Sharing the Knowledge

[B Carson]

Thanks for advice from senior members.
It took me years to programme a VCR. Now its Digital recorders.
Use very few features of my mobile phone or digital camera. I am a 68 y.o. technical luddite experiencing what’s called ‘the generation gap’.

We have all been ripped off by repair guys charging $100 per hr. If computer goes to their workshop, security, privacy, passwords etc at risk. They claim to replace parts or do work and you have no choice but to pay the bill.

Most of us ’use‘computers but don’t understand them. The tech savvy have no idea of the frustration, expense and problems people encounter.

Forums offer an alternative. Some forums profit by promoting software/gadgets. Other forums are populated with tech people who only want to exchange with similar people on advanced technical matters. Seeking others who speak the same language is natural.

Gizmo is a helpful, democratic forum. Advice offered to me and the exchange of comments between the senior members indicates differing perspectives but a genuine desire to actually help those with computer problems without superiority or ego. Congratulations, felicidades, dhanyabad.

Sharing knowledge is an enduring gift.

[jim]

Yes I agree. I remember the old joke from back in the 90s that everyone should have a 7 year old child in the house, if only to program the VCR. I am quite good with software and can edit the registry with no problem. However, I have only taken the side panel off my PC once. (To clear out the dust). I haven't got a clue about changing a memory board or putting in a chip or even a new fan. All the connections seem so small and I'm scared stiff of the damage that static can cause (or so I am told). I take it to the local "man that does." If he rips me off then hopefully it's cheaper than the damage I could do myself.

[Anupam]

B Carson, thanks for your kind appreciation . We are glad you feel that way. Its our purpose that everyone is served here, and we are able to offer help. You will see this forum is a community of many good, knowledgeable people. The members here are friendly, and helpful.

I know what you are talking about. The techs at the shops charge unreasonably, and rip off your money, sometimes unnecessarily, and more than it needs to be paid. That's one of the reasons that I decided to learn about repairing stuff myself. I come from a technical background, so its been easier for me. Wherever I get stuck, there is always information available on internet. And there are many helpful forums, where people offer advice for free, and want to help others. I will always be grateful to such people. I have learned a lot.

This site enhanced my knowledge further. I knew about free software before, but I literally took the plunge when I discovered Gizmo's Freeware. Most of the free software that I use now on my computer comes from here. Also, I have learned a lot from the community, team members, forum members, and site visitors here.

You said true... we share knowledge here, and keep learning. There is so much to learn. And it feels good that whatever we got from others, we can give that back to others who need help.

Well, thanks again .

[placou 1968]

i cant believe how much i have learned at this site, im a little embarassed to keep "comin to the well" for information, but everyone here is so helpfull and although i can use a search engine to get 80,000 pages of contradictory info to sort through, i find, what seems like a hard question to me , with a potential difficult repair, is something someone here has a knowledge of and they explain a possible solution in terms i understand, thats just one great thing about the site.
my computer was recently hijacked from the country of india. once i made some calls i found that most all "the big boys" outsource remote assistance from india, and thats what happened to me, i was stupid enough to allow it, then after it was all cleaned up....i found this site, read some of the posts, i decided you guys for the most part are "all business", "give us your problem and you will recieve a genuine answer from someone with no malice in their heart" another good attribute.
i decided after the loss of 3 computers and 600.00 dollars to remote repair, i would ask anything i encounter, (within reason) to you,all and so far i cant say anything negative, im now starting to figure out my own security freeware downloads and i,ll have to have some info, so thanks to all involved in the operation of this website

[Anupam]

Thanks for your kind words, and its good to know that you have a positive experience on the forum. We are glad to be of help, and glad to know that the purpose of this forum is being achieved . You are always welcome to share any problems that you have, and we will try our best to help you get them solved.

[J_L]

I'm glad this site made me completely aware of all the software options available. Great support as well.

[rhiannon]

Originally Posted by Anupam

Thanks for your kind words, and its good to know that you have a positive experience on the forum. We are glad to be of help, and glad to know that the purpose of this forum is being achieved . You are always welcome to share any problems that you have, and we will try our best to help you get them solved.

What he said.
Seriously, there are some of us here who know quite a bit about the hardware end of things, enough so if you run into someone telling you something about your computer hardware you can come here and at least get an answer that they are on the right track or no, they aren't.

It's really not that difficult to replace hardware on computers - I've been building systems for years. I got brave and changed the CD drive one day and off I went from there.
Two very good sites for all things hardware are Tom's Hardware and Anandtech. Tom's in particular has good instructions on how components are put together and how to change them.

[jim]

Bearing in mind what I said above about me and hardware, I have bookmarked both those sites in my "Support" section. Thanks rhiannon.

[crank]

It's gratifying to hear firsthand that our efforts are helping people. I would like to add that static-electricity damage is no where near as easy to inflict as one generally hears. A brief brush against a large metal object [like the case] every once in a while is all the protection you should ever need except maybe on one of those days when you're getting 3-foot arcs everytime you take a couple of steps across the carpet. If its even the least bit humid, there won't be static buildup anyway. I just read a great letter reply in a PC magazine about this and can't find the reference.

AND, don't be afraid to make mistakes, it happens, the first time I swapped out memory, the old RAM didn't seem to want to come out, but I got it out, and then noticed there were ciips, none of the directions I had mentioned clips!!!! OOPS, no more clips, but the new RAM did fine clipless for years. Stuff happens.

[rhiannon]

Originally Posted by crank

AND, don't be afraid to make mistakes, it happens, the first time I swapped out memory, the old RAM didn't seem to want to come out, but I got it out, and then noticed there were ciips, none of the directions I had mentioned clips!!!! OOPS, no more clips, but the new RAM did fine clipless for years. Stuff happens.

Hahahahaha, I thought I was the only one who broke the RAM clips and put new memory in and used it for a long time.........it's a good thing RAM slots are tight. Needless to say I haven't repeated that particular error.

And jim, you're welcome, I hope you find the sites to be useful.
They are a good resource if your buying things like routers too since they run tests on things like that.
I'm really glad the days of having to keep track of what video cards wouldn't work with certain motherboards are (hopefully) gone.