Woman Blames Dell, Ubuntu for Missing Two Semesters of College

[Gilbertpwns]

And she wouldn't bother asking people how to use Ubuntu? You cant be in college with that kind of sense.

Plus she could have researched info on how to use it, a critical skill in college these days. She could have resorted to library computers if the laptop situation couldn't be fixed.

 

[johngalt]

Sigh.

When your teacher tells you you need M$ Word, and you're virtually computer literate, are you going to step up and say "I have O can I use it?"

Also, *do* be aware that Technical colleges are considered lower on the hierarchy than community colleges....

Finally, she got the machine right before school started - I mean, how much can you research when it comes to using a *completely* new OS and completely *new* Office suite?

Remember, she is not me, nor you, nor any other technically savvy person - she is a *novice* - and people seem to keep forgetting what it is like to be when you're just learning about them.

She may have computer experience, but it is *easy* surmise that she has never ever run *nix in her life.

Now, care to explain to her how she is going to not only learn the material in the classes she was taking, *plus* research on her own on how to adapt that learning to a *nix system?

Care to tell me just how fast she'll learn how to answer questions 1 - 3 that I posted up there?

Have you all *really* forgotten what it is like to be a computer novitiate?

 

[johngalt]

I mean, for crying out loud! Sites like this one exist *because* people don't know the simplest things....

We aren't always in here answering technical questions about how the OS code breaks in line 2351234563 of module 34, we are answering (many times repeatedly, hence the tutorials) how to do the simplest things....

So, is every one in here asking for help an idiot? Stupid? Dumb?

I didn't think so.

 

[darkassain]

And she wouldn't bother asking people how to use Ubuntu? You cant be in college with that kind of sense.

Plus she could have researched info on how to use it, a critical skill in college these days. She could have resorted to library computers if the laptop situation couldn't be fixed.

hello gillbert

as with most people she dreads the day where she would have to use the command prompt to do something.....

its for people like her that a gui was thought out (also for simplicity but you get my point...also not trying to be rude to the non computer illiterate)

i know (well in my college) that only about 20% have even heard of ubuntu (even less of linux... remember i said heard not use...)

although the gui is there in linux
anyone who has setup a linux box will know that at some point in time you will have to input commands in the console to get it something working (which is the not the case in windows)

as for the college thing i think that she would not have bother (which is the reason why she chose online classes [so that she could stay at home])

not vouching for her but more of that it was both her fault (for not demanding a different computer or her money....) and Dell (dell rep is POS as you might see above with the comment...)
i simply see that dell wanted to show figures that ubuntu is selling and that OSS can be solution (which im not saying no its not since i use OpenSuSe myself) i am just saying that they have to be told in

HUGE RED LETTERS THAT XP OR VISTA IS NOT LOADED IN THIS COMPUTER....

Sigh.

When your teacher tells you you need M$ Word, and you're virtually computer literate, are you going to step up and say "I have O can I use it?"

Also, *do* be aware that Technical colleges are considered lower on the hierarchy than community colleges....

Finally, she got the machine right before school started - I mean, how much can you research when it comes to using a *completely* new OS and completely *new* Office suite?

Remember, she is not me, nor you, nor any other technically savvy person - she is a *novice* - and people seem to keep forgetting what it is like to be when you're just learning about them.

She may have computer experience, but it is *easy* surmise that she has never ever run *nix in her life.

Now, care to explain to her how she is going to not only learn the material in the classes she was taking, *plus* research on her own on how to adapt that learning to a *nix system?

Care to tell me just how fast she'll learn how to answer questions 1 - 3 that I posted up there?

Have you all *really* forgotten what it is like to be a computer novitiate?

damm got beaten to the punch....

I mean, for crying out loud! Sites like this one exist *because* people don't know the simplest things....

We aren't always in here answering technical questions about how the OS code breaks in line 2351234563 of module 34, we are answering (many times repeatedly, hence the tutorials) how to do the simplest things....

So, is every one in here asking for help an idiot? Stupid? Dumb?

I didn't think so.

lmao
i dont think so too...
i think of it as more as that this is not their area of expertise....

Heh - I resemble that remark....



*us* two - don't leave me hangin like dat, yo!

rolfmao...

i never thought you were that young...lol
i would never leave you hanging if i knew in advance....

 

[smarteyeball]

I know I've made a couple of quips at this poor girls expense, but in all honesty i do feel sorry for her.

Once she realised her error about ubuntu, it should have been a simple case that she contact Dell, pay the extra for Windows products and be on her merry way.

If you aren't familiar with MS products, how can you be expected to even know what Ubuntu is, let alone use it?

Her biggest mistake was probably just looking at the overall price and she went for the cheaper option, not realizing her mistake.

One thing is for certain, she'll never be a *nix convert now

 

[darkassain]

One thing is for certain, she'll never be a *nix convert now

we can both smell it....

oh well one less soul to convert to open source...

i would actually be surprised if she converts to MAC....

 

[johngalt]

I wouldn't be so sure- the TV station has worked with her extensively to understand Linux, and the school is willing to accept her papers as long as she produces them in a format that is Word compatible - which O can do.

I *will* bet even money that she never, ever *ever* buys a Dell again.

 

[Gilbertpwns]

Sigh.

When your teacher tells you you need M$ Word, and you're virtually computer literate, are you going to step up and say "I have O can I use it?"

Also, *do* be aware that Technical colleges are considered lower on the hierarchy than community colleges....

Finally, she got the machine right before school started - I mean, how much can you research when it comes to using a *completely* new OS and completely *new* Office suite?

Remember, she is not me, nor you, nor any other technically savvy person - she is a *novice* - and people seem to keep forgetting what it is like to be when you're just learning about them.

She may have computer experience, but it is *easy* surmise that she has never ever run *nix in her life.

Now, care to explain to her how she is going to not only learn the material in the classes she was taking, *plus* research on her own on how to adapt that learning to a *nix system?

Care to tell me just how fast she'll learn how to answer questions 1 - 3 that I posted up there?

Have you all *really* forgotten what it is like to be a computer novitiate?

I'm in CC myself.

I mean she atleast has to understand how to use a browser and a word processing program, or she would not buy a laptop at all. Stemming from that she should have gone and asked somebody or researched on a windows pc what to do. Yes there was a time when I didnt know how to use computers (10 years old) but I would not just completely give up on it and waste the money I spent on the laptop and school. I would have asked for help, which she is VERY capable of doing now apparently.

 

[darkassain]

I wouldn't be so sure- the TV station has worked with her extensively to understand Linux, and the school is willing to accept her papers as long as she produces them in a format that is Word compatible - which O can do.

I *will* bet even money that she never, ever *ever* buys a Dell again.

well that you can be sure...

as for the linux you raise i question there...
it depends if she is to fight it and is able to return the system....
then i see that she will never go the linux way (also if she has a ipod and wants seamlessly integrate it with her machine good luck)

if she does keep it and does try hard to use it then only then i can see a linux conversion (to a point though...)...

since this is her first computer (from what i can see) then it is easier...

if she had a desktop (which has windows vista or xp) then i more inclined that she wont convert...

I'm in CC myself.

I mean she atleast has to understand how to use a browser and a word processing program, or she would not buy a laptop at all. Stemming from that she should have gone and asked somebody or researched on a windows pc what to do. Yes there was a time when I didnt know how to use computers (10 years old) but I would not just completely give up on it and waste the money I spent on the laptop and school. I would have asked for help, which she is VERY capable of doing now apparently.

but were not talking about someone who want to learn....

she wants something that works OOB....

thats what most clients come to me for (well not all more like 55%....)

i say i got a license for office for this much (thorough academic licence) and tell them i can sell it to you for so and so (it works since most of the time the office that i usually get is licensed for up to 3 computers and that includes that if it ever stops working i can be there to fix it at almost no charge (do have to have to have spending money....lol)

i have sometimes the case where a customer comes in with a EEE PC and tells me that what can i do to make it look and work like xp....

most users can differentiate between ubuntu or xp apart from the GUI and think that someone screwed with it....

then i tell them that this is a different OS from xp and they freak and give me a face like if i was speaking chinese...(no offense...)
most people only know windows and mac and thats it....

i wish linux would stand behind a open standard (i know the kernel is standard but i mean like based on standard code and that wont change dramtically on every kernel update which is a nightmare for devs)
but i mean a standard and each of the distros to customize those little bits that wont affect dev and ISV's....

 

[smarteyeball]

she wants something that works OOB....

Wouldn't that be a MAC? heh, heh

i wish linux would stand behind a open standard

lol, true. I also wish that at least one of the GUI menus actually implemented the change that was requested instead of trying multiple places only to end up at the terminal

 

[darkassain]

Wouldn't that be a MAC? heh, heh

yep what i meant here

i would actually be surprised if she converts to MAC....

lol, true. I also wish that at least one of the GUI menus actually implemented the change that was requested instead of trying multiple places only to end up at the terminal

yes then that would be something endusers would actually think about using...
though devs would still want to "sell" apps and for the love of god dont even speak of letting everyone see the source code....(it would be taboo) and then all the linux fanboys will hate you for not being able to look at the code and compile it themselves....(i would actually think that they would boycott it....)
i know i wouldnt (since i am going around that kind of realm)
i dont see that ending anytime because this is how fundamentally a capitalist society/system works...
damm getting into politics ill stop here....

 

[smarteyeball]

i dont see that ending anytime because this is how fundamentally a capitalist society/system works...
damm getting into politics ill stop here....

True. Imagine a fascist OS though. "You will click here and only here. There are serious penalties for not clicking here"...... hang on...that already sounds familiar

 

[johngalt]

I'm in CC myself.

I mean she atleast has to understand how to use a browser and a word processing program, or she would not buy a laptop at all. Stemming from that she should have gone and asked somebody or researched on a windows pc what to do. Yes there was a time when I didnt know how to use computers (10 years old) but I would not just completely give up on it and waste the money I spent on the laptop and school. I would have asked for help, which she is VERY capable of doing now apparently.

And that is the *very* first thing that I mentioned. She is not blameless - but once the ball got rolling Dell did not help the matter at all, and if this had happened to you when you were 10, you'd have had a lot more time to 'research' and figure it out - but if you knew now what you knew then *and* are in community college (and this assumes that you also, then, have a day job) are you *really* going to have *any* sort of time to dedicate to learning a new OS?

I believe that the answer to that question is a resounding "No".

Besides, she *did* ask for help - she initially made contact with the television station through their technical help page, where the staff and bloggers at the station offer technology - related help to their readers and viewers in an online fashion.

I'd say that is 'asking for help'.

well that you can be sure...

as for the linux you raise i question there...
it depends if she is to fight it and is able to return the system....
then i see that she will never go the linux way (also if she has a ipod and wants seamlessly integrate it with her machine good luck)

if she does keep it and does try hard to use it then only then i can see a linux conversion (to a point though...)...

since this is her first computer (from what i can see) then it is easier...

if she had a desktop (which has windows vista or xp) then i more inclined that she wont convert...



but were not talking about someone who want to learn....

she wants something that works OOB....

thats what most clients come to me for (well not all more like 55%....)

i say i got a license for office for this much (thorough academic licence) and tell them i can sell it to you for so and so (it works since most of the time the office that i usually get is licensed for up to 3 computers and that includes that if it ever stops working i can be there to fix it at almost no charge (do have to have to have spending money....lol)

i have sometimes the case where a customer comes in with a EEE PC and tells me that what can i do to make it look and work like xp....

most users can differentiate between ubuntu or xp apart from the GUI and think that someone screwed with it....

then i tell them that this is a different OS from xp and they freak and give me a face like if i was speaking chinese...(no offense...)
most people only know windows and mac and thats it....

i wish linux would stand behind a open standard (i know the kernel is standard but i mean like based on standard code and that wont change dramtically on every kernel update which is a nightmare for devs)
but i mean a standard and each of the distros to customize those little bits that wont affect dev and ISV's....

A couple of points - this may be the first computer she has *owned* but she went on Dell's site assuming that all computers came with Windows, etc. so she has had *some* experience with them in the past, would be my guess.

Also, no matter how much cheaper, faster, safer, and better *nix is, it is not something that you just try out without a backup plan - and *especially* if you are a novice.

I am beginning to think if experts have gotten so jaded that they have lost touch with the fact that a novitiate is not only not experienced in using a computer - there is also the fact that a novice won't be nearly as familiar with running complex queries in a browser at a search portal, will not be familiar with things like the command line, will not be familiar with things like signing up at a forum and asking questions, knowing how long to wait, whether it is OK to type in all capital letters, etc.

A novitiate is not *just an inexperienced person* when it comes to computers - that person has not done a lot of *computing* either. All these processes that we take for granted as being second nature to us - she won't know them. All these skills that are more familiar to us than (almost) breathing - she won't have learned.

yep what i meant here





yes then that would be something endusers would actually think about using...
though devs would still want to "sell" apps and for the love of god dont even speak of letting everyone see the source code....(it would be taboo) and then all the linux fanboys will hate you for not being able to look at the code and compile it themselves....(i would actually think that they would boycott it....)
i know i wouldnt (since i am going around that kind of realm)
i dont see that ending anytime because this is how fundamentally a capitalist society/system works...
damm getting into politics ill stop here....

lol - this ain't the office - that is not a taboo subject....

 

[Gilbertpwns]

She isn't going to need to learn how to use wine to play games. She just needs word processing and a browser. Not too much time to learn how to use that.

When she contacted for help the classes already ended.

 

[johngalt]

Sorry, buy you have forgotten what it is like to be a novice user. She was told by her school / class that she needed M$ Word. She was given a Windows disc for installing her Verizon wireless access.

You expecting her to have knowledge and skills to learn on the fly on how to do things is pretty outrageous.

 

[garysgold]

My very first computer was a Dell (1995). Thought it was a pretty good company. This computer is a Dell. Won't ever get another one.

Gary

 

[Gilbertpwns]

She could have asked for a refund and then bought a windows laptop.

Sorry, buy you have forgotten what it is like to be a novice user. She was told by her school / class that she needed M$ Word. She was given a Windows disc for installing her Verizon wireless access.

You expecting her to have knowledge and skills to learn on the fly on how to do things is pretty outrageous.

Yes I was a novice before, but I was also a little kid. She may not know much about computers but she is an adult, she should know how to ask for help and such.

 

[johngalt]

She *did* ask for a refund - Dell Customer Service convinced her to stick with the Ubuntu.

And I already said *and repeated* that she was definitely at fault for going this alone.