It's not easy being the designated "computer guy." Alongside the normal greeting you receive when visiting your friends and family, "Hi! How are you? Can you take a look at my computer...?" You are also bombarded with the usual assortment of email questions about viruses, hoaxes and other maladies that afflict today's technology. Even as computers become easier to use and more affordable to own, their capabilities grow ever more complex. They become a part of our daily existence, and therefore when they break or behave unexpectedly, not only is it inconvenient, it's downright distressing and possibly destructive.
After being raised on a diet of Television, Fast Food, Cellular Phones and Microwave Popcorn, Americans are used to Instant Gratification, probably more so than any modern society other than the Japanese. It stands to reason that our Personal Computers should feature that very same delivery expectation, and for the most part, they do. The computer industry's marketing focus revolves around two basic concepts: Ease of Use and Empowerment, key components in many of the successful items with which we currently surround ourselves.
Before the mid '90's, owning a personal computer was an exercise in patience and fortitude, and the most compelling reason for owning one today - The Internet - was still in the nascent, stages of academic obscurity. Personal computers were seen either as a luxury, or a burden of a job requirement. They were not intuitive (the notable exception to this was the Apple Macintosh, of course) nor were they easy to keep running. And they were outrageously expensive.
Since then, AOL, Microsoft, the Internet and yes, Apple, have made great strides in turning the personal computer into a must-have item for just about anyone. Cellular phones, pagers and PDAs have bridged the gap, easing technology into our lives with deceptive grace. The marketing arm of the computing industry would have you believe that today's technology is easier than ever to own and use. While this may be superficially true, relative to the past, we are no where near the simplicity and elegance of something like the Microwave Oven.
Which brings me to my key point and the raison d'etre of the new Modctek.com. Despite the computer industry's efforts to convince you otherwise, I am here to tell you that computers, while being easy to use, are not simple, and because of this, their use and maintenance should not be taken lightly or for granted. Everyone who uses a computer today, including myself, is guilty of shirking computer maintenance or of taking shortcuts when it comes to our computers. It's like forgetting to check the oil in your car. Granted the automobiles of today need less maintenance than the cars of yesteryear, but they still need to be cared for. Cars, like computers, feature a deceptively easy interface, but their operation is completely dependent on a complex mechanism that can and will fail at some point.
"But that's why we have car mechanics," I can hear you riposte. Indeed, that is also why we have people like me, who make a good living off of technical support. To follow my analogy further, you'll also notice that driving a car is something that requires practice, an actual certification, and the strict observance of many laws. There are no requisites to owning a computer or for surfing the web. Anyone can own a computer, and just about anyone can put up a website. Therein lays the problem. Imagine a world where no one was required to learn how to drive or obey traffic laws and you have an approximation of the kind of chaos that can ensue when computers are improperly used and maintained: Viruses, Spyware, Spam, random crashing, unexplained behavior, compromised privacy, lost productivity and data, etc. Each of these things occurs precisely because of a lack of responsibility, training and vigilance. Frankly, there aren't enough car mechanics to keep all the cars in America running smoothly and trouble-free, and that's doubly so for computer technicians.
Don't get me wrong. I really do enjoy helping my family and friends get the most out of their computers, but many days I wonder if there isn't some other way I can help them, even when I'm not visiting or answering email. This brings us to this website.
It is my firm intent to bring to you, via this website, as much information that I can digest, analyze and vet for your personal consumption. There are plenty of web sites and sources of information out there on how to care for your computer, but a good majority of them were written with someone other than the typical layperson in mind. After over a decade of working in technical support, my family and friends have come to trust me as an authority on matters of personal computing, and I think I can talk a good line of layspeak, so this seemed like a natural progression for my website.
I hope you find useful information here and that you share it with your friends and family.
Since then, AOL, Microsoft, the Internet and yes, Apple, have made great strides in turning the personal computer into a must-have item for just about anyone. Cellular phones, pagers and PDAs have bridged the gap, easing technology into our lives with deceptive grace. The marketing arm of the computing industry would have you believe that today's technology is easier than ever to own and use. While this may be superficially true, relative to the past, we are no where near the simplicity and elegance of something like the Microwave Oven.
Which brings me to my key point and the raison d'etre of the new Modctek.com. Despite the computer industry's efforts to convince you otherwise, I am here to tell you that computers, while being easy to use, are not simple, and because of this, their use and maintenance should not be taken lightly or for granted. Everyone who uses a computer today, including myself, is guilty of shirking computer maintenance or of taking shortcuts when it comes to our computers. It's like forgetting to check the oil in your car. Granted the automobiles of today need less maintenance than the cars of yesteryear, but they still need to be cared for. Cars, like computers, feature a deceptively easy interface, but their operation is completely dependent on a complex mechanism that can and will fail at some point.
"But that's why we have car mechanics," I can hear you riposte. Indeed, that is also why we have people like me, who make a good living off of technical support. To follow my analogy further, you'll also notice that driving a car is something that requires practice, an actual certification, and the strict observance of many laws. There are no requisites to owning a computer or for surfing the web. Anyone can own a computer, and just about anyone can put up a website. Therein lays the problem. Imagine a world where no one was required to learn how to drive or obey traffic laws and you have an approximation of the kind of chaos that can ensue when computers are improperly used and maintained: Viruses, Spyware, Spam, random crashing, unexplained behavior, compromised privacy, lost productivity and data, etc. Each of these things occurs precisely because of a lack of responsibility, training and vigilance. Frankly, there aren't enough car mechanics to keep all the cars in America running smoothly and trouble-free, and that's doubly so for computer technicians.
Don't get me wrong. I really do enjoy helping my family and friends get the most out of their computers, but many days I wonder if there isn't some other way I can help them, even when I'm not visiting or answering email. This brings us to this website.
It is my firm intent to bring to you, via this website, as much information that I can digest, analyze and vet for your personal consumption. There are plenty of web sites and sources of information out there on how to care for your computer, but a good majority of them were written with someone other than the typical layperson in mind. After over a decade of working in technical support, my family and friends have come to trust me as an authority on matters of personal computing, and I think I can talk a good line of layspeak, so this seemed like a natural progression for my website.
I hope you find useful information here and that you share it with your friends and family.