Windows is good advice for the consultants who support it (was: Re: Good advice! (was: Re: [Ti] Windows compatable))

[Chris Olson]

On Jan 17, 2006, at 10:34 PM, Glenn L. Austin wrote:

> Most Windows users figure that viruses, spyware, continual security  
> updates, and constant reboots are just the way things are on  
> computers, and that their problems are simply because they don't  
> know how to use a computer.

They don't even figure that.  I'd bet fully 50% of PC owners don't  
care about digital photography, music, making movies, or doing  
anything at all creative.  All they use their computer for is  
forwarding jokes and funny pictures to all their friends with email,  
and clicking on links that all their friends send them.  After about  
the 30th forward the email has headers as long as your arm, and one  
line of content on line 5,688.  To them, that's email.  They  
intentionally install spyware like the purple ape web assistant thing  
for Windows, or some screensaver with spyware in it, and think it's  
great and cool.  That's all they do.  That's extent of their  
computing experience.

The computer can be running 90 viruses and worm daemons and they  
don't know the difference as long as it runs.  They figure AOL or  
whoever their ISP is is protecting them from viruses and such.  If  
something goes wrong with it where it won't run anymore, they get  
some relative or friend who's a computer "expert" to come fix it for  
them.

You can show them a Mac and they don't care.  They don't care because  
they're not passionate about computers, and even less impressed with  
learning a new interface that looks totally foreign.  The computer is  
just another appliance like the toaster.  For these people, Windows  
on a cheap $300 PC is perfect.  They wouldn't be able to even figure  
out how to install software on a Mac and they'd get frustrated with  
it because it don't do all the cool stuff their friends do on Windows.
-- 
Chris

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