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altivoI've said enough before that you know I'm not fond of having internet computers for the public to use. Inevitably we are asked to "teach" people how to use a computer, and they know nothing. Worse, when they can't get something to work, it is always our fault as far as they are concerned. Our machines or software must be defective.
Today, two at once. One who "couldn't access his e-mail". That one turned out to be because he didn't know either his user name or password at Yahoo. Sorry, not our fault, no we can't do a thing about that. No, it isn't our machine that's causing this difficulty. Just because your machine at home "knows" your id and password, that doesn't mean that ours would know it.
The other was, against repeated advice that we give, purchasing tickets with his credit card on our public access workstation. This is not a secure place to use your credit card or access your financial records. Period. But they will insist on doing it. Once the transaction was completed, he couldn't print the receipt or the tickets. The job kept going to the printer, but would come up with "0" pages. He was sure it was our fault. It was because our stupid machines have Linux instead of Windows and a proper browser (by which he meant IE, duh.) So finally he was allowed to use a staff machine with Windows on it. The tickets still wouldn't print. Same symptoms. Turns out that the website is using Flash (!!!??) to handle the receipt and print operation. Jeez! How stupid can you get. Flash is insecure, unreliable, and bug ridden.
This time it wasn't an airline. He was buying tickets for an amusement park. Why he didn't just call their 800 number and buy them, I have no idea. Somehow the computer is "easier" even when it doesn't work and he doesn't know what he's doing. We often have similar problems with airlines though. People buy tickets online and want to print boarding passes, which in some cases just doesn't work. Even on a Windows machine, the things won't print. My only guess is that they assume a printer directly attached to the PC rather than a network device. Or maybe the airlines are using Flash too. How incredibly stupid can they get?
Came home, had dinner, hurried out to the garden to get in the last hour before sunset. Mosquitoes out in force. Did get 18 more tomato plants set out for late season crop if it doesn't freeze too early. I love tomatoes. If I can't get anything else from the garden, I want my tomatoes. Blueberries are starting to ripen, I see.
Looked around for suitable dye plants to use for a workshop on Saturday. Found large quantities of two that I didn't realize I had: curly dock, which is a noxious weed that produces zillions of seeds that no one seems to eat, so it spreads like mad; and fleabane daisy, which is pretty but can take over huge areas. Cut several ounces of each. According to my sources, the curly dock is in fact edible, seeds, leaves and even root. It's in the buckwheat family. A black dye was once made from the roots, but I'm after a deep yellow from the seed heads.
Today, two at once. One who "couldn't access his e-mail". That one turned out to be because he didn't know either his user name or password at Yahoo. Sorry, not our fault, no we can't do a thing about that. No, it isn't our machine that's causing this difficulty. Just because your machine at home "knows" your id and password, that doesn't mean that ours would know it.
The other was, against repeated advice that we give, purchasing tickets with his credit card on our public access workstation. This is not a secure place to use your credit card or access your financial records. Period. But they will insist on doing it. Once the transaction was completed, he couldn't print the receipt or the tickets. The job kept going to the printer, but would come up with "0" pages. He was sure it was our fault. It was because our stupid machines have Linux instead of Windows and a proper browser (by which he meant IE, duh.) So finally he was allowed to use a staff machine with Windows on it. The tickets still wouldn't print. Same symptoms. Turns out that the website is using Flash (!!!??) to handle the receipt and print operation. Jeez! How stupid can you get. Flash is insecure, unreliable, and bug ridden.
This time it wasn't an airline. He was buying tickets for an amusement park. Why he didn't just call their 800 number and buy them, I have no idea. Somehow the computer is "easier" even when it doesn't work and he doesn't know what he's doing. We often have similar problems with airlines though. People buy tickets online and want to print boarding passes, which in some cases just doesn't work. Even on a Windows machine, the things won't print. My only guess is that they assume a printer directly attached to the PC rather than a network device. Or maybe the airlines are using Flash too. How incredibly stupid can they get?
Came home, had dinner, hurried out to the garden to get in the last hour before sunset. Mosquitoes out in force. Did get 18 more tomato plants set out for late season crop if it doesn't freeze too early. I love tomatoes. If I can't get anything else from the garden, I want my tomatoes. Blueberries are starting to ripen, I see.
Looked around for suitable dye plants to use for a workshop on Saturday. Found large quantities of two that I didn't realize I had: curly dock, which is a noxious weed that produces zillions of seeds that no one seems to eat, so it spreads like mad; and fleabane daisy, which is pretty but can take over huge areas. Cut several ounces of each. According to my sources, the curly dock is in fact edible, seeds, leaves and even root. It's in the buckwheat family. A black dye was once made from the roots, but I'm after a deep yellow from the seed heads.
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-07 02:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-07 03:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-07 03:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-07 03:10 am (UTC)You see, the "right" to use a free internet computer at the library was apparently guaranteed in the Constitution or something...
no subject
Date: 2009-07-07 03:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-07 10:47 am (UTC)Fortunately, after these incidents my boss received a cold call from some idiot trying to sell her a "voice over IP" phone system for the library. She had a lot of trouble getting the jerk off the line (she's too polite to hang up on them, as I will do once I'm sure they are idiots) and was mad about it afterward. So I could say, "See, it's your turn to yell about something now."