End user difficulty with technology is a problem that *CANNOT* be solved, in the general case. That is because if you make the computer simple enough for an untrained person (or worse, an unthinking/unmotivated person) to use, you will have removed its ability to do anything beyond a small set of simple tasks, and it won't be much of a computer after that.
Hell, you can't even get everyone to understand how to manipulate two light switches (at the top and bottom of stairs, for instance) that control the same light, let along something as complex as a computer. It's not going to happen, so you either make it an income stream to be exploited, or find a way to get rid of the load, how that balances out depends on how annoying you find them vs. the value of their income stream to you. OTOH, those who are so inclined will end their "newb" stream of income from them to you - and if you're smart, you'll pay attention and help them as they do so, so that you can get them and you to the next level of income stream, and you'll both be better off. Fortunately, the latter are outnumbered by the former, but the unthinking/unmotivated/untrainable are a significant fraction of the universe of computer users The hardest problem is differentiating between the useless ones, and those who just need a different approach, or maybe just a little more TLC. And, lest you think the problem will evolve away, consider that the tasks performed will only get more complex over time, so that even those who have been raised with computers will divide themselves into the competent and those who are not. Ever thus it has been. Kurt On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 15:45, Crawford, Scott <crawfo...@evangel.edu> wrote: > > “Maybe if you're manning the helpdesk.” > > > > That is exactly the reason people say it. > > > > End-user difficulty with technology is a problem to be solved, not an income > stream to be exploited. As IT pros, we should be figuring out how to make > things dead simple. Imagine if we had a light switch support department whose > job consisted of moving around from office to office helping people get their > lights on. If we had users that continually needed help with this, it > wouldn’t be viewed as job security. It would be viewed as an opportunity to > get a new user or educate the existing one, thereby eliminating the support > department. > > From: Andrew S. Baker [mailto:asbz...@gmail.com] > Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 3:05 PM > > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: Re: Stupid user tricks > > > > >>stupid user tricks = job security. > > > > > > Why do people say this? Maybe if you're manning the helpdesk. > > My job is secure because people want to get new things done, not because they > routinely forget how to do old things... That leads to outsourcing (we're > spending XXX monthly for password resets?!? Move that offshore...) > > > > > > ASB (Professional Bio) > Harnessing the Advantages of Technology for the SMB market... > > On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 4:01 PM, Shauna Hensala <she...@msn.com> wrote: > > stupid user tricks = job security. We could instead talk about stupid IT > tricks. > > Shauna Hensala > > > > > From: mich...@smithcons.com > > To: ntsysadmin@lyris.sunbelt-software.com > > Subject: RE: Stupid user tricks > > Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:28:39 +0000 > > > > > If 4,999 out of 5,000 times you don't need to type something in a field, > > you will stop even looking at the field, much less registering what it says. > > > > Regards, > > > > Michael B. Smith > > Consultant and Exchange MVP > > http://TheEssentialExchange.com > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: John Aldrich [mailto:jaldr...@blueridgecarpet.com] > > Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 3:26 PM > > To: NT System Admin Issues > > Subject: RE: Stupid user tricks > > > > Oh, yeah... seen that sort of thing a couple times. Even had MY admin > > account locked out because a user didn't notice to change MY name to theirs > > in the login box. :D > > > > I, too, have users who can't remember their login name (despite the fact > > that it's the first half of their email address! *grin*) and can't figure > > out why they can't log in... 'Course they're always embarrassed about that > > when I see the problem, but still. :D > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Joseph L. Casale [mailto:jcas...@activenetwerx.com] > > Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 3:17 PM > > To: NT System Admin Issues > > Subject: RE: Stupid user tricks > > > > > Didn't they have enough sense to log on > > >as the correct user before calling??? > > > > Shall we compare notes:) > > Recently I was called to a desk of a lady who was pissed off six ways > > to Sunday at me as she couldn't log in. She was typing her password > > into someone else's username, and proceeded to lock their account > > out? > > > > After that, another one gave me shit that she couldn't remember her > > login name that she had been using on her desktop daily for years and > > her iphone? > > > > I was like "Stare, blink, blink, stare..." My bad, I guess? > > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > > > --- > > To manage subscriptions click here: > > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > > or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com > > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > > > > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > > > --- > > To manage subscriptions click here: > > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > > or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com > > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > > > --- > > To manage subscriptions click here: > > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > > or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com > > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
