Experiences with non-techies

[OnlyOneJame]

Just now, ragnarok0273 said:

Raspberry Pis are fun.

My Pi 2 B+ got me second place in my 6th grade science fair.

 

Windows 10 going weird every month isn't fun though.

What was the project you did for the science fair?

[FloRolf]

On 10/1/2020 at 2:41 PM, Quivz said:

And the one that really gets me down, people who think they're tech savvy because they can (barely) use an iPad, but still think Wi-Fi and internet are the same thing... 

I think literally everyone I know think it's the same lol. 

 

On 9/30/2020 at 5:14 PM, CoffeeBlacker said:

Teaching a summer class at Ball State U...as a tech person.  Content is Microsoft Office... The class is composed of professors.

 

In to the part of the class where we are doing some basic excel.  An older prof raises her hand, and i walk over to look over her shoulder.  She says, I can't open the excel program.  I say, ok, lets take the mouse, and double click on the folder we've put on the desktop for this class.  She picks the mouse up, taps it against the screen two times...  I blinked, did not laugh, did not smile...and i say, Yep, nope...lets put that back down there, and move the mouse around, you see the little arrow moving around?...

 

Anyway, i have a few stories...but that one i consider one of my favs, and I feel like i did a damn fine job not laughing my ass off.

I demand more of your stories!

 

[WhitetailAni]

Recording the temperatures of the different light colors of the rainbow.

The main highlight of it was that I had a schematic of how to set up the wiring, and in-depth instructions on how to do it, complete with the specific commands that you had to run.

I no longer go to that private school, but I probably knew more about computers then than most of the teachers there.

[WhitetailAni]

On 11/1/2013 at 9:34 PM, Lanoi said:

Yeah, well, Windows doesn't even know what a USB 3.0 port is.

This is why old forum posts are fun.

When I plug in a USB 3.0 flash drive into an old Windows XP laptop (Pro 32-bit), it takes about 10 seconds to pop up and then says "This device will run faster when plugged into a Hi-Speed USB Hub.

It's plugged into a USB 2.0 port.

As far as I know, Hi-Speed USB = USB 2.0. 

[OnlyOneJame]

2 minutes ago, ragnarok0273 said:

Recording the temperatures of the different light colors of the rainbow.

The main highlight of it was that I had a schematic of how to set up the wiring, and in-depth instructions on how to do it, complete with the specific commands that you had to run.

I no longer go to that private school, but I probably knew more about computers then than most of the teachers there.

That's a damn cool project for a 10yr old, thanks for sharing!

 

[WhitetailAni]

3 minutes ago, OnlyOneJame said:

That's a damn cool project for a 10yr old, thanks for sharing!

 

I was 12.

Birthday in March

[WhitetailAni]

I just remembered one!

 

I discovered how to modify a link to display a message.

My teacher comes over, sees the red STOP sign (part of the message) and goes,

"Stop that! The computer says so!"

Me: "I told it to say that."

Teacher: "Stop it anyway!"

Me: <proceeds to modify the link to display a green check mark instead of a stop sign>
Teacher: "It says it's good now. Ok."

Me: <after she leaves switches it back. She doesn't notice."

 

[WhitetailAni]

On 5/13/2016 at 9:46 AM, DirtyDane said:

every time i go to troubleshoot something. i get my hopes up and pray to the almighty god above that they have windows 2000 and it ends up something like this 

 ive always wanted that to happen for real

Someone should make that a virus.

It just goes for an hour, says "Now you know why you shouldn't just install anything" and then deletes itself.

A nice virus.

[Mitko_DSV]

13 hours ago, ragnarok0273 said:

When I plug in a USB 3.0 flash drive into an old Windows XP laptop (Pro 32-bit), it takes about 10 seconds to pop up and then says "This device will run faster when plugged into a Hi-Speed USB Hub.

It's plugged into a USB 2.0 port.

As far as I know, Hi-Speed USB = USB 2.0. 

Really? I have plugged in a USB 3.0 flash drive on at least 4 different laptops with Windows XP Pro SP3 and it just worked normally like a USB 2.0 drive. Well one of those laptops has only USB 1.1 (it's got a PIII) and it does say the part about the device running faster, but it does it for USB 2.0 drives as well. Maybe different versions of XP, different laptops and different USB 3.0 drives react differently.

[WhitetailAni]

3 hours ago, Mitko_DSV said:

Really? I have plugged in a USB 3.0 flash drive on at least 4 different laptops with Windows XP Pro SP3 and it just worked normally like a USB 2.0 drive. Well one of those laptops has only USB 1.1 (it's got a PIII) and it does say the part about the device running faster, but it does it for USB 2.0 drives as well. Maybe different versions of XP, different laptops and different USB 3.0 drives react differently.

I don't have SP3 yet.

Or SP2.

I do have SP1 and all of the drivers though.

So I have WiFi now.

I just have to not push the button

[WhitetailAni]

I made a fun little quiz to measure basic computer literacy.

I realize I left some things out, but couldn't remember then, so if you notice something that I missed, message me and I will add it.

You can even enclose answers if you would like

Here is the quiz:

https://forms.gle/vjaa1xy9AyiKMZuW6

[WhitetailAni]

On 12/24/2015 at 4:53 PM, deWaardt said:

How many times I've been like "why won't my PC boot?" And I just have my monitor set to the wrong input.

Stupid mistakes are what gets us the most.

One time I was trying to figure out why my second monitor wasn't showing anything. I had just put it in

I had connected two monitors together...

Cause they both have VGA (I have a Pentium III tower that I use for Win98 applications (zip drive stuff)), I had a cable plugged into one monitor and a cable plugged into my GPU through a DVI to VGA adapter. Both were hanging down behind my desk.

I grabbed the monitor one.

Though, in retrospect, why didn't my ASUS monitor realize it had a VGA cable connected to it and pass through the signal?
Oh wait... it's VGA.

[WhitetailAni]

On 11/3/2020 at 11:18 AM, ragnarok0273 said:

Not directly related but here's something fun.

In 7th grade during science class, I was fiddling around with a 9V battery and a light bulb.

Connected the wires to the lightbulb, held them to the battery.

My teacher comes over and says "Stop that! You'll get electrocuted!"

Me inside: "I've been doing things like this since 2nd grade. And have I been electrocuted?"

 

I haven't gotten anything funny yet (my family, yes even my grandparents, are pretty tech savvy), but probably will soon.

Once I can go to high school in person I will have some for you

 

Probably me opening device manager on a school computer will seem like magic to some people.

I recorded a Flipgrid video for level 4 on a science test, and for the selfie put Error: 404.

Not an actual error 404.

Just a picture of my ceiling and some text.

She said "I couldn't see your selfie. It showed an error."

She knows enough to use AirPods with a district-issued computer with Windows 10...

[eeeee1]

I think everyone here can relate:

Techie: Do this

Non-techie: Got it

*Non-techie does it wrong*

Non-techie: Why did you lie to me? I thought you knew what you were doing!

[WhitetailAni]

5 minutes ago, eeeee1 said:

I think everyone here can relate:

Techie: Do this

Non-techie: Got it

*Non-techie does it wrong*

Non-techie: Why did you lie to me? I thought you knew what you were doing!

Example:

Two buttons.

Button #1: Remove all files.

Button #2: Keep files, but remove applications.

 

Person:
<clicks button #2>

 

Calls you in a panic

Explains what they did

You:
"So you clicked the button that said 'remove all files?' Why?"
Them:

"Because it didn't say 'removes applications" and I need MS Word for my work!"

You:

<Facepalm 5x, mutes mic, opens windows, screams, then watches the clip from Parks and Rec where Ron throws the thing in the garbage>

You:
"What do you need?"

Them:
"My files and applications back!!"

You:
"There is nothing you can do."

Them:
"But you're a techie!! You HAVE to know what to do!!!!"

You:
"I am a techie. And I know there is nothing you can do."

<hangs up>

[WhitetailAni]

On 7/29/2014 at 3:42 PM, Shadow Gamer said:

Wouldn't that defy physics? 

...

I knew that guy that told me people thought computers were magic boxes was right. 

Ccomputers for dummies:

 

[pcorkus]

Fresh from yesterday:

 

Non-techie: KB, MB, GB - what's this? 

Me: Kilobytes, MegaBytes, Gigabytes... 

Nt: oooh, and what do they do? 

Me: nothing, just give you a hint on how large a file or folder is or how much free space you have got on your computer... 

Nt: ooooohhh!!! 

Me:  ... 

Nt: say, I have seen pdf files of 800 kilo... kilob... klob... ermmm... 

Me: kilobytes... 

Nt: yeah, yeah, that's it, kilobytes! Say, is that a lot?!

Me: no

Nt:thanks! 

 

what the...?!?!?! 

[WhitetailAni]

 

  

On 3/4/2014 at 9:43 AM, ripanotha2013og said:

And I'll stick with my 16 year old Windows 98 laptop.

I will stick with my 20-year-old Pentium III 500 + Windows 98 and my 14-year-old XP laptop, thank you.

XP because it can play Grandia II (the bottom could heat my whole house when it's running though)

and 98 so I can erase floppies.

Just cause.

By the way, anyone have an old 5.25" floppy drive that they don't want anymore? I will gladly take it off your hands.

Don't worry, I won't sell it.

I know this is crazy off topic now but it will get back eventually

[WhitetailAni]

On 3/5/2014 at 4:25 PM, WinNut said:

 

Some kids at our school have a similar mentality...

 

Today while chilling in the lab and speccing out a system that I will never be permitted to build on PCPartPicker, a kid just walked up to me and said, "Does that computer work?" pointing at a powered-off system. I told him to find out for himself....

 

It drives me nuts how it is that when a techie is in the vicinity people's brains go from 2 GHz to something equivalent to a 386...

 

Some kids I know are equivalent to a 286 in terms of techiness lol

 

Not to be mean though... I teach people whenever possible. This is my belief about teaching tech....

 

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, however, and he will eat for life.

 

Basically, don't just do something for the person because it will never stick to them what you did. Teach them, direct them, and have them embrace the action.

Sometimes it goes from a Pentium 133 (133 MHz) to an Intel 4004 (740 kHz).

The "deletes game and Internet Explorer shortcuts" post comes to mind...

[WhitetailAni]

Kind of related.

I feel bad for the person that buys this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/UPGRADED-EIGHT-CORE-Apple-Mac-Pro-32GB-RAM-1TB-HD-2x2-66-GHz-Intel-Xeon/223593405202?hash=item340f349b12:g:bNIAAOSwl8NVZnJZ

8 whole cores!

2.66 GHz!

32 GB of RAM!

Enterprise Grade 1TB hard drive!

NVIDIA 7300GT 256MB GRAPHICS CARD!!!

This is a graphic artist or producers dream

Truly an exclusive, rare find... (verbatim)

 

It's getting harder and harder to find these Mac Pros in OK condition. However, this Mac Pro is in overall Excellent condition. It is in GREAT condition for its age.  This EIGHT Core (2 x 2.66GHz Quad Core) Powerhouse can muscle its way through ANY task you throw at it. IT'S HAS A LIGHTNING FAST 1TB ENTERPRISE GRADE HARD DRIVE for both speed, reliability, and AMAZING storage space. It also has been UPGRADED to 32GB MEMORY.  It can also burn DVD's. It's NVIDA GeForce 7300GT Video Card with 256MB Video RAM can handle graphics intensive applications. Finally it has Dual Gigabit Ethernet Ports so you can connect to any network with lightning gigabit speeds.

 

Please note that OS X Lion 10.7.5 is the highest operating system this Mac can run.

 

If you would like to customize this Mac Pro or any other Mac that I sell with more upgraded Video Cards, Upgraded Processors, add more Hard Drives, an SSD, another super drive, USB 3.0 or any other upgrade simply message me.  I can fully customize or build ANY Mac Pro!

 

This Mac Pro has been optimized, so it runs fast and loads multiple apps just fine.

ITS BEEN UPGRADED AND UPDATED SO IT CAN KEEP UP WITH THE NEEDS OF ANY 2020 USER!

 

I love the "lightning fast 1TB 7200 RPM hard drive bit".

And the "It can also burn DVDs"

Don't forget the 8 WHOLE CORES it has.

Or its 256MB VIDEO CARD THAT CAN HANDLE GRAPHICS INTENSIVE APPLICATIONS!

And...

Dual Gigabit Ethernet Ports so you can connect to any network with lightning gigabit speeds.

 

Lady.

Have you heard of something called:
SSDs.

A GTX or RTX graphics card.

Gigabytes of VRAM.

10 gigabit networking.

And...

64-core processors!!

 

I want to make an offer for $50 and explain that this will suit the needs of any 2008 user.

It may have 1TB of space, 32GB of RAM, and 8 cores.

But they're slow cores.

And they have 256 MB of VRAM.

The least amount of VRAM that you can buy a card new with today is 1 GB.

[Drama Lama]

This thread is pain and entertainment at the same time

[Teddy07]

My sister is 31 years old and got the following picture while browsing the web. She normally never falls for this but she said that it looked real. She contacted me and my other sister via whatsapp because a timer was counting down and I did not respond fast enough. We educated her and told her that 3,5 billion searches are made with google every day according to a google statement in 2019. It is still funny

 

I still remember a similiar incident. It was the year ~2000 and I still was in school. We just got the internet and I received a pop up that told me that I won a car, a BMW to be specific. I ran to my mother and asked her what to do. She wasn´t sure but I decided to close the window in the end. 

 

[JuliusLXIX]

1 minute ago, Teddy07 said:

My sister is 31 years old and got the following picture while browsing the web. She normally never falls for this but she said that it looked real. She contacted me and my other sister via whatsapp because a timer was counting down and I did not respond fast enough. We educated her and told her that 3,5 billion searches are made with google every day according to a google statement in 2019. It is still funny

 

I still remember one incident from 20 years ago. I was the year ~2000 and I still was in school. We just got the internet and I received a pop up that told me that I won a car. I ran to my mother and asked her what to do. She wasn´t sure but I decided to close the window in the end. 

 

Imagine winning a PS3 in December of 2019

[Teddy07]

1 minute ago, JuliusLXIX said:

Imagine winning a PS3 in December of 2019

welcome to the forum btw, 1 post

[Justaphysicsnerd]

So hear me out, Its a story related to someone I know (my teacher). So my one teacher is an electrical engineer. He told me that back in his college days when he came home for vacation. His parents asked him to fix ceiling fans ! They were like well if you can't fix them then wot did you learn in the college ? Like seriously, an electrical engineer isn't taught these things, that is why electricians and electrical engineers are different people.



My parents' relatives (Uncle or aunts) : I would like to buy a new PC. Could you give me some advice ?
Me : What do you need it for ?
My parents' relatives : Well, the usual stuff like browsing the internet and running some business applications
Me : oh, then you should go with this new device that will have support for a long time
My parents' relatives : SO ANYWAY I bought a PC,( which the OEM doesn't even support now and you can't get any replacement parts for it). Literally my uncle bought a very old Vaio Laptop and he had all his business data on it. Guess what, the motherboard fried up and.................the HDD's actuators broke pretty quick