I Just Want IT to Work

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself with that title.  The “it” vs “I.T.” pun is so over used, but so alluring to nerds, we feel so clever.  But I digress. 

I meet two kinds of technology users.  There is the person who really wants to use technology to gain a competitive advantage in their micro business; and then there are the rest of us who just want technology to work.  To be honest the first person might be a unicorn.

When I push the button, the computer should turn on.  And seriously, why are you hiding the (insert expletive) button.  When I click this icon, the program should open.  When I search a website, it should appear.  Is that too much to ask?

Your Computer as a Car

Allow me to use cars as a metaphor.  My mechanic uncle told me, about ten years ago, that that I should easily be able to drive a new car for 400,000 kilometers.  And so, I did, in fact I drove my Ford Escape for 450,000 kilometers … until I hit a deer.  Curiously, the number of hours my car was running was around 5,600; I expect a new computer to run for 44,000 hours.  That is my computer being turned on for 5 years, 24/7.

How to get your computer to be a useful member of society for 5 years

First, don’t buy a cheap computer, or lower your expectations.  I usually buy Dell, but this applies to HP and Lenovo; Ford, GM, Honda, whatever you like.  If you buy a business class machine, you’ll pay 30% to 50% more; and it will last 30% to 50% longer.  If you are okay with replacing your cheap off-the-shelf-from-the-box-store computer, every two years, that is okay.  Some people like a new computer and some people would prefer to avoid the hassle.

Second, replace the parts when they fail.  Just like in a car, you might have to replace a part here and there.  You wouldn’t replace your car if the alternator died, and you wouldn’t replace your computer if the hard drive failed.

Third, and most importantly, do the maintenance.  My uncle said if I changed my oil every 5,000 kilometers, there would be no reason my engine wouldn’t last for 400,000 kilometers.  It is important to always keep your computer up to date with the latest operating system and software patches.  On a computer we do maintenance every 57, 000 kilometers, A.K.A 720 hours, A.K.A. 30 days.

Fourth, keep your computer safe with several layers of security. Security for cars are locked doors, keys, alarm systems. What good is a car if somebody steals it?

Security for computers is directly related to maintenance; keeping computers up to date is the first line of defense.  Then we add anti-virus protection and other monitoring programs that detect and stop malicious intent.  Then we protect the whole network with a firewall that blocks hackers from getting in and people from letting them in.

If you do these four things your computer will just work, and work, and work.