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Geek Culture / Computer Correctness

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El Goorf
18
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Joined: 17th Sep 2006
Location: Uni: Manchester, Home: Dunstable
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 14:31
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What phrases do you people hear that make you as a programmer cringe?

I think the 2 most common i find are:
1) "i did a lot of cutting and pasting" (usually from PE teachers at school) when they actually copied and pasted, nt cut.
2) mum asking such phrases as "am you on the email", when she means to ask if the computer i am using is connected to the internet. >.<
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Steve J
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Location: Vancouver, Washington
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 14:45
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1) Bill Gates created the internet
2) Al Gore created the internet
3) If you buy a website, you get free hosting, get the domain, no space limits, ect.
4) I know HTML so I am a programmer
5) You can only have 2gb ram, cause there are only 2 ram slots on computers, no more.
6) You have a OEM microsoft sticker, you didnt build that pc, you bought it!
7) I know how to program! <font> I CAN PROGRAM!!!! </font>
8) Yah, my motherboard caught a virus and it died, so I had to buy a new pc from dell.
9) Ur making a 3d game, whats the site address to play? Do I need Flash???
10) UR GAME SUX, IT DOESNT LOOK LIKE OBLIVION! N00B!
11) Im a hacker, I used linux!
12) I can crack your pc, I know how to upload viruses to a pc!!!

Happiness is like peeing your pants.
Everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.
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Chris K
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Location: Lake Hylia
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 15:04
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People quite often misuse 'download'.

"Google is taking ages to download these results"

And also confuse memory with HD space.

"It's got a whopping 100GB of memory".



Wow that is a lot.

-= Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals =-
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Zappo
Valued Member
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Location: In the post
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 15:09
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= Refering to a PC base unit as the 'hard drive'. There is a PC in my daughters school which has each part labelled up and they do this.

= People who say "My son is a Web Designer" because he created himself a home page from his bedroom using a template.

= The phrase "my computer's too slow" when they really mean "the person next to me has a newer computer and I want one" OR they are running so much downloaded junk that its grinding the machine to a halt.

...I am going to stop now as its starting to annoy me just typing them.
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Cash Curtis II
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Location: Corpus Christi Texas
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 15:37
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= Referring to the monitor as the "computer".

=
Quote: "as soon as I can I'm ditching my PC and using my 360 exclusively as my desktop."


Oooh, that one really gets me for some reason...


Come see the WIP!
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Manic
22
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Location: Completely off my face...
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 16:25
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my boss asked if the reason her homepage had changed was because the technician changed her wallpaper. But i can't stay mad at her, she gave me a massive (well for me) christmas bonus.

I don't have a sig, live with it.
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indi
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Posted: 19th Dec 2006 17:03
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the hard drive is referred to as the case with many clients i get.

"its a friggen case with a hard drive in it you dorks."


I laugh but get paid not to insult.

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El Goorf
18
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Location: Uni: Manchester, Home: Dunstable
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 19:19
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"i swear my laptop's become heavier since i transferred all my warez/music/pr0n over to it from the pc. must mean the hard drive's nearly full or something"

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Jeku
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Joined: 4th Jul 2003
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 20:10
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I hate when people assume you are willing to fix other people's computers just because you have a "computer job". Some people equate all computer jobs with tech support. Idiots.

http://www.codercafe.com - My blog
Ben Stein's Christmas Thoughts
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EddieB
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Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 20:34
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Quote: "I hate when people assume you are willing to fix other people's computers just because you have a "computer job". Some people equate all computer jobs with tech support. Idiots."


<Nods>
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Hobgoblin Lord
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Location: Fall River, MA USA
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 21:52
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Quote: "I hate when people assume you are willing to fix other people's computers just because you have a "computer job". Some people equate all computer jobs with tech support. Idiots."


I have a guy that calls once a year or so, we grew up together but were not really close friends, to ask me to help him fix his computer over the phone. I have not actually seen him in about 14 years but every now and then... ring ring.... "you know about computers right"

http://www.cafepress.com/blackarrowgames
Check out my great stuff here
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Jeku
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Posted: 19th Dec 2006 22:00
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In that situation I would just tell him not to call anymore.

But I can't stand going to a relative's house and having somebody perk up "Hey, Jake knows computers. He works with computers all day! I'm sure he can help you fix Windows." *grooooan*

http://www.codercafe.com - My blog
Ben Stein's Christmas Thoughts
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Seppuku Arts
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Location: Cambridgeshire, England
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 22:33
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When in ICT I get asked by the dude next to me for the answers to the most obvious questions...The ICT course is directed a entry level (Why am I doing, well its compulsory in our 6th form, but I'm not complaining, as I'm flying through it and getting a qualification in the end)

What order in size do these go in...
byte, kilobyte megabyte, gigabyte terabyte...

And in the same lesson he's been given the answer by the work he was doing, same for this one:

Match the description to the Operating System

Windows - Made by Micro$oft
Mac - Runs on apple computers
Linux- Free...

That's annoying, especially when he starts singing, or playing one of his stupid games and laughs the hell out of it, thank apple for making the ipod, otherwise I'd have no way of drowning him out (As I am not a violent person, I have no choice, unless I want to be an a-hole, as he never listens)

"Cut down the gods if they stand in your way" - Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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Chris K
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Location: Lake Hylia
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 23:11
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Quote: "I hate when people assume you are willing to fix other people's computers just because you have a "computer job". Some people equate all computer jobs with tech support. Idiots."


OMG.

When I signed up at the doctor's, they asked me what my job was.

I said, "Well actually I'm a Games Developer... you know... someone who makes computer games...?".

She typed in "Works in IT".

I said (kind jokey, friendly) "Heh actually it's not IT, it's more like Entertainment"

She reluctantly changed it to "Works in Computers".



Bang on. Yes, I work in computers.

-= Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals =-
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dark donkey
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Posted: 19th Dec 2006 23:14
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Quote: "When in ICT I get asked by the dude next to me for the answers to the most obvious questions..."


lol, i hate that, once we had to make a spred sheet for a trip, he specifikly asked us not to change the font colour or style so the guy next to me says how do i change the font i whant dat cool one.

also here are some things

1.) when people ask can i ask a question, AND IM THINKING ISNT THAT A QUESTION!

2.) i fixed my friends computer once, now evrey time the littelist thing hapens he rings me and ask's what to do. for example he got the blue screen, he rings me asking what to do i say restart the computer but he says that will ruin it.

one thing that scares me, when people say that windows is 'good'.

load file "worlddomination.wrl",1
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El Goorf
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Location: Uni: Manchester, Home: Dunstable
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 23:27
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Quote: "one thing that scares me, when people say that windows is 'good'."


that scares me too. if they know that windows is good in comparison to something, then it means they've heard of linux
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UnderLord
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Posted: 19th Dec 2006 23:28 Edited at: 19th Dec 2006 23:31
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Where should i start = i hear lots working at a dell kiosk!!!!

I get the "Is that with 80 gigs of memory?" alot as well....

But my favorite is the "this CPU is huge" when they are referring to the computer case....

This just reminded me of one i got a couple of days ago....

"My mother board was fried by a virus, its in bits and pieces...the same virus got my sisters computer as well" I had to ask the lady what type of virus she got

"I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road."
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adr
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Location: Job Centre
Posted: 19th Dec 2006 23:33 Edited at: 19th Dec 2006 23:35
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Quote: "She typed in "Works in IT"."

Did you punch her in the face for that? Go on, son, make sure she doesn't make that mistake again!

Seriously, get over yourself. Do you really think that, even if she did understand the difference, she would actually care? She's on £5 an hour for christ's sake. The fact that you make polygons spin around, rather than tap away at spreadsheets is of no consequence to your health.

And to the rest of you whiners - It's this sort of elitism that perpetuates the "unapproachable IT geek" stereotype. Moreover, it's probably the reason there aren't more girls in IT, which deeply concerns me.

Quote: "I hate when people assume you are willing to fix other people's computers just because you have a "computer job". "

I will agree that these people need a kick in the nuts. You wouldn't say "Hey, you work in finances, do my accounts". Or "Hey, you're a lawyer aren't you? Just go over this contract for me....". To be honest, I don't know if professional web/graphic designers get that much hassle for freebies - it's just the geeky types.

Now, if you want something truely annoying try this on for size:
Quote: "It doesn't work"

I thought that was bad when I used to work in tech support as a summer job. Now, when I hear clients saying it, it's even more frustrating.... I wonder which of the 500,000 lines of code they could be referring to...


I'm superfly TNT
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Hobgoblin Lord
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Location: Fall River, MA USA
Posted: 20th Dec 2006 00:14
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Quote: "I wonder which of the 500,000 lines of code they could be referring to..."


its whichever line is deepest from where you start looking.

http://www.cafepress.com/blackarrowgames
Check out my great stuff here
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Jeku
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Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Posted: 20th Dec 2006 00:26 Edited at: 20th Dec 2006 00:26
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Quote: "And to the rest of you whiners - It's this sort of elitism that perpetuates the "unapproachable IT geek" stereotype."


I don't understand this, please explain. There is nothing elite about wanting to be associated with your proper job definition If I'm a chef at a gourmet restaurant, I don't want to be labeled as a fast food deep fryer/burger flipper. If I'm a dentist, I don't want people asking me to help them with their sore neck--- etc. etc. Nothing elite about that.

http://www.codercafe.com - My blog
Ben Stein's Christmas Thoughts
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indi
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 00:40
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A D R its ok to have out bursts, just not at the same guys who work in fields like you.
save it for the customers.

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Hobgoblin Lord
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 00:42
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Something that really gets me is

Quote: " I just downloaded a cracked version of x."


As a fool that actually buys all his software(yes I actually registered winzip), it annoys the hell out of me when people do this (same goes for music) it is one of the few reasons that I am hesitant about this field. I can pour alot of hours and thought into a project so Johhny can upload it and people can play my game without me ever seeing a cent for it.

http://www.cafepress.com/blackarrowgames
Check out my great stuff here
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indi
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 00:46
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yeah i hate that as well. Ive easily spent 10 grand on software this year alone, some serial junkie tells me it can all be free, derr, Ive been down that road and it aint worth it when you need the package to work correctly in a critical job situation.

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Tinkergirl
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 00:52
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I'm a level designer, and was advised by a financial advisor to list Programmer as my job title - money people like programmers, but no-one knows what a level designer is.

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Raven
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 00:56
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Game Developers (in job classication) come under Information Technology, sometimes you might get the sub-class of Entertainment but wouldn't bet on it. Even recruitment agencies who professionally handle this sector class you as this so get over it.

This includes everything computer related = IT.

What's worse is that if you do artwork of any sort, you have no official job classification. It's the way the working world is, and despite this being a multi-billion dollar entertainment industry I don't see it changing any time soon.

The only thing that irritates me, is when people believe that because you work with computers as a primary job (outside of true IT descriptive jobs) they assume you know everything about computers; yet a majority of the time they will believe unless you physically fix their issue, that what you say isn't true or that they know better.

My parents are just like that, I've had to physically go to my dads many times just to optimise his system; one time it was a simple case of cleaning it out cause it had 6months of dust in it from a very dusty house. Having him tell me things like "my system is better than yours but runs slower, how come?" followed by him telling me, that I'll get a virus using NOD32 over Norton. As no 'unknown' brand of AV could ever be that good.

People refering to their Computer by other names also gets to me.
PSU, CPU, Monitor, HDD, etc.

People who refer to Microsoft as M$ or Micro$oft. It's not big, it ain't clever it just shows how damn retarded you are.

People who believe that Bill Gates invented computers, and is the anti-christ of all that is good about this world. Not being funny but Bill Gates is purely a businessman, right now he's simply a figure head and majority share holder of Microsoft; doesn't have full control over the company, and while he makes more in a month than most of us earn in 5years; doesn't mean he is evil. He also gives more to charities that entire countries do!

omfg... p30p13 vv|-|0 u53 1337!!

tbh lots bug me actually, and yeah I'm damn elitest and proud of it too.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400, 512MB DDR2 667MHz, ATi Radeon X1900 XT 256MB PCI-E, Windows Vista Business / XP Professional SP2
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Jeku
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 02:37
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Quote: "and while he makes more in a month than most of us earn in 5years"


You mean he makes more than us in 5 minutes than most of us earn in 5 years

http://www.codercafe.com - My blog
Ben Stein's Christmas Thoughts
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Raven
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 02:41
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lol, probably no idea how much he actually makes tbh... just know that his yearly paycheque is way over $100million

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400, 512MB DDR2 667MHz, ATi Radeon X1900 XT 256MB PCI-E, Windows Vista Business / XP Professional SP2
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indi
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Location: Earth, Brisbane, Australia
Posted: 20th Dec 2006 02:52
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Quote: "What's worse is that if you do artwork of any sort, you have no official job classification."


you crack me up with your silly statements.
Graphic Designers, texture artists, layout set artists, product designers, compositors, illustrators, 2d animators etc.etc are staring at you blankly.

Quote: "and yeah I'm damn elitest and proud of it too."

I think you need to accomplish stuff and be a leader in your field to be elite.

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Jeku
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 03:34
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At work we have animators, modelers, interface designers (who technically aren't artists, but I disagree), and loads more classifications in the "art" world.

http://www.codercafe.com - My blog
Ben Stein's Christmas Thoughts
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Darth Vader
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Location: Adelaide SA, I am the only DB user here!
Posted: 20th Dec 2006 04:25
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I hate it when

1. People refer to the tower as the Hard Drive
2. My sisters and Mum think a computer should always work


http://ideal-entertainment.galekus.com
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Dave J
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 04:58
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Quote: "And also confuse memory with HD space.

"It's got a whopping 100GB of memory"."


I disagree with this, I believe they're both memory, simply different types. RAM and ROM are both named memory, yet serve different purposes, it's the same with the Hard Drive. After all, isn't memory merely something that stores and retrieves information?


"Computers are useless, they can only give you answers."
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Alquerian
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 05:38
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What really gets me is when they type in their email address into the address bar or search engine, perhaps expecting it magically to get them to their mail?

Another pet peve of mine is when I am a backseat driver, instructing a user on what to do next and I tell them to point to the start menu... I swear if I see another finger on the damn monitor I am going to hack it off with a bastard sword.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Raven
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 05:59
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Quote: "you crack me up with your silly statements.
Graphic Designers, texture artists, layout set artists, product designers, compositors, illustrators, 2d animators etc.etc are staring at you blankly."


Our Job Centre doesn't carry it as a classification.
Art, Software Programming, etc. is not in their classification database.

For some reason, programming jobs are always classed as "Engineering", and Art is under "Entertainment > Media"

The amount of times I've tried to explain to those who's job it is to help you find a job in your area of expertise but refuse to recognise what that area is, just unbeliveable.

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Agent Dink
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 06:00
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Lot's gets on my nerves usually while explaining to people what to do as it all just goes well and easy for me, but they have to take notes, and they end up making the process more complicated than it should be. Such as downloading pictures from a digital camera or getting to a certain webpage. Something like that which should take 30 seconds tops, takes about 5-10 minutes.

I tend to agree with DaveJ your hard drive is considered memory too.

Sometimes the only way over a wall is to pile up enough bodies to climb over - Dave W.
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UnderLord
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 06:10
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Quote: "I swear if I see another finger on the damn monitor I am going to hack it off with a bastard sword.
"


ROFL that should be my sig

But anyhow i had a ladie call up my work inquiring about our lowest end labtop, i tell her about it she asks me if i can tell her about the free printer...then asks me how much the free printer is....then i proceed to tell her "its free" but she dosnt listen i tell her 3 times and she dosnt listen then she asks to speak to my manager....some people just should stay away from computers and free printer add's....

anyhow that is my story for the night...exciting i know....

"I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road."
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dark coder
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 06:43
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I hate it when people attempt to do a search on some search engine and type in a question asif they were asking a friend.

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hyrichter
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 06:43
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Haha, this reminds me of a while back, one of my buddies (who is quite a decent computer geek also) was called up by someone for computer help. I only heard his end of the conversation but it went something like this:

Quote: "
Ok, now click the right mouse button over that little icon you see there. Ok, a menu popped up, did you see it? Ok, now click on the one that says properties.
*Silence*
No! You have to click the RIGHT mouse button, you know the one opposite the left mouse button? Ok, now do you see the menu? Ok, click the menu item that says "Properties." What? No, use the LEFT mouse button this time.
*Groan*
Ok, you click the RIGHT mouse button to get the menu, then you use the LEFT mouse button to click on where it says "Properties"

Ok, now in this screen, there's a couple of options. One says "Disabled" and the other says "Enabled."
*Waits*
They're those little round circles, and one of them has a small black dot in the middle of it. See, when you click the other one, the small black dot moves to the one you click.
*Silence*
LEFT mouse button!
Ok, click on the one that says "Enabled."
*Silence*
LEFT mouse button!

Ok, now click OK, and use the LEFT mouse button.
"


It was all I could do to keep from literally ROFL.

Good performance is better than a good excuse.
CodeSurge -- DBP Editor for serious programmers.
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Jeku
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 07:13
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Quote: "For some reason, programming jobs are always classed as "Engineering""


Well, programmers are engineers--- software engineers.

http://www.codercafe.com - My blog
Ben Stein's Christmas Thoughts
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Jeff Miller
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 13:34
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In my neck of the woods the job Graphic Artist is presumed to mean someone who uses computers to generate artwork. My company employs about a dozen, and in 10+ years there I have yet to see a physical paintbrush or even a colored pencil. Every resume that I have seen responding to one of our want ads for Graphic Artist lists the various programs in which the applicant claims proficiency. I've never heard of them being referred to as IT. That handle is applied exclusively to the fellow who keeps the communications network running.
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Agent Dink
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 16:03
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Something else I hate after just getting off the phone with one of my customers is when they think their computer speed is directly related to their internet speed. He asked me that if they ended up getting their daughter and iPod and iTunes and all that for Christmas, what he should do to maximize his speed. So I tell him his computer is already just fine for that. Its a P4 2.4 ghz, 512 megs of Ram... totally sufficient for that. So I go on telling him that his computer is just fine and how he didn't need to upgrade, while making comparisons so it's easier to understand. Then he's like yeah, but I was talking about like, internet speed. Grrr lol.

Sometimes the only way over a wall is to pile up enough bodies to climb over - Dave W.
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David R
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 16:37 Edited at: 20th Dec 2006 16:38
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Quote: "
Quote: "It doesn't work"
I thought that was bad when I used to work in tech support as a summer job. Now, when I hear clients saying it, it's even more frustrating.... I wonder which of the 500,000 lines of code they could be referring to...
"


Yeah, that one truly pisses me off too. I wrote a CD for someone the other week, and they came back and said "It didn't work". I asked many times "What didn't work? (y'know, what part of it)" and they still gave the same reply

EDIT:
Quote: "
Well, programmers are engineers--- software engineers.
"


Hell yes, and we should take pride in our craft too!

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Chris K
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 16:42
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I prefer the term 'Code Artist'

-= Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals =-
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Zaibatsu
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 18:10
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Quote: ""It's got a whopping 100GB of memory"."


incorrect and not very much HD space at that.


Quote: "Referring to the monitor as the "computer".
"


i hate that!

what bugs me, is this one person in particular. He downloaded a mod for COD2, but couldn't figure out how to install it, so he asked me. I asked him, "Is one of the files a .exe file?" and he responds yes. "Double click it" I tell him. it worked. he did not know what an exe file was. This same person now wants me to teach him things about the computer. Every day he sees me, he says, "teach me about computers," to which I respond, "What do you wish to learn?" and he says, "Everything"

Every once in a while he'll ask me some dumb question like, "How do I make a game run faster without setting the graphics lower or buying better parts?"

Once again you've snatched defeat from the jaws of victory!
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Benjamin
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 18:27
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What I hate is the way experienced PC users expect every single person on the face of the planet to understand how to use them, and get frustrated when said person doesn't understand something. Judging by this thread, there are a lot of people like this.

Quote: "incorrect and not very much HD space at that."

Maybe not for someone like yourself who likes to store a lot of porn.

Just kidding about the porn thing.

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David R
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 19:14 Edited at: 20th Dec 2006 19:15
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Quote: "What I hate is the way experienced PC users expect every single person on the face of the planet to understand how to use them, and get frustrated when said person doesn't understand something. Judging by this thread, there are a lot of people like this."


Umm, maybe a few of the examples are this way... but a few are not; especially my/Adr's example (not the 'blow my own trumpet' or anything) which is just common sense - saying "It doesn't work" [is just generally annoying, and] would apply to a multitude of situations, and isn't just 'Experienced PC users' being Elitist or anything like that.

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Benjamin
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 19:27
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Quote: "Umm, maybe a few of the examples are this way"

That'll do.

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Seppuku Arts
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Location: Cambridgeshire, England
Posted: 20th Dec 2006 19:39
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Indeed, [defensive mode] I'm not a stuck up computer user! Have some pie![/defensive mode]

Thank you...

But you must admit it is very annoying when someone asks you the answer to a question where they've just been told the answer by what they've just been learning, on a 'self learning' course...Like I said, the i-pod does the trick

"Cut down the gods if they stand in your way" - Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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Grog Grueslayer
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 19:55
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The first one that comes to mind is the most recent. A friend of my moms told me "my computer is slow" so I took a look. I cleaned out tons of spyware and trojans, and got rid of about 20 programs she had load up when windows starts. It worked fine after I got done with it. She takes it home and uses it for about a week before she calls me "my computer is slow". Talking to her she eventually told me what she meant... her internet was "slow"... she was using dialup. I told her the best way to speed that up was to get broadband and to "get rid of aol". She uses it for another week then takes it to somebody else... they find (like I did) more spyware and trojans and loaded junk. So she probably doesn't think I'm good with computers anymore because she can't keep off the sites she gets the spyware and trojans from. Good for my sanity... bad for business.


Another one that comes to mind is the "help me install something" phone calls. I get those every once in a while... it goes something like this:

Me: Ok you're holding the CD right?
Them: Yes.
Me: Put it in the computer.
Them: Ok something came up.
Me: What does it say?
Them: It says "Do you want to install such-n-such? Yes or No?"
Me: Do you want to install it?
Them: Yeah.
Me: Then hit yes.


Because of my personality (ENTJ) when teaching somebody about computers for the first time and they hesitate at hitting keys on the keyboard I tell them something like "Hit ESC"... the nervous ones always say "That button?" before hitting it. I say "Yup"... then when they push it I yell "Not that one!"... scares the stuffing out of them. Then I explain their computer isn't going to blow up by hitting keys. After that their computer fears are gone and they don't hesitate using it again.
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TKF15H
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 20:29
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I had a conversation like this once:
guy: Why do you use your computer with the case open? Won't it get viruses like that?
me: It's open because I was testing some part. And computer viruses aren't airborne
guy: Ahh. Well, I have a computer at home and it is infected. Can you take a look at it?
me: How do you know it's infected?
guy: I was using it and then suddenly a bunch of wierd lines appeared all over the screen.
me: Ok, bring it over.

A few days later he brought me a 486 (iirc) with windows 95. Somebody changed his screensaver and he thought it was a virus.

Now, I don't expect everyone to know everything about computers, it's just that the cringing happens involuntarily.

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Tinkergirl
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Posted: 20th Dec 2006 21:11
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@ Grog - I'm an ENTP, personally.

Thankfully it's only my mum who asks for computer help, and usually the best thing for me to advise is that she keeps my brother away from it for as long as possible. Usually keeps it working fine.

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