Comments on: Our Temperamental Computers

By: Colleen Chan

Colleen Chan — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:28:28 +0000

Yes I couldn’t agree with you more. Data Analytics?!! , all the technology in the world but the software engineers control with their requirements.

Nothing is ever easy. My external drive is full so I want to backup on the server, I have this space but am only using it for the blog. I have all these automatic tools that are suppose to do it for me but no, so I have this continually urgent error message on the computer. Now, this so non-IT person has to figure something else out.

I am sure they make it easy for some but hard for everybody else. Put something new and groovy then take something else out that we like using.

By: Morris W

Morris W — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 06:39:41 +0000

Sometimes I believe that software companies come out with new versions of their programs because they believe that change in software is inherently good. For the past 10 years I have found each version of Word to be LESS practical than the previous version. Same for SPSS.

It is a shame that the enormous improvements that have occured in hardware have been obscured by this.

By: Colleen Chan

Colleen Chan — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:46:02 +0000

I can see it now. People walking past buildings with their hard hats on. A laptop landing at their feet in a puff of smoke, then looking around at the occasional laptop being “spirited” out of other office buildings. Somebody having a stressful day, lucky for the sign!

By: Colleen Chan

Colleen Chan — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:29:12 +0000

I believe there is a spirit, not a virus, that sits in the internet, wandering around the world and as said before “senses” somebody having a stressful time and then pounces

By: Vykas M

Vykas M — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:18:45 +0000

Yeah Sometimes it is good to throw your Computer out of the Window, just erect a board on the street “beware – helmets are a must for all passersby”

By: Peter S

Peter S — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:38:19 +0000

Shush! If it hears you……Be very careful!!!!!!

By: Colleen Chan

Colleen Chan — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:49:01 +0000

Oh.. please don’t. I can’t sit through another year

By: Colleen Chan

Colleen Chan — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:47:28 +0000

Ah… I do remember when I received my PS/2, it was smancy, fancy with it’s little blue eject disk button and I still had to create a menu system for it

By: Theng WT

Theng WT — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:49:30 +0000

more often than not, it is not the computer’s fault. we somtimes forget that we have added too much applications, downloads etc.. that perhaps “hurt” the computer. My advice is to find the root cause why it is behaving this way by turning to some IT support technicians to help take a look at it…

By: Nachi L

Nachi L — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:13:09 +0000

I think the computer wants to test you! it is the same way when I see all the red numbers on the stock market screen I want to break that screen! But will it do any good? the prices will still keep falling may be even a lil faster after someone breaks the screen inside the stock market !!!!!

By: Phil

Phil — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:54:32 +0000

Ah Colleen do I know where you’re coming from here!?!?!?!

I have so had it with computers at the moment being on my third this year! I am considering going “Old School”, Anyone have a steam powered 286 for sale or maybe a tape drive Commodore64???????
Go on Colleen, out the window with it

By: Colleen Chan

Colleen Chan — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:08:35 +0000

It would be great to get more women to add more imagination into our work but sometimes there are none.

I went to a data analytics networking event recently. There were 10 women in a room of 80 people. We went further networking to the local next door. I was the only woman that turned up!

Yes would be great but ladies come out and play with me!

By: Colleen Chan

Colleen Chan — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:02:56 +0000

Thanks Rod for your concern. I will remember to add a suffix or prefix to my files instead of deleting them.

By: Arunkumar

Arunkumar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:30:26 +0000

Someone has heard you of late ill-treating your computer. Check this out.

http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/feelings/compfeelings.html

By: BenedikteMS

BenedikteMS — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:37:50 +0000

I’ve always had a suspicion that there is a “gnome” or computer devil that sits inside my computer and servers and just wait for the perfect moment to throw bizarre problems and errors on me…

By: Rod

Rod — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:46:27 +0000

I got worried when you were actually deleting files…

Never delete a file, just rename , that way you can more than likely recover if you have trouble. by renaming it, you will find that the program cant find it and thinks it has been deleted, but you know that by renaming it back to the original name, you can make it reappear. This may not work with certain programs that can recover deleted files automatically, but if you ever have to delete a file. DONT. just put an ending or a start on the filename to make it longer and different.

we like to personify the computers, helps us put up with them.

By: KarenC

KarenC — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:55:30 +0000

Usually when mine is bad, it’s just doing what I said and not what I meant. I’ve been a software engineer long enough now to learn that I can be the problem.

But then there is rude PC software that gets in my way and talks back to me all the time and I hate that. They say Mac is polite.

Maybe we need more women writing operating systems to get fresh ideas from a diverse pool of talent on this.

By: Colleen Chan

Colleen Chan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:09:41 +0000

It was my 5 hour defrag that gave it away…

I will try and take better care now, I will stop just closing the lid and walking away, I will try to remember to shut down my computer so it can have a rest.

By: BarbaraC

BarbaraC — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:08:42 +0000

Someone told me that we need to recognize that computers need maintenance just like our cars. You must change your oil periodicallly or your car will die. In the same way we need to schedule time for routine maintenance on our computers.

By: Colleen Chan

Colleen Chan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:06:47 +0000

I have to blame somebody, may as well be the computer, it suppose to have no feelings

But 2001 has come and gone…and now close to 2010.

Maybe after MaryAlice’s comment and others, I should be giving thanks to my computer for giving me a stressful day.