Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 8, 1998, Winnipeg, Manitoba Editor Shane Minkin 697-7308 email computers Winnipeg free press Sqq tuesday september 8,1998 us Zany questions Pepper technical advisers they Are the great Unsung heroes of the computing world those men and women who staff the help and technical support desks. You have a problem with your system who a Gonna Call the help desk. Can t get that software to Load properly get tech support on the line. Just an 800 number away these folks sit in their Call Centre cubicles All Day and All night in Many cases wearing their headsets and answering questions from computer users who Are having difficulties. Often the users Are frustrated angry or really upset. They turn to the help desk As a last resort. It is True that not All help desks Are created equal. In some organizations they have come to be known As the hinder but usually these professional helpers Are Bright courteous and almost always Well helpful. I had dinner last week with Chris Monnette general manager for Canada for Syman Tec corporation. Syman Tec is a very Large software company second Only to Microsoft in the number of shrink wrapped boxes they ship. We were talking about some of Syman Tec s new products More about those in a future column. The user Friendly Paul Pihi Chyn conversation turned to technical support. Syman Tec has a Large tech support staff Monnette said. And a very helpful one he added. Monnette said that in Many organizations a Job on the help desk is almost an entry level position. Unfortunately the very Best and brightest support people often move quickly up the corporate ladder. Those who remain in the tech support trenches really Are a dedicated lot. Here Are some examples of Calls help desks receive. These Are actual Calls and my sources tells me these conversations really took place. ? a woman called the Canon help desk with a problem with her Printer. The tech asked her if she was running it under the woman then responded no my desk is next to the door. But that is a Good Point. The Man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window and his is working ? tech support of Bob let s press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the Middle of the screen. Now Type the letter p to bring up the program customer i Don t have a tech support on your keyboard customer what do you mean tech support a on your keyboard customer i m not going to do that ? a tech support staffer once received a fax with a note on the Bottom to return the document Back to the sender when he was finished with it because he needed to keep it. ? this one was overheard in a computer shop customer i d like a mouse mat salesperson certainly sir we be got a Large customer but will they be compatible with my computer ? customer can you copy the internet for me on this Diskette ? an employee for a local is says they frequently receive phone Calls that Start something like this customer i. Is this the internet ? some people pay for their on line services with cheques made payable to the ? customer so that will get me connected to the internet right tech support customer and that s the latest version of the internet right tech support huh. Us. Us ? tech support All right. Now double Click on the file manager customer that s Why i hate this windows because of the icons i m a protestant and i Don t believe in tech support Well that s just an Industry term sir. I Don t believe it was meant to. " customer i Don t care about any Industry terms. I Don t believe in tech support Well. Why Don t you Click on the Little picture of a file Cabinet. Is Little picture of customer Click ? customer my computer crashed tech support it crashed customer yeah it won t let me play my tech support All right hit control Alt delete to customer no it did t crash it tech support huh customer i crashed my game. That s what i said before. I crashed my spaceship and now it does t tech support Click on file then new customer pause wow How d you learn How to do that far be it for me to suggest there Are people out there who really Are too dumb to be allowed to own a computer but just in Case there Are thank goodness we have help desks and technical support people. You can Contact Paul Pihi Chyn by internet email at a scam is still a scam even if offered by email psst hey buddy want to make some fast Money on the internet you May not get that kind of Sleazy come on in a dark Alley but you might get it in your email. Consumers Are being cleverly ripped off All the time through Well crafted email scams. Here Are some of the most common kinds of scams that end up in email boxes. For More information on these and other scams visit scam busters at or the . Federal Trade commission website at a business Opportunity make $1,000 a Day without working or making any investment most of these unbelievable offers Are simply that unbelievable. These opportunities Are often just illegal Pyramid schemes that take your Money and counsel you to scam others the same Way. A Don t miss the Chance to get in on this ground level investment Opportunity some of these opportunities Are simply Pyramid schemes. Others Are a great investment for the promoters but not so profitable for the participants. A get guaranteed Loans or credit easy terms you May be sold some generic information on How to repair your credit inform internet today Garth Buchholz Tion available for free through credit agencies or government departments. Be cautious of having any financial dealings with companies that make such offers by email. In general be careful who you give your credit card number s to on the net. Some people fret about hackers grabbing their credit card info yet willingly give their card number to a disreputable company. A promote your business through our bulk email service what they Don t Tell you is that sending unwanted bulk email is called spamming a highly censured practice on the net. If you do this your is May cancel your account. In addition if the bulk email Ings spoof a Domain name use it to mask the True originating address you could be sued by the owner of the address s Domain name. A lose weight without exercise Stop hair loss cure cancer these health fad scams never work. The acc warns that Consumers should beware of Case histories from cured Consumers testimonials from famous medical experts you be never heard of and ads that use phrases like scientific breakthrough miraculous cure exclusive product secret formula and ancient ingredient " a Send $2 to each of the names on this list and pass on this email to them so that they do the same. Then wait for the Money to pour in Chain letters whether by Post or by email Are usually illegal. Like Pyramid scams nearly everyone who participates in them loses Money. A learn the secrets of the experts and make easy Money fast these so called systems or secrets Are either obvious information you could find in any Library or out and out fraud. The acc observes if these systems worked would t everyone be using them a congratulations you be just been specially selected to win a fabulous vacation spam emails often go to thousands or millions of recipients at a time. Sometimes you Are instructed that you have to pay a qualifying fee for the prize but then you discover later that you still have other hidden fees you have to pay for such As the entire Cost of your accommodations. Other variations on this scam abound. Consult your travel agent instead. Email internet Fosters depression study finds associated press Pittsburgh the More hours people spend on the internet the More depressed stressed and lonely they feel a groundbreaking study concludes. Internet use had the same effect even for people who spent most of their time in such social activities As Chat rooms or exchanging email said the study headed by Robert Kraut a social psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Sociable users ended up feeling just As isolated As users who spent More time crawling the web for information Kraut said. One reason for the negative effect May have been that using the internet left less time for the deeper relationships of friends and family Kraut suggested. People Are substituting weaker social ties for stronger ones he said they Are substituting conversations on narrower topics with strangers for conversations with people who Are connected to their it was the first study to examine the emotional Impact of people s internet use Over time Kraut said. The findings contradicted the researchers expectation that internet use would Foster social Contact through email and Chat rooms. Kraut and his colleagues followed 93 Pittsburgh area families for two years. The families were Given a computer phone lines and use of the internet for free in return for agreeing to fill out occasional questionnaires. The True false questionnaires included such statements As i can t find companionship when i want it i Felt that everything i did was an Effort and i Felt 1 could not shake off the blues even with help from my family and the number of hours they spent on line were recorded electronically. Participants Levels of depression and loneliness were measured at the Start of the study. At the end of the two years researchers found they could predict changes in an individual s emotional state according to the number of hours spent on the internet. Entertainment keep up with the Best in entertainment modern living and consumer news. Winnipeg free press for Home delivery. 697-7001 1-800-542-8900 in t it Aboin to the inter Lett i if25.4290 computer cosmetics Leonardo a Vinci s Mona Lisa has had multiple layers of yellow varnish left added to the Canvas through the centuries for Protection. 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