Lately I have had a lot of clients call me in a panic because they are having a computer emergency. These calls are getting more frequent every year.
Is there a such thing as a computer emergency? Yes. In fact, I would be willing to wager that most people I work for, if given the choice, would choose to live 24 hours without running water or a fridge than they would without their computer.
Having a good computer guy is as important to most people as having a good mechanic or doctor. Computers are more complex than any other device in most people's homes (there are still a few people with old fashioned pinball machines).
In addition to the computers complicated software and hardware problem combinations and solutions there is the fact that no two people use their computer exactly the same.
With a car you drive it. You may change where you go or the type of road you travel on, but you will probably never use it for anything other than transportation.
Your fridge is used to make stuff cold. You may set cereal boxes on top of it, but its function will hardly ever go beyond keeping food, film and batteries cold.
The computer is totally different and far more complicated. No one will ever say, "I think I will start using my truck to store and edit my digital photos," or "I should really start doing my banking with my fridge."
Every year we throw several new uses at a computer that weren't even in existance a year or to prior.
Computers are the Swiss Army Knives of life. They are as frustrating as they are helpful. People always ask me why computers seem to be getting more difficult to use instead of more simple. The short answer to that is that it's our fault. If we would stop trying to use them to edit movies, track finances, email family, sync with iPods, explore the Internet, share photos, etc. and just stick to doing complex math calculations, computers could stay simple.
I apologize for that long sentence at the end.
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