Windows XP: No wonder why Microsoft is so hated...
No wonder why Microsoft is so hated...
by MartyLK - 3/26/07 8:20 PMI called the support center and all the would say is give us $59.95 and we'll help you. Sounded like a broken record, over and over, give us $59.95 and we'll help you.
marty
by tomron - 3/26/07 8:28 PM In reply to: No wonder why Microsoft is so hated... by MartyLKWhen I first started with computers I called them and they wanted $200 and change.
Support is not included with most software.
by R. Proffitt
- 3/26/07 8:31 PM
In reply to: No wonder why Microsoft is so hated... by MartyLK
This story is common today. Those that do self support or can find friendly support forums reap the savings. The ones that must call in will pay.
Bob
Ah yes friendly support forums
by meisinscotland - 3/27/07 4:59 AM In reply to: Support is not included with most software. by R. Proffitt
I can think of many!
*rifles around records*
Dont find CNET though!
You've got it wrong
by jackson dougless - 3/27/07 6:46 AM In reply to: Ah yes friendly support forums by meisinscotlandCnet is on the "largely incompetent" list. There are a few people who really do know what they're doing, so far only one of them that comes to mind is a moderator. Most of the time, it's like the deaf trying to teach the blind to read.
I tend to disagree,
by Ed Bellah - 3/27/07 7:03 AM In reply to: You've got it wrong by jackson douglessI have received help from CNET forums numerous times, thanks to moderators AND other posters. Some don't feel that they are getting the help they ask for because the solutions are not spelled out line by line. I think the moderators, like Bob Profit, David Chan, MarkFlax, and many of the others help us by showing us where to go to LEARN how to solve out problems, and as a result we have actually gained some knowledge about problem resolutions that we will remember over the long term. My thanks to all, from moderators to newbies who have tips to offer.
Not really
by jackson dougless - 3/27/07 10:20 AM In reply to: I tend to disagree, by Ed BellahWe actually largely agree... I'm a big fan of the "teach a man to fish" school of thought. Use it myself as a matter of fact.
The problem is less to do with these forums specifically and more the way Cnet markets itself. It's primary market is lower to middle management types. The quintessential Dilbert style PHB type. The ones who do little more than take up space and collect a paycheck when they aren't mucking something up. We've all come across someone like that in our lives I'm sure. This is who Cnet targets as their primary audience. You can see this by the content selection Cnet offers. Most of it is centered around business concerns. Which is why MS Office releases will get months of feature articles covering every last little detail, spanning several pages, while some hot new game will maybe get a couple of paragraphs. Granted Cnet has Gamespot, has also aquired Gamefaqs, and other more media centric sites like TVTome (now TV.com), but their core audience is still the Dilbert style PHB type.
A secondary segment they target is the techno-illiterate wannabe geeks. The people who think that because they memorized some obscure bits of information about VAX systems from 20-30 years ago, they're some sort of jack of all trades computer whiz. They like the sorts of publications Cnet produces because there's very little actual information in the articles, but they can go around bragging about how they read some 5 page article about the new MS Office release, for example. Prattling on endlessly until you've imagined about 50 different ways to kill them so they'll shut up about it. They'll memorize seemingly interesting bits of the article, spout them off every chance they get, and if you ask them some question that wasn't covered by any of those choice bits, they're at a complete loss. They don't even have the skills necessary to come up with an informed speculation. The smarter ones will try and BS you, but very few are smart enough to come up with an even halfway convincing line.
These are the sorts of people Cnet caters to, and thus the sorts that are generally drawn to places such as this. A who's-who of the more annoying user types out there. The PHB type just want easy to digest answers that spell out exactly what to do. The wannabe geeks are the ones who will try and start open ended discussions on some topic most people really don't care about, or has been hashed over as long as there've been newsgroups on the Internet, and at computer hobbyist club meetings before that. Trying to flog a horse that's now little more than a sticky goo it's been beaten so many times.
The one good thing you can say, is that there aren't many neo-luddite types that find their way here.
This is all a perfectly valid business decision to make, though with the likes of Ziff-Davis and IDG to contend with in the market, the wisdom of it is questionable. I have a different opinion on some of the choices made by Cnet's top brass regarding the direction of the company. Particularly the wild spending snapping up websites when the company is already hemorrhaging money, and has been for quite some time. I think Cnet should decide just what kind of a company it wants to be, and focus on being that company. Right now, they seem to be buying up websites, like TVTome, because that's what's trendy in the business world these days. Diversification is all well and good, but it needs to be focused. Cnet positions itself as a tech news/information outlet, which is fine. Though you've got to admit that the sites Gamespot and Gamefaqs are stretching that definition quite a bit. TV.com is wholly outside the scope of tech news/information. I also think I remember seeing something about Cnet acquiring a cooking recipe oriented site a few months back, which is even more beyond the tech news/information scope than TV.com. So far, Cnet seems to be struggling to figure out a way to make money from any of these sites as well. Gamespot has a subscription system, but I doubt it comes close to even paying for that single site, let alone turn a profit. Then there's the expenses related to all the other sites.
So to bring this to a bit of a close... Cnet is in the middle of something of an identity crisis, and none of the various hats it is attempting to wear really caters to the technically competent. Nor are any serious efforts being made about building a community or any of the other warm and fuzzy buzz words popular with management types these days. There's active censorship and the inevitable suppression of ideas that goes along with it, all with the completely asinine assumption that somehow you can enforce friendliness. There are no serious efforts to try and convert hit and run posters into regulars. So apparently the 80/20 rule that virtually every accredited business school in the nation will teach students, was never learned, because all their actions point to the exact opposite. For those who weren't business majors, the 80/20 rule is that 80% of your business will come from about 20% of your customers.
It's kind of too bad. When I was still learning, I would watch things like the now defunct Cnet TV broadcasts. I read a lot of Cnet publications until I started wanting more depth than they would offer. Cnet could also help set itself apart from Ziff-Davis and IDG by being a more technically oriented company. Instead they choose to try and fight it out for the same customer base. If things continue the way they are now, I'll just say that no one should get too attached to Cnet, because it will likely be forced to close its doors or swallowed up by one of the other companies in the not too distant future.
I don't normally...
by jackintucson - 3/27/07 1:26 PM
In reply to: Not really by jackson dougless
get into this kind of stuff but .... Jackson, following the 80/20 rule (which I believe in) then 80% of computer types, whether new or 'old hats' contain only 20% of the knowledge out there. The converse is true: 20% of us has 80% of the knowledge. I consider myself, as do my fellow moderators. part of that 20%. Sure Cnet may be going after the middle but that's where that 80% is. You want to learn even more? Then perhaps a trip to the more "specialized" forums is in order. You do seem to have a lot of knowledge you can share and, believe me, we appreciate any learning contribution you can make.
For myself, I prefer to teach where you can find the information. To try and teach everything there is about computers is simply unreasonable. I would rather know where I can go to get the information when I need it as opposed to trying to know all there is to know. If that means going to Microsoft's knowledge base and providing the link or going to Google and providing the link I have not only provided the answer to a specific question but provided a resource where end-users can get many answers to many questions.
Several, if not most, of us prefer this method. Because that 80% only knows 20% of what (s)he should.
And going just a bit further... I 80% of us professionals don't belong in IT at all. Because they provide only 20% of total productivity. Unfortunately, this number might have to be changed to 90/10.
and life goes on...
Jack
i suggest you "braille my lips"
by jonah jones - 3/27/07 8:41 AM
In reply to: You've got it wrong by jackson dougless
if by Cnet you mean the Corporation, then maybe you know more than me...
BUT if you mean the "forums" then we disagree...
i may not be too "computer competent" and, as such i won't say to someone "DO THIS" or "DO THAT", but i do have a little knowledge as the result of making the same mistakes that a LOT of the people who ask questions have made too....
if i see a question, and i have the answer, i'll post it....
if i can 'google' a problem and find the solution, i'll post it....
if that makes me "incompetent" then you have a problem...
jonah
.,
This incompetent is with you all the way Jonah.
by Ray Harinec - 3/27/07 12:37 PM In reply to: i suggest you "braille my lips" by jonah jones
Jackson sure loves treating we all like nincompoops.
Locked. Forum policies writes...
by R. Proffitt - 3/27/07 1:06 PM
In reply to: No wonder why Microsoft is so hated... by MartyLK
" CNET Networks is dedicated to developing and maintaining a friendly online community, where members of all ages and technical backgrounds feel relaxed and comfortable. Like any community, CNET Networks has certain standards. When members join our forums, they agree to abide by these rules. To remain a part of the CNET Networks community, members must be considerate to others. Repeated violations of these standards may result in a member being barred from entry or participation in the community forums. "
Somewhere this discussion lost it's direction so it's locked.
Bob
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