I loved that too! Except we don’t have crosses on our bibles. I guess it would have been pretty difficult to draw a Watchtower in such a small space, and without the cross it would just look like a book.
i love how my sister is using a mac now for that very reason. i can just say sorry never used a mac before if you get windows or Linux i might be able to help you. and she leaves me alone.
I should be setting up their computers to automatically break so I get more free dinners. Also, there’s a british show based on this concept, The I.T. Crowd
Fantastic! And I LOVE the last panel. both a refference and an explanation to their little social order, it works great.
I don’t understand what’s going on in the 3rd panel though. why was the priest “just in there”?
Where on Earth do you live where there aren’t any Jehovah’s Witnesses? We’re everywhere! No, literally, everywhere! There’s even someone in one of the stations on the South Pole that regularly downloads articles from jw.org.
We used to call that the “friends and familes” tax. When I was at Apple we each figured out we spent at least 100-200 hours a years ~2-4 hours a week, providing free tech support to people we knew, and whom they knew, whom they knew and people passing by in the street.
When you figure our full hourly cost was something like $60/hour, we were theoretically giving away quite a lot of valuable services.
On the other hand, I know a lot of people who didn’t start out in computers who just kind of oozed into lucretive careers by being informally good at fixing problems.
The secret is to repair computers with a disconcerting air of insanity. Follow this chart http://xkcd.com/627/ at a fevered speed with a maniacal glint in your eye, preferably while eating something that sheds crumbs. Share tales of the times you broke your own system by doing something stupid with it. Carry your own laptop around with most of the case screws and some of the nonessential plastic bits removed, and never get around to fixing that one trivial mechanical fault that can be fixed by wiggling or hitting something. Confess that you aren’t actually sure what you’re doing while editing the registry or dissecting parts of the power supply. Always use the most improper tools – nothing pops those little plastic tabs quite like a 6 inch boning knife, plus it adds a certain pizzazz to any attempts to talk with your hands. Conceal your geekspeak by pretending not to know the proper names for things, or just don’t bother learning them in the first place. And above all, NEVER validate your skills by claiming that someone would allow you to touch computers in a professional setting. And somehow, even though you may be very talented at computer repair, very few people will ask for your help.
Ugh…I know what you mean. They also blame you if something goes wrong after you touch the computer.
Your avatar is perfect for this comic AND comment.
Yep.
I switched from Windows to Linux in -96. Mom still calls me when her Windows acts up…
I’m sending this to my nerdboy.
I like the way you can tell that the bespectacled bug in the second panel is sad, even though you can’t see his eyes.
I love how the guy would rather talk to a Jehovah’s Witness in the third panel than give his buddy tech support. LOL!
I loved that too! Except we don’t have crosses on our bibles. I guess it would have been pretty difficult to draw a Watchtower in such a small space, and without the cross it would just look like a book.
True that, Jeff (I’m a JW too) … I’ve just come to accept that if there’s a cross on the book and they’re at the door, you assume it’s a JW.
He lives in Israel.
This is why Thinkgeek makes a “No I Will Not Fix Your Computer” t-shirt (and why I have a couple)
Fortunately all my family are dead, and my friends can already fix their own computers.
I know this feeling. I’m the first one anyone in my house asks for tech support, instead of them, y’know, calling tech support.
UGH… Yes… Yes, it is a terrible thing indeed.
Have you tried turning it off and on again?
**LIKE**
I just ask them if they have turned it off. Turning it back on will only cause me more problems.
My folks switched to Mac, and ever since I’ve been able to say “Sorry! No idea!”
i love how my sister is using a mac now for that very reason. i can just say sorry never used a mac before if you get windows or Linux i might be able to help you. and she leaves me alone.
My mom uses a Mac for school, and despite my dad having never used Mac before, she still asks him about it since he’s a computer guy.
Second panel – so heartless. So funny.
I should be setting up their computers to automatically break so I get more free dinners. Also, there’s a british show based on this concept, The I.T. Crowd
I just started to make ridiculous excuses about new tech.
Fantastic! And I LOVE the last panel. both a refference and an explanation to their little social order, it works great.
I don’t understand what’s going on in the 3rd panel though. why was the priest “just in there”?
or is that not a priest, in which case, why is a bug in a tie holding a book with a cross?
He’s a Jehovah’s witness. The protagonist rather talked to him than to his friend who needed tech support.
Ooooh, that explains why I didn’t get it. we don’t have those here.
Where on Earth do you live where there aren’t any Jehovah’s Witnesses? We’re everywhere! No, literally, everywhere! There’s even someone in one of the stations on the South Pole that regularly downloads articles from jw.org.
Ya can’t escape us, Tomix. We’re everywhere. Eeeeeeeeeverywhere.
I convinced a few co-workers to go with Mac computers, so now I get to say “sorry, can’t help. ask at the Genius bar or whatever it’s called”.
We used to call that the “friends and familes” tax. When I was at Apple we each figured out we spent at least 100-200 hours a years ~2-4 hours a week, providing free tech support to people we knew, and whom they knew, whom they knew and people passing by in the street.
When you figure our full hourly cost was something like $60/hour, we were theoretically giving away quite a lot of valuable services.
On the other hand, I know a lot of people who didn’t start out in computers who just kind of oozed into lucretive careers by being informally good at fixing problems.
Morlocks! Brilliant! And not too far fetched from today’s culture, sadly…
The secret is to repair computers with a disconcerting air of insanity. Follow this chart http://xkcd.com/627/ at a fevered speed with a maniacal glint in your eye, preferably while eating something that sheds crumbs. Share tales of the times you broke your own system by doing something stupid with it. Carry your own laptop around with most of the case screws and some of the nonessential plastic bits removed, and never get around to fixing that one trivial mechanical fault that can be fixed by wiggling or hitting something. Confess that you aren’t actually sure what you’re doing while editing the registry or dissecting parts of the power supply. Always use the most improper tools – nothing pops those little plastic tabs quite like a 6 inch boning knife, plus it adds a certain pizzazz to any attempts to talk with your hands. Conceal your geekspeak by pretending not to know the proper names for things, or just don’t bother learning them in the first place. And above all, NEVER validate your skills by claiming that someone would allow you to touch computers in a professional setting. And somehow, even though you may be very talented at computer repair, very few people will ask for your help.
Hahah. Time Machine Reference.
The speech bar in the first panel reminds me of the guys hair in the last panel.
Yum
I wish. I`d make some series moolah! As it stands all my friends got smart phones instead.
So we nerds farm those dummies for food?