The Joy of Tech Support

[serleran]

So, I am a waste of a space, providing technical assistance to corporations and so forth for a particular series of applications and I get some very neat calls... like this one:

Caller: I'm not very computer illiterate -- how can I authenticate to my computer?

Me: If your PC has been configured for "auto-logon" you don't have to enter a Windows username and password as it is done for you; in network environments, especially domains, this is not usually a best practice as it can cause a security breach. So, it is typical that you would be required to enter a Windows username and password, whenever you either turn the PC on, or after it leaves what is called "locked status." The username is not case-sensitive; the password is.

Caller: But I'm not computer illiterate. What does that mean?

Me: It means you are authenticating to the machine -- providing credentials which are recognized by the machine (or the domain controller) that governs what your username is permitted to access once authenticated. Basically, it tells the computer "this is me; let me in."

Caller: Why would I want to authenticate?

Me: So you can use your computer.

Caller: Oh. OK, so I guess when it asks me for my username and password, I should put that in?

Me: Yes.

Caller: OK. Thanks.



Sorry, just found it funny...

[Treebore]

If I hadn't been a teacher in the Navy and in a High School, and watched many people back themselves into a corner and confuse the heck out of themselves, knowing they are very smart kids or sailors, I would laugh too.

I would love to "see" how they confused themselves so badly they needed to ask about that. Well, assuming they are normally intelligent. I have met plenty of people who are a bit lacking in that department too. Which is fine, when they know and admit it. Its the ones who are convinced that they are smart that gets my nasty impulses going.

People often ask why our world is so crazy. The answer is pretty obvious.
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[tex]

Blech, I know what you mean. I work with computers for a living too.

Here's the best take on it I've ever seen:
http://www.wellingtongrey.net/miscellan ... pport.html

[Traveller]

http://www.rinkworks.com/stupid/
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[Barrataria]

serleran wrote:
Caller: I'm not very computer illiterate

I think your caller underestimated him/herself