All hail the Luddites!

My first post. Prolific, patently pompous piffle, (possibly pilfered) prose.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those clueless individuals that run businesses, manage businesses, or those that simply have a computer or some such technical hardware at home, without the slightest idea what that coaster is built into it for.

For those, my brothers and sisters (yes, women do this job) who are at this very moment aghast at my open display of appreciation towards (shudder) 'users', permit me a moment to explain.

Actually it won't take a full moment.

They are the reason we exist. If everyone could do this, there would be no need for us. Get it? Every time you get perturbed that some box of rocks just asked you 'when to put the little round thing into the square thing' or 'where is the internet?' ... every time you feel compelled to say again with great disgust 'did you try turning it on and off again?'... just remember. They ask, because they don't know, have no proclivity for it.

Yes, they make a lot more than we do. Yes, they should know it. Yes, I realize you are a highly educated engineer with better things to do than explain how email is not the internet. Get over it.

You know what else chaps my hide? Watching people get sold a bill of goods. That is, businesses who buy things because some fast talking sales monkey sold it to them, promising it would rescue their business or protect them at home. People spend an inordinate amount of money on technology but actually use very little of it effectively.
I was in one of those big box stores recently -- yes I know, I can buy things cheaper on the internet, but for some odd reason I needed this one thing right now -- and I overheard some sales twit selling a home user a personal firewall software package for his desktop. To the patron's credit, he mentioned how he had the desktop plugged into the wireless thing which itself was plugged into the cable modem -- he paid extra to have the cable folks hook this all up for him -- he made sure to mention. The salesman quickly ushered the gent to the most expensive, er, comprehensive package they sold. "Guaranteed" to keep out the most pesky hackers!

As soon as the salesguy left, content that he had just made a nice sale... I walked over and removed the box from the gentleman's cart. He looked at me rather astounded. I told him his router did a plenty good job of blocking outside attacks, and that his IP is not internet addressable. Unless he set up services running on his desktop and proxied through the router he had nothing really to worry about. Remember this is a desktop, not a laptop which migrates from location to location.

I explained the weak link in the chain is him and his inclination to click on anything. A simple AV, perhaps a malware package -- both of which were free on the internet would suffice. That and a little common sense.

Five minutes of my time, and this guy was saved over a hundred and fifty bucks. Does that make me a hero? No. This is our lot in life people. Sharing the things we know with those that don't know is not only appreciated but can cumulatively have an effect on the industry. Less products sold as life-saving tools, more development of useful software and hardware.
More to the point, maybe a little more respect for those that toil in the dark providing solutions for problems that have yet to be imagined.

Now if you will excuse me, it's time for me to regain my seat at the crest of the mountaintop. ;)