The Incumbent Computer User
Just the other day I heard that a family friend was having problems with her computer. A fan went out and she had to have it taken in to get fixed. The technician fixed the fan but also recommended reinstalling the operating system as sort of a Spring cleaning. Now, she doesn’t know anything about computers so when she got it back she had a hard time understanding how to hook it back up, whether she needed to use the installation disc for her Verizon DSL service, where her photos went, and what the hell to do even when she did get it hooked up right. Hearing this made me think of something…
The incumbent computer users, that is anyone who wishes or needs to use a computer, has three things present to properly use a computer: education, prevention, and desire. An incumbent computer is someone who leans on these things heavily in an effort to get the most out of the experience of using a computer.
It’s incumbent of anyone to have a basic fundamental understanding of how computers work. That includes both the hardware and the software. If you don’t know anything about it then pick up a book and learn. Whether you’re on a PC or a Mac, the “Dummies” series of books are an excellent start. Let’s face it, most problems are user error so a little bit of education goes a long way.
It’s also incumbent of any computer user to know some basic things about how to prevent a potential disaster. Prevention and education go hand in hand…but knowing it is only half of it; you also have to practice it as well. The best way to protect yourself from a disaster is to protect yourself and prevent it from happening.
If you’re on a PC using Windows then the threat of viruses and malware is a reality you can’t avoid. As such you have to constantly make sure that you’re antivirus/spyware monitoring software is up-to-date and running properly. You also need to understand some common prevention techniques to avoid getting spam, viruses, and malware from the internet via your web browser or e-mail client.
Hardware failure is a fact of life. Things can and will go wrong with a computer. As such, you need to understand that it’s incumbent of you to backup anything that is important to you. External hard drives and USB key drives are much cheaper these days so there is no reason why you can’t use one to keep your stuff backed up. A good backup system can be as simple as the combination of an external hard drive and some backup utility software that will keep your stuff backed up almost automatically. This is the one thing that will save your butt if and when your computer fails.
The last thing an incumbent computer user needs is desire. Someone who doesn’t want or care to take the time to learn how to use a computer properly obviously doesn’t have much desire to use one. If this is you then you’re screwed and you have no business even using a computer. You might as well turn the computer off and not use it at all. Learning how to properly use a computer doesn’t take that much time. A little reading each day and a few tutorials and tips go a long way over the course of time. Granted, not everyone has the time or money to take classes…but a mere 15 minutes of reading each day is not unrealistic.
Let’s face it, over 75% of the problems people face with computers are due to three problems: a lack of desire, a lack of education, and a lack of prevention. Everything else can be blamed on hardware and software failure but the rest lies entirely in your hands.
Tags: education
