May 31, 2009

It pays to be a geek


So we're all moved in and the cable guy was nice enough to fix up the dang router and we have wireless for the first time in years and, computer non-geeks that we are, we can't figure out how to secure our network. I mean we tried everything, on my Mac and his PC. It's like following a conversation in Italian: I just get the gist, and then something comes out of left field and I'm stumped.

So, petrified of freeloading downloaders, I call the Geek Squad. And some geek answers. And rattles off stuff like I know what he's talking about, and I nod along (not helpful on the phone, but still), just wanting some other geek to fix this so we can cross one of a gazillion things off our impossible list.

And then.

And then he says "That'll be a one-time, flat fee of $158."

Would that I knew other geeks! How is it that none of my friends or family sport Buddy Holly glasses (well, my Dad did in the 60s, but what good is that to me now) and carry pocket protectors? Am I the only person in the free world who has to pay $158 to have someone jiggle a few keys and make nice with my network? Ouch.

Maybe I should think of changing my freelance fees...

2 comments:

  1. Or you could what I did when we moved into this place, and waste 3+ hours of your life booting-rebooting, figuring it out. There's a parallel to your previous "moving yourself v. hiring someone" post in there somewhere.

    (And for goodness' sake, yes, raise your fees. Just out of principle.)

    Alas, there's no help from the Geek Squad for my new technology ill: I loaded Office 2008 for Mac this weekend (not by choice, a primary client requested me to) and like so many Microsoft products, Word 2008 is utterly crashtastic garbage. Lots of bells and whistles, not a whit of stability.

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  2. I put the CD in my MacBook, and it just opened up a list of all the files it contained. Gak! I assumed it would just play and I would prompt it along. I clicked logo after logo and gave up.

    Microsoft can't do anything right. It's become their trademark... Imagine if they made cars. People would be stranded all over the place, trying to reboot the engine only to be saved by a Mac truck.

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