Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes
Edsger W. Dijkstra
And when your radio is broken, you don't ask a composer
Pro tip: whenever a relative asks you to fix their computer, wipe everything and set up Linux for them. That'll teach em.
“You use Arch, now, btw”
"Make sure to write that down, because you're legally required to bring it up at every possible opportunity."
Did that for my sister but nowadays I just use the excuse: "Sorry I can't help you, I don't use Windows anymore".
The real problem is when a relative know that I'm computer guy and ask me to fix the TV/air conditioner or like my father once did: setup an antenna
Did that, kind of. The system's been running flawlessly for like a decade now. I'm not sure if they even understand the difference.
Or even better, install Emacs and run away laughing wildly! Bwahahahaha!
Computer science has absolutely nothing to do with support, they are totally different fields with totally different skill sets.
Most programmers I've known would be garbage at support and most support staff might be able to do some scripting but sure as hell aren't coders.
Okay but someone that works in IT will have the same answer.
Nobody should work for free unless we get to live in a post scarcity society
Computer science has absolutely nothing to do with support, they are totally different fields with totally different skill sets.
That also holds for computer science and programming :)
People need to understand the difference between computer science, information technology, software engineering and Tech Support
and "actually needing Microsoft support but coming to you cause Microsoft doesn't give a shit about private end users"
Tis is the same
ELI5 ??
Generally, but I am likely missing some stuff:
Computer Science: The underlying theory around making efficient computer software (I would consider the hardware side computer engineering)
Information Technology: the process of managing computer software and hardware systems for an organization
Software Engineering: the process of developing software including writing code, prioritizing features / bug fixes
Tech Support: part of IT. Troubleshooting and resolving issues with an organizations hardware and software systems
My answer is usually “I don’t use computers the same way you do, so I probably won’t know what you’re talking about.”
understanding how a cpu works and how to write efficient programs is the easy part.
understanding why windows does [anything] is the hard part.
Yeah, just read that their newest server OS puts a recovery partition to the right of the primary partition by default.
Which is completely useless on a server, and prevents you from growing the partition when you run out of space.At this point, they're basically saying "Office and AD guarantee our monopoly, so we can push out literal monkey shit, and tell admins to deal with it."
My new excuse is, "I only know linux, I don't know anything about windows."
Stare at their computer blankly
"Wait, they got rid of the green hill????"I do that too but only because it's much easier to help my relatives with Linux than those with Windows.
I even "convert" some people because Llinux is easier for them if I just manage it. I had a neighbor that was using Window on a very old computer, it was slow and choking under the weight of simple updates. Plus, she was always asking me why her computer kept rebooting by itself while it was obviously Windows update. So I installed Mint and all the problems went away.
Anyway I don't want to have to deal with Microsoft accounts, licenses, office365, the general bloat, the ads, the new versions of Windows... I have enough at work, so if I am going to help on my free time, it has to be on the OS I find easier to deal with.
"Right, so you see, when a conductor is passed through a magnetic field, an electromotive force is produced, and this force can perform work, which can in turn be used to represent probabilistic information..."
mashes the A button to skip dialog
HAHAAA YOU FOOL YOU HAVE ACTIVATED MY INFODUMP I AM AN UNSKIPPABLE CUTSCENE
Relative: You know about computers, right?
Me: I'm not sure. Who knows about computers, really? In the words of W.S. McCulloch, "What is a number, that a man may know it, and a man, that he may know a number?" (if you'll pardon the gendered language) Now if you extend this to computation...
Relative: All right, STFU, I just wanted to know how to update my Amazon account...
What is a number, that a man may know it?
Lets start with natural numbers and define the integers, rational, real and complex numbers as solutions to certain equations.
and a man, that he may know a number?
Now you asked for to much.
no uncle steve, that's commuter science, I know ALL ABOUT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Especially this time of year when people are panicking for whatever reason, people are travelling, people are coming and going, people are buying laptops, devices and phones and the majority of them don't know how digital files or folders even work (or where they are in a digital system).
If you know anything about computers .... just pretend you don't know anything like everyone else. It will save you so much work and headaches this time of year.
And don't get soft either .... cute girl asking for help? NO ... old grandma has a new laptop? NO ... your dying relative has a new phone? NO! .... your two year old niece has a new tablet? NO! ... your drug dealer wants to lower your debt in exchange for fixing their PC? HELL NO!!!
your drug dealer wants to lower your debt in exchange for fixing their PC? HELL NO!!!
nuh uh, if i'm getting paid (getting paid in reduced debt is still paid cuz it's money i was gonna give him anyway) i'll do whatever
Yep that's a contract and I work for those
Is that called "relatives with benefits"?
Step-IT, can you help me with my hard drive problem?
No, sorry, I don't know what kind of ass-backwards somersault your windows machine did this time. Your word doc is randomly missing every third paragraph? Too right mate.
Alright I'm probably the outlier here but... I like helping people with their IT needs, and I've always found the problem solving and praise kinda nice. Maybe it's just a me thing tho
imo - you are not the outlier, you just haven't yet progressed to the mostly inevitable stage where people take advantage of your help, or their spyware ridden dumpster fire of a laptop breaks and they blame you because you "touched it last" - never mind that was 6 months ago and the only thing you did was change the screensaver timeout.
I like helping people, but not with what I do for my day job. Ask me to shovel your driveway or help you move or proofread your emails or anything but more of what I’ve already spent all day doing.
I used to work in IT, and both then when I was on my personal time, and now, I do not love helping people, but all it takes is someone else doing it poorly would annoy me enough I would end up helping someone
I'm with you but there's definitely a line that gets crossed fairly often when you help people out with these things.
What they say: "You know about computers, right?"
What they mean: "Can you fix this bug in Microsoft's software?"1 in 10 CS majors fall for this common trap. The other makes this mistake at work.
The biggest career mistake I've ever made is opening an Excel macro and changing two characters to make it count a thing again.
I was then permanently labelled Cracks the Technomancer, master of all things technology. It fucking sucks.
tge moment when you don't use windows for a few years now, yet your windows mates still ask you for help (i can pretty much always help em)
Every year at Christmas my grandparent in law asks me to fix her iPhone. Something with iCloud account. The answer is always the same: Apple store.
Using Apple requires a PhD in computer science.
No matter the degree or seniority, the answer is always NO.
i don't really mind, but i also don't do anything for free, either. at least feed and beer me.
"Brother, may i have some IT-Service?"
"No."
ughhhhh yes this is so annoying (randompcb and me have become the classroom's tech support ugh)
"You know about computers, right? Can you he-"
"No."
What's a Cimproter?
Start talking about logic gates and flip flops and PLAs and FPGA, maybe even throw in few of the ASICs. If they don't shut up even after that then bring in the big guns and start talking about doping and PN junctions and How BJTs are better than FETs
I was legally contracted to say yes.
At least it was satisfying to answer NO when the question involved their personal (not a company one) acer cheap mall laptop filled with mcafee, bloatware and socuh combined with the slowest low capacity hdd in existence.
Hell NO
