Computer Rage anyone?
The flavor this morning seems to be computer rage with a wide variety of articles reporting on the angst and anxiety caused by non performing, wilfully or accidentally destroyed machines.
Technology, it seems, is growing a lot faster than understanding. There are peoplw who exhibit symptoms of depression when confronted by a machine that just refuses to do their bidding. For quite a few people though - computer destruction is just a way to let of steam. There are reports of people who have tried to flush their laptops, taken sledge hammers to machines, and surveys indicate that nearly 10% of all computer/palm/tablet PC owners hit/kick their machines in frustration.
All this is giving a shot in the arm to the troubleshooting industry. They provide a house call service and charge anywhere from USD 60 - 100 an hour. They are also trained to understand the emotional state of the customer and respond accordingly. Most people, once they have managed to take out their frustration on the machine suddenly realize that there was valuable information on it. Duh! This is where the data recovery teams come in - and this can cost upto a whopping USD 2000. Of course, there is no guarantee that the laptop you just drove over will allow you to recover the data that you just lost. Of course, this service also works for those who accidentally managed to damage their machines.
I do a little troubleshooting on the side - not professionally though. Usually just help friends and relatives to keep their systems on track, help them install their operating systems (Linux is still a major headache for most guys - though I don’t know why), help set up and assemble new PCs and general maintenance. I’ve seen that a little prevention goes a long way. Though this has been repeated umpteen times - I’ll say it again.
a) Keep your anti-virus updated
b) Keep your anti-spyware updated
c) Apply patches that the OS vendor (does not matter which OS you use) provides
d) Do not open attachments from people you do not know
e) Keep backups - even if it’s a home PC. God bless DVDs
Till next time - stay chill 
PS : And if you do feel like slamming your PC, do it virtually. Try this [http://www.thestylemachine.com/metele/]
Links :
Dell Laptop Execution [www.theregister.co.uk]
Repair Teams and Computer Rage [www.washingtonpost.com]
Smashing computers - spanish style! Ole! [www.theregister.co.uk]
PC killing 101 [news.bbc.uk]
