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    <title><![CDATA[Discussion on Finding balance between supporting the technical savvy versus the technically challenged ]]></title>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Assembly of self]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3162632]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Is the one that gives me problems to this day. The Ingram is a piece of cake.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3162632]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[santeewelding]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:43:46 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[I'll raise my hand on three of those]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3162620]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I've never touched a Mach-10, but give me a few minutes and I'm sure I could figure it out.It can't be more complicated than an M-2.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3162620]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[NickNielsen]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:27:28 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Ummm...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3162607]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[And how does this differ from a reboot?No, it's not a cold start, but the operating system is shut down completely and the processor is restarted]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3162607]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[NickNielsen]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:23:41 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Similar issue here]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3162593]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I share some of the same cruxes. I even offer training videos all of which I use screen captures and narrate to and the most basic way I can. The employees I support STILL do not take the time, nor are they willing. I am ready to pull my hair out over this.**edit**To give you an example of what I have to go through... I get calls because employees cannot remember where they saved a file, or what they named it, or when they saved it. They also regularly share passwords and constantly complain at the complexity requirements because their &quot;memories aren't so good&quot;]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3162593]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Shatter Points]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:00:41 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Four Types]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3162591]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I have four categories for my users:1) &quot;How Do You Turn This Thing On?&quot;2) &quot;I Use This Thing Everyday.  How Come You Changed Something?  My Icons Look Different so Now I Can't Do My Job.&quot;3) &quot;I am Here to Co-operate and Understand You Guys Are Here to Make my Life Better.  Got Any Updates You Need Me to Apply?&quot;4) &quot;I Have a Computer at Home and Read all the Hacker Articles.  I Can Install Better Free Warez Apps Than the Crap Software You Are Forcing Me To Use.  I'm Not Going to Call You For Support Until I Have Turned This Thing Into a Brick, Which I Will Do About Once Every Three Months.  OH, and When I Do, It Will Be Your Fault.&quot;]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3162591]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Arcturus909]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:52:31 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Good idea]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3145119]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Sadly, one of my biggest frustrations in life is dealing with ignorant people.  I would willingly bet that most of the people I do support for have a microwave or DVD player at home with a clock blinking &quot;12:00&quot; for all eternity.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3145119]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[handyman1972@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:24:39 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Stay very simple and count to 10]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3144271]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Some of the comments tickle me, some gave me good advice. Here's mine. Go to Start (wait for them) then shutdown (wait for them), then shutdown again. No, not restart or log off, shut down. Once the Power is off and no lights are flashing, take a good 10 count before powering the pc back up.We do a lot of LANDesk, a trick I just learned is you can lock the mouse &amp; keyboard so they can't mess with them. It is dead at their end. Love it!!]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3144271]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Judy~in~Alaska]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:07:52 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[On my website, I keep several how to videos made with camtasia]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3143092]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[They are all indexed in a faq manner.  I'm constantly adding items.  It helps many users when they see what you are telling them to do.  Of course there still are those who totally ignore it because their problem is &quot;different&quot; and &quot;urgent.&quot;  Doesn't bother me too much, I'm here all 8 hours a day anyway.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3143092]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Forum Surfer]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:28:03 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[It's up to you to explain]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3143077]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[When I have user reboot.  I explain EXACTLY how to do it.  I stay on the phone until they go down and come up.  Isn't that the true meaning of support.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3143077]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[lcave@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:10:07 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Finding balance between supporting the technical savvy versus the technically challenged]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3137201]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I find that treating an &quot;educational&quot; challenge is very much like writing a computing program.  If I can break it down into itty-bitty steps (with those lovely screen-shots) similar to the individual instructions in a procedure, then most people can follow them.  Some appreciate the education, some call back the next week for another copy, and some want me to walk them through it.  Getting rid of the jargon is definitely a key. Reboot, restart, hard reboot -- why would a janitor who needs only to record his work time on a shared computer even CARE?  He can answer when I ask &quot;Do you see the button which says &quot;Start&quot; in the lower left?&quot;  If I start at that step-by-step level, the ones who really do understand more will ask me to speed up, or give me some other clue.  However, being able to break down a task into those small steps is what keeps me from becoming really grouchy...which, of course, every customer can hear in my voice.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3137201]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[litninrod@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:58:29 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[IO Errors]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3135589]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[In my 20+ years doing support, I've come to one conclusion, all problems with users fall back to being &quot;IO&quot; error. . .   Ignorant Operators, Idiot Operators and Intellegent Operators and because of this I pretty much automatically create three different sets of instructions to pass out to the users, giving the appropriate instructions that fit the type of &quot;IO&quot; error I might have to deal with.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3135589]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[wfs1946]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:40:05 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Still doesn't work!]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3135580]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[The only problem with telling the to &quot;restart&quot; their computer is that's exactly what they do, go to the &quot;Start&quot; button, click on &quot;shut down&quot; and change the setting to &quot;restart&quot;, click on &quot;OK&quot; and restart their machine instead of rebooting it.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3135580]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[wfs1946]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:27:43 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Truth be told...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3134291]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I like the users who don't know anything.  They won't try to &quot;fix&quot; their problem; they'll call me and ask for help.  99% of my calls from them are very simple and I don't need to figure out what the #$%! they did, fix that, and then try to fix the original problem.  The folks who think they know something will invariably fumble around, make the problem worse, and then I need to fix 2 things and hope their efforts didn't break something else.Give me the non-savvy every time.  They make my life fun and appreciate what I do.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3134291]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[cranky_paranoid]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:20:12 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Close.]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3133175]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[&quot;...the problem is that many of the things that make our society work require specialized knowledge that is not available to everyone.&quot;So close.  As I see the problem, as it relates to providing tech support, is that companies hire employees assuming they have the needed computer skills but don't test or train.Where I work we require factory floor employees to record their work time online, retrieve and print drawings and procedures, and similar operations that require basic keyboard and mouse skills.  I have never seen a training class in basic PC / Windows operation.  I can't blame people for not having skills they've never been taught; I can easily blame management.And yes, I too have people who daily print things out just to sign them and scan them back in; or to print them to fax to another person in the company who has e-mail (using the full 10-digit fax number instead of the inside trunk).]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3133175]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[CharlieSpencer_Palmetto]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:15:03 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Technically challenged?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3133134]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[And I suppose everyone here can A. Completely stuff a circuit board so that it looks machine made, B. Field strip and re-assemble a MACH-10 orC. Rebuild an automatic transmissionD. Completely assemble a desktop computer from parts to a completely operational system. Right? I doubt it. Everyone of these and many other jobs require the use of what is or has been considered high technology. Every one of them requires hands on and hands off training. As I see it, the problem is that many of the things that make our society work require specialized knowledge that is not available to everyone. These &quot;trade secrets&quot; have taught us that we should NOT ask questions about areas that are not in our particular domain. That is the hands off training. Then here come the IT people that insist that we &quot;do it ourselves&quot; and &quot;anyone can do it&quot;.How many of you remember the very first time you had a problem with a computer? And how relieved you were when someone who knew how to fix it did?]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3133134]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[for_merlin@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:28:01 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[It's Not a Technology Issue--It's Human Nature]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3132204]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I've wrestled with this issue myself and came to the same conclusion.  Sadly, there's a large segment of the Earth's population that don't want to handle certain responsibilties that should be theirs.  It has jack squat to do with what they know or what they are capable of.  Everyone who works in a professional setting is capable of learning new things.  Some just are too lazy or don't want the responsibility.Think about the big Healthcare debate in America.  A large number of people can afford health insurance but they either don't want to deal with it themselves (too complicated) or they would rather spend the money on something else and have the government handle it.  Let me illustrate.  I just deployed a remote application to a couple of sites last week.  All of the heavy lifting has been done.  The user's end of the bargain consisted of browsing to a folder on the local computer, double clicking a small installable, clicking on the resulting icon and loggin into the server.  To make it even easier, I e-mailed all users a four page document on how to do this process.  It was four pages because I included screenshots.  I empowered the users to set it up themselves.  However, the next day my voice mail was slammed by the usual suspects.  These are the individuals who believe that doing anything extra on the computer is outside of their job description and that IT should take care of it.  There's nothing you can do to help those people because it's outside of your domain.  You would have to change their point-of-view philosophically.  The only responsibility these people want in life is choosing the clothes they want to wear, what big screen TV to buy and whether to get the #1 or #5 at Burger King.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3132204]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[jmarkovic32]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:08:45 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Finding balance between supporting the technical savvy versus the technically challenged]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3131268]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[The technically savvy will eventually take over your job, the technically challenged will keep you employed.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3131268]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ike_C]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Sat, 01 Aug 2009 14:15:06 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Finding balance between supporting the technical savvy versus the technically challenged]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3131229]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[It is ok to keep up. But, I do not blame users who overlook things as the technology contunues to change anyway. Users that stick around find it not worth it and it is true because their specialties are in other areas (in my case Doctors and Nurses). Secondly, it is and should be irrelevant, the expertise level of the users. The worst users to support are the ones who think they know it all. I do not categorize these uers as tech savvy, but socially challenged. They get minimal support until they screw something up.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3131229]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[sangraal]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:47:16 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Finding balance between supporting the technical savvy versus the technically challenged]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3130791]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Lol.  We have more than one type of technically challenged.  There are the ones who can't even launch a program, the ones we show how to use a function over and over again(including written instructions), and the ones who *think* they know tech and generally get themselves into a pickle.  Our truly tech savvy folks are few but well-loved by those of us in support because they become the 'go-to' persons in whatever remote office they're in.We are in the process of migrating to Outlook.  Most of our users are very happy.  We still have a few hold-outs, though, for our old system.  Unfortunately the old system is being phased out quickly so the luddites have to come along - kicking and screaming all the way, of course.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3130791]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Pcobiwan]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:25:38 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[I Feel your pain!!!]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3130765]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Believe me when I say I feel your pain.  My wife is a card carrying, to the bone member of the &quot;Technically Challenged&quot; group!  I have been doing tech support/IMAC for a few years now (and thank God) &quot;MOST&quot; of the people I have supported over the years can at least follow simple directions when you give them to them, EXCEPT for my wife.  Don't get me wrong, I love her to death, but when your at work, and trying to do a remote install of a IM program on some persons machine out in Hawaii, and you get a panicked emergency call from your wife saying that she can't open Outlook, only to find out that she was typing her password in with the caps lock key on, well I think you feel the pain!    Take care, don't pull out too much of your hair, and remember Rogaine WONT help for that kind of hair loss!]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-314286-3130765]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[joseph_mcmanus@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:59:57 -0700</pubDate>
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