One word: AMEN
Whatever works for you
21–30 of 70 posts
Re: Whatever works for you
#22adding my ten-ish year history of supporting other people (I'm also pushing 30), I've learned this one fact: trying to help other people will frequently result in my taking ownership of ALL of their problems in their eyes.
which seems like a really jerk-like perspective to take, and it is a little bit.
Re: Whatever works for you
#23There's a difference between trying to help a guy solve a specific problem and trying to evangelize him to switch to your preferred platform. There are tons of resources on the Web devoted to syncing Outlook with the iPhone. Maybe someone more tech savvy (like Marco) could have helped. Instead he said he "couldn't help him". He really meant "I don't want to try to help you".
Yep, but that's exactly what you need to stay sane when faced with people who a) don't want to adopt a solution that I know to work, but b) are incapable or unwilling to make the effort to make their own "preferred" solution work.
I've come to the same place as Marco: I just "admit" I can't help them. Yes, it's a white lie, but not one that keeps me awake at night.
Re: Whatever works for you
#24If you're arguing with people over a computer operating system... ...just stop it.
It depends if you are arguing with someone like your parents who want to use Facebook, send email and manage their photos or with someone else who spends all day using an operating system.
Re: Whatever works for you
#25I agree, but it is good to notice that many people are simply afraid (and not aware) of alternative solutions. If you can afford to, informing them won't hurt.
I get a little uncomfortable suggesting technology options to others because they will often take what I use as the one true option.
I try to choose the technologies that best fit my requirements and workflow, but that does not necessarily mean it is best for anyone else.
Re: Whatever works for you
#26The flip side to this is as computer professionals, what we do with a computer and how we have built our workflow significantly accelerates our work with a computer. E.g., easy file versioning and sync is fundamentally a solved problem, if you are willing to take the initial hit of workflow modification (git, sftp, etc). So it's okay to teach people how to do it faster and better.
> "So it's okay to teach people how to do it faster and better."
If and when they want to learn, sure. But the article is specifically about how you respond to people who don't want to contemplate change, let alone implement it.
Particularly, it's about the non-trivial cases where it would take hours to unravel the goals, features, problems and dependencies of their current 'system' to make an intelligent recommendation, to say nothing of breaking down time, capital and retraining costs to implement it.
Re: Whatever works for you
#27There's a difference between trying to help a guy solve a specific problem and trying to evangelize him to switch to your preferred platform. There are tons of resources on the Web devoted to syncing Outlook with the iPhone. Maybe someone more tech savvy (like Marco) could have helped. Instead he said he "couldn't help him". He really meant "I don't want to try to help you".
You missed the whole point of his post. Marco is saying he has finally come to realize that "tech savvy" doesn't mean "qualified to suggest changes". He's not being lazy. He's talking about humility. Some people's real-life logistical issues transcend technological issues.
Re: Whatever works for you
#28There's a difference between trying to help a guy solve a specific problem and trying to evangelize him to switch to your preferred platform. There are tons of resources on the Web devoted to syncing Outlook with the iPhone. Maybe someone more tech savvy (like Marco) could have helped. Instead he said he "couldn't help him". He really meant "I don't want to try to help you".
I think you're misreading the whole thrust of the article. What Marco was getting at was that he can't help him in light of his (Outlook user's) expectations. The article is saying (1) Marco has a use pattern that works well for Marco, (2) that use pattern could be pushed on someone else in a way that fixes the user's problem as Marco sees it, (3) but Marco has come to the realization that the problem lies with the user's personal use pattern combined with his expectations for the technology. I think that's really insightful.
If you let go of the idea that you can change (or that it's worth the effort to change) everyone's use patterns, then you have to accept that some use patterns simply don't have solutions that meet the user's expectations. And in those situations, it's best not to fight the user--let them work it out. Hopefully, in the end, they find something that works for them.
Re: Whatever works for you
#29There's a difference between trying to help a guy solve a specific problem and trying to evangelize him to switch to your preferred platform. There are tons of resources on the Web devoted to syncing Outlook with the iPhone. Maybe someone more tech savvy (like Marco) could have helped. Instead he said he "couldn't help him". He really meant "I don't want to try to help you".
You missed the whole point of his post. Marco is saying he has finally come to realize that "tech savvy" doesn't mean "qualified to suggest changes". He's not being lazy. He's talking about humility. Some people's real-life logistical issues transcend technological issues.
I think you're missing luigi's point. He's simply remarking that the OP didn't have to advocate a change in use pattern in order to lend his expertise to his friend's father. Instead, the OP made the choice not to use his time assisting someone who doesn't want to "go all Apple". Of course, the OP isn't obligated to offer free tech support, but he certainly could have helped.
Re: Whatever works for you
#30tldr; it took Marco 30 years to realize some people don't want to only use Apple.