The string theory of personal computers

One of the most common questions I get as I work on other peoples' home computers is, "Where did you learn all of this stuff?'

Today I setup a large office copier on a business network. It is the first time I have ever set up such a thing.

It seems like at least two or three times per month, I fix a problem that I have never seen before. It is the ultimate in on the job training, however it is not voodoo or a vast supply of knowledge that allows me to do theses miracles.

Over the years I have discovered the string theory of personal computing.

The string theory is a building block in what is often called the theory of everything. Without taking the analogy too far, the string theory essentially claims that everything is made up of strings essentially make physics work.

I have found in personal computers that there are only a few actual processes, probably less than 100. Processes such as printing, saving, network setup, creating a directory, etc. If you learn each of these processes, which usually can be easily broken down into steps, you can fix almost any problem or teach any skill.

Today I was setting up a huge copier to turn a document into a PDF then email it through an SMTP. Tomorrow, who knows, but I am sure the solution will likely be made up of several routine processes that I do on a daily basis.

Maybe I should write a book about his - I would call it, The World's Most Boring Book. 

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