Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Where's de bug?

Plugging in...

Ever received an error message that asks if you want to DEBUG or CANCEL? Ever choose DEBUG? Admit it - of course you have!

A "bug" is an error in a piece of software that causes a mal-function, sometimes serious, sometimes not. A debug error message is asking if YOU want to fix the error by running the debugging program. If you didn't create the program, how are YOU going to debug it to solve the error? You'd have equal success hitting the monitor with a fly swatter than you would by attempting to open, understand, and use the software debugger!

So a client sees the error message on the screen when attempting to open GOOGLE on the internet. My client repeatedly chooses DEBUG instead of CANCEL and winds up in debugging la la land. My client is frustrated, but for some unknown reason, never chooses CANCEL. Suffice it to say, one cannot debug an error one receives on the screen in a program that one did not create. You didn't cause the error, you are just the recipient of the bad news. You can't fix the error - the originator has to do that and you will just have to wait it out until so many other people report it, it finally gets fixed.

The safe bet in approaching an error message that is incomprehensible is to find the way OUT - close, cancel, stop, exit - anything but YES, OK, I'll try it (good luck with THAT).

ALWAYS REMEMBER: before calling for help - is it plugged in, is it turned on?

Unplugged

Reading 101

Plugging in...


Frequently I find that I am teaching reading skills when working with computer users, be they novice or knowledgable. A niggly email spellchecker in AOL was causing a client much angst. Every time they typed in a date such as 9/08, the spell checker stopped on the number and waited for instructions before proceeding. AOL's spellchecker doesn't have many options to change, and no option is available to tell it to skip numbers.

The Tutor tried to re-create the problem, but couldn't so the Tutor watched what the client was typing and how AOL reacted. The problem and solution rose as clearly as the sun does every day. In the spellchecker window, where AOL stopped on the date 9/08, an error message clearly instructed the READER to type a date using the following format: 09/08/2008. By omitting the 4-digit year, the spellchecker couldn't decide if it was a fraction or a date AND it stated so.

Who cares, one might ask, why AOL needs to distinguish between a fraction and a date? It's not doing anything mathematical for gosh sakes - it's an EMAIL message!! But the answer was there, right on the screen, each and every time the client typed a date in their email. The client didn't see it. Reading 101 - case in point.


ALWAYS REMEMBER: before calling for help - is it ON the screen, is it plugged in, is it turned on?


Unplugged

Wireless Whisper-er

Plugging in...

Wireless and loving it. Yep. But when a friend came to visit a recent client, the client couldn't remember the wireless router's encryption key (fancy way of saying password) to allow them to use their laptop wirelessly at the house. The client originally had help setting up the router, a knowledgable, well meaning but West Coast-based brother. And bro couldn't remember the key either. When in doubt, reset the router and create another password. Great in theory, not quite that quick in practical terms.

Resetting the router knocked out the cablem modem from for the DSL connection too. Now the client not only didn't have a router password for securing the wireless connection from drive-by intruders but - THE INTERNET wouldn't work at all. And bro gave up trying to help via long-distance.

The Computor Tutor drove the Tutor Mobile to the client's house and proceeded to be the Wireless Whisperer. The modem and router both needed new configuration settings, and the security software need to allow the various browsers internet connections. All this because a paperclip was inserted into the reset button on the wireless router. It's OK to reset a router, but you may need more than a brother on the west coast to complete the resetting job.

The wireless router now has a password chosen by the client, and summarily recorded by the Computor Tutor. The internet is back up and running and the client's guest has a wireless internet connection on their laptop. All in a Wireless Whisperer's day.

ALWAYS REMEMBER: before calling for help - is it plugged in, is it turned on?

Unplugged

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Classic Unplugged

Plugging in...

There are those of you who are fortunate to have second homes, hide-aways, retreats, call them what you will, they pose some logistical concerns when deciding how to handle being "plugged in" to the cyberworld when in-residence.

Some of you, again the fortunate, have duplicate EVERYTHINGS at the other location - computer, printer, internet connection, all the cables, etc, etc. And some of you choose to bring your computer and its assorted paraphernalia with you. The folks who travel en-suite with myriad electronics have to not only remember to bring everything with them, BUT to bring it all back home, and remember how to connect the assortment of cables and power cords.

So the checklist is out, and you've got it all: power cord, computer, carrying case, internet cable, printer, printer cable, phone, phone charger and the list goes on for some of you. You've labeled all the pieces too, a lesson learned from the FIRST time you traveled and were stumped about what goes where, and why. It was a great summer at the fill-in-the-blank house but time to return to the main homestead.

One of my clients recently did exactly as described above - completed the checklist, brought everything home and connected the laptop as previously done several times. Feeling rather plucky, said client was all ready to get back online and the dreaded "this page cannot be displayed" reared its ugly head. The client looked at the computer in despair, for it appeared that everything was plugged in properly - it turned on, it did!

Ring, ring - Computor Tutor? Help! So I listened, had the client recycle the cable modem from Comcast, a fancy way of saying shut it off for a minute, then turn it back on. Still no connection. Client assured me things were plugged in, as per the checklist. Into the Tutor mobile I went and within thirty seconds of perusing the computer, I knew what the problem was. Yes, everything was correctly connected. The cables that were connected, that is. The culprit? A missing internet cable which was in a zip lock bag with a spare mouse and some other commuting parts.

As the saying goes, is it plugged in, is it turned on may need modification: are they ALL plugged in, are they ALL turned on?

ALWAYS REMEMBER: before calling for help - is it plugged in, is it turned on?

Unplugged