Active Users:444 Time:05/07/2025 05:55:51 PM
It's bad advice because it doesn't tell him why. Aemon Send a noteboard - 09/05/2010 05:35:56 AM
If you were trying to do something, and some random guy stopped by your house and said "don't do that," would you stop? Probably not, because you're balancing the chance of saving hundreds of dollars against the word of some stranger. "You don't know what you're doing" is not a reason to stop, because we attempt stuff we don't know how to do all the time. Human beings like to figure stuff out. :P

Of course, telling him WHY he shouldn't do this himself would be a perfectly reasonable response. It's not one I'd agree with in this case (installing an operating system, and even hard drive partitioning, are perfectly safe things to do as long as you look into the processes first), but I wouldn't view that kind of response as useless by any means. Explaining the risks is helpful, but just telling people what to do is not. I can't think of ANYONE, not even my girlfriend / family members, who would stop doing something they wanted to do just because I said so. ;)

Also, for the record, I understand your frustration. I work as a computer programmer, and, while I don't deal with computer stupidity on a large scale like you do, I'm still "the tech guy" for my friends and extended family. I still maintain, however, that the solution to stupidity is education, not acceptance. "I'm dumb, I'll take it to someone else" vs "I'm dumb, I'll ask people and read the how-to articles they point me to."
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The thing is... - 08/05/2010 02:00:37 AM 693 Views
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Re: Don't take this personal but just take it in. - 08/05/2010 07:35:09 AM 680 Views
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What if you didn't know you shouldn't? - 09/05/2010 05:25:55 AM 707 Views
a computer is much more complex than a light bulb. - 09/05/2010 03:46:34 PM 714 Views
It's bad advice because it doesn't tell him why. - 09/05/2010 05:35:56 AM 725 Views
That is correct - 08/05/2010 01:27:06 PM 686 Views
Don't blame Microsoft. You're the one trying to put it on a Mac. *NM* - 08/05/2010 05:08:03 AM 316 Views
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That's not the point. - 09/05/2010 02:22:36 AM 753 Views
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This sounds correct - 08/05/2010 01:34:39 PM 661 Views
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