LMAO This is how I feel getting tech support for my work computer. The dude treats me like an idiot and I’m over here like WTF Windows is do weird with all its crusty old BS 😖
My Linux “skills” are more like:
I’m just looking stuff up.
All the better, you know how to find help.
You might even be a better windows fixer than someone certified simply for that. That, and you’ll share your learning process with that person asking for help.
Maybe no problem when it’s a problem within a multi-platform program like a browser or Steam
My favorite action movie. I love Commando so much. Cool pic in the meme.
What is the implication here?
90% they didn’t reboot
10% path issues
Still have to deal with windows at work, so I end up somewhere between those two on both.
Being “good with computers” is always relative, and to most people computers are basically black magic.
Here’s some stuff I’ve seen other people do.
Had a coworker buy a whole new laptop because their Google account had signed out and they couldn’t remember the password. (obviously buying a new laptop didn’t help)
My mother couldn’t figure out how to hang up a MS Teams call so she just closed the lid on her laptop, which she still assumes turns the whole PC off even after explaining to her multiple times it doesn’t…
My former boss call me into work on a day off to “recover” the main software we used since it had disappeared from the computer. It was still there, an update had just changed the desktop icon.
And most recently a buddy installed multiple viruses on their computer after I told them to ‘backup their files’ before doing a clean Windows install. I had forgot to mention that backing up their files just meant coping them to another drive…they immediately started searching up shady “file backup” programs from random sites on the internet.
At this point, it is weaponized incompetence. You tell someone once or twice that closing the lid is not turning off the power and that should be it.
I was just explaining to my girlfriend that people’s ignorance about computers provides a space where even people without advanced skills can make a decent living doing support.
Like, not everyone can get a gig as an advanced sysadmin making bank, but you can probably find some tech support roles that pay really well to support folks who essentially think technology is magic.
The other side of that ignorance is if you can do simple tasks they also assume you have the skills to be the next big-tech genius.
The amount of times I’ve been asked to make someone a website or app…
The amount of times I’ve been asked to make someone a website or app…
Oh, so you can Programm? Surely you know how to make this cool idea using AI I just had!
Most people dont even know, that there are like 50 different fields that are somewhere in the space of IT/Programming and of these fields only a quite small amount of do develop apps or websites.
My mindset totally changed few years ago when I started being honest with myself and with others.
It’s true, I’m in that meme… I don’t know much about Windows anymore. Initially I admit I was ashamed about it because I imagined that I’d be judged for it.
What I did though, instead of trying to be better… was to be honest about it :
- yes, it’s true, I don’t know Windows or MacOS as well I know Linux… but there is a reason WHY. Explain why, namely the consequence for my freedom, and theirs, totally changed the discussion.
One day I even told my friendly neighbors : “Look I could fix your Windows computer but… I’m a professional, and I don’t know Windows so much. So I would have to look solutions up and that will take time while going against my principle, so I would have to charge you for it, and it’s not cheap. Instead, if you switch to Linux I’ll help you, and for free.” Guess what, they not only tried but they didn’t even need my help! They even, back then so few years ago, install WiFi driver via the command line on their own.
So… yes, be in that picture, sure, just don’t be ashamed about it if you believe it’s for good reason. Do not be afraid of explaining others too and who knows, they might not only understand but even want to tag alone on this constant adventure for collective empowerment!
What distro do you recommend? I know Linux tangentially from my Steam Deck, and am looking to finally swap my PC.
I usually recommend Pop_OS! (Though I havent tried that one myself) or the good old classic Linux Mint.
Honestly I’d say it doesn’t matter much. What matters is that your data are safe and you can afford a bit of time at first when things are a bit different than what you are used to.
If you have a LOT of time or are very eager to learn, take something strange or not very popular. If you are in rush then start with a distribution that is popular, ideally that a friend, colleague or acquaintance also uses. Think of it as a team exercise.
I personally use Debian but others might prefer Ubuntu or Mint to start with.
But… yes, can be anything, just BACKUP your (and by that I mean data you have produced, e.g. documents, photos, saved games, etc) data then you should feel free to try!
Debian with KDE. It’s just simple without any weird (anf hard to understand) extras like Ubuntu anf Mint.
Any distro with KDE will pretty much feel the same and debian is just a work horse.
My Windows skills are slowly leaving me… and I work in a Windows environment. Thanks for the words of confidence, given how long I’ve been the computer guy I guess it’s a bit of a shot to the ego to be real about it at times!
Attaching less weight to the ego is the best thing that can happen to boost learning :D
It hurts confidence initially, especially as you land on your ass, but only until you learn something new and empowering, then get excited again! It’s one of the most enjoyable rollercoaster IMHO.
The funny thing is, that windows used to be a piece of piss. Once they started trying to make it fool proof, is when it became a fucking nightmare.
The things is you really can’t be that good with windows.
Sure you can get good with registry and group policy and other stuff that is needlessly complicated to do relatively simple stuff. You can know your way around WMI and .net and powershell…
But at some point, the software actively hides the specifics of what is wrong. You can’t crack open something to see why it’s showing some ambigious hexadecimal code or a plain screen. You can’t add tracing to step through their code to see what unexpected condition they hit that they didn’t prepare to handle. On Linux you are likely to be able to plainly see a stack trace, download the source code, maybe trace it, modify the source code.
Windows is like welding the hood shut and wondering why mechanics have a hard time with the car.
As someone who works as a sysadmin/systems engineer in a Windows environment, I find your analogy is a bit extreme. Not denying the issue, it’s a constant frustration and problem. It’s just that I find you can get a lot farther than most people think.
So less “hood’s welded shut” and more “Why the fuck are the headlights a single unit? I just need to fix the high beams! Why is the transmission welded shut? Who in the fuck wired the radio and power steering together? And why in the hell is none of this documented anywhere?” Maybe that’s worse, tbh. You can get very deep, but most of it is horrors.
Guess it’s a matter of degree, that was the sort of stuff I was alluding to in the first part, that you have all this convoluted instrumentation that you can dig into, and as you say perhaps even more maddening because at some times it’s needlessly over complicating something simple, and then at just the wrong time it tries to simplify something and ends up sealing off just the flexibility you might need.
Yes indeed! There are a lot of tricks old Windows admins still hold onto to get stuff done and sometimes it’s so damn frustrating (like resorting to BITS to move files at times).
I am not “good with computers” I am simply able to use google
You have to be good at knowing what and how to google.
my friend, who works in networking for a major tech company, can’t even help me with what seems like a simple Windows issue sometimes because of how fucked up Microsoft has made Windows
his solution to most microsoft-product problems these days is to just use a different brand
Something tells me they’re still better then the owner though
Your friend’s Windows skills:
That’s right, it goes in the square hole
“Why is my computer doing X instead of Y?”
Idk I don’t fuck with windows 11. I switched to Linux… But from I can see try A, B then C.
“That worked thanks”
Reverse those for my windows and Linux skills, and then put a toddler on the floor for my Mac OS skills.
