13 year old's computer got AVG run today...

[TF_FH]

I'm a computer tech for the air force.  People ask me to fix personal *expletive deleted*it all the time.  I've hit the point where if I have to help you more than once for something created from your own stupidity/not listening to people, you better be paying me cash.

Kids are the worst to fix things for though.  I hooked up my friend's daughter after her sister changed the lock code on her phone.  A few google searches and software downloads later, I had the thing unlocked and working.  He had to basically wring a thank you out of her (shes 10).  Guess what I'm not doing for free anymore? :-p

[MicroBalrog]

Why on God's green earth would a ten-year-old have a cell phone?

[HKUSP45]

May I suggest a different prescription? I have this friend (true story) who has trouble like this. She talked to her doctor about it and he grabbed the ol' rx pad and wrote down one word. You might think it was "Xanax" or even Dewars but it was the word "No". He directed her to post this on the frame of her monitor and consult it every time someone asked her to volunteer for something. And make no mistake about it, your 13 year old is using you as a volunteer. She may not -want- to learn this stuff, but if she valued it properly she -could-.

I have an 11 yo who insists on finding "free" screensavers and games on the net. He began learning about the cost of "free" when I disconnected his system from our home network. He didn't like it. So late one Saturday we reconnected it about 10pm when no one else was using things and we watched the access points activity light go like a bonfire. I explained to him that it wasn't ethical for me to give the russian mafia (or whoever had powned his machine) network bandwidth to send his mom P*n*s enhancement emails. So his choice was to have network or fix the problem. Then I backed down a little and helped him find a removal tool for that particular trojan.

He's a lot more careful about "free" now.  bk425

This is probably one of the most thoughtful and correct posts in this entire thread.

I fix PCs for a living and I try to teach people that they can help themselves if they'd just stop fearing the machine. It's refreshing and invigorating watching people become the masters of their own destiny.

[RocketMan]

I fix PCs for a living and I try to teach people that they can help themselves if they'd just stop fearing the machine. It's refreshing and invigorating watching people become the masters of their own destiny.

Preach it, Brother!  While I only do the PC repair gig as a part time business, I often try to enlighten my customers as to how they can fix a lot of problems themselves.  It is a lot of fun watching the light come on in their eyes as they realize what they are capable of doing.

[Boomhauer]

Why on God's green earth would a ten-year-old have a cell phone?

Babies pop out of the womb nowadays with a cell.

Back when I was in skool (elementary and middle) only the drug dealers had cell phones.

[Brad Johnson]

Back when I was in skool (elementary and middle) only the drug dealers had cell phones.

Back when I was in school the only phones we had plugged into the wall and had little roundy things to dial with.

Brad

[Stetson]

I just spent the weekend rebuilding my dads PC, with my old PC internals.  Its all an upgrade for him.

This man used to work for TI and helped design the Speak and Spell.  He lectures me on the proper care and feeding of IC chips, silicon wafers and other things of the sort but was afraid to open a case.

Once we got it opened and I explained the layout and showed him the schematics, he had it all together, and the OS install running in 30 mins.  It was a great feeling, for both of us.