotoShop, for example, but it's just so big and scary that I usually go scampering back to MS Paint, which is just pathetic.
Or, take the Windows operating system. I know how to work my way around Windows fairly well, but the underlying secret about Windows is that it's basically really pretty window dressing for DOS. DOS is the skeleton upon which the Windows muscle and skin alight. However, call up a DOS prompt screen, and I may as well smash my keyboard with a sledgehammer, since the results would almost certainly be better.
I used to know my way really well around the Macintosh operating system, since my first actual desk computer was a Macintosh Performa 405. That machine got me through most of my college years, but by the end of its tenure, its 256 MB of hard drive space just wasn't cutting it. So, right about the time I should have been learning about all things Mac OS, I jumped ship to a Windows-based PC, because I simply HAD TO PLAY Command and Conquer: Red Alert.
I was briefly very interested in how computer networking worked, but after learning how to string five computers together for a weekend of playing Delta Force with some friends, I generally just kind of let that knowledge drain from my brain.
So it is, today, I find myself hampered when people ask me to fix their little technology problems. There's a chance I MIGHT be able to help, but it's most likely I'll have to get really lucky.
Posted by Ryan at June 21, 2010 08:43 PM | TrackBackFirst rule of tech support: Never ignore the obvious.
Second rule: You touch it, you own it.
Though I get paid to know a fair amount about Windows, I usually just give out silly advice because I've learned fully 3/4 of the people you give advice to just want their own decisions reinforced.
Posted by: Mr_Fastbucks at July 2, 2010 12:25 PM
Stumble It!
