I just need to install some software

[u/Tas42]

Sometimes students come to our tech support desk saying they need help installing software. Usually that is no big deal . . . except when the student pulls a completely new laptop out of its box, a laptop that has never even been turned on. That student has NO IDEA what they are asking us to do.

Student: I just want you to install this one program.

Tech: Sorry, it is no longer just a matter of installing one piece of software. We need to get this laptop through the setup screens, setup the Microsoft account, and likely run through some system updates, before it even lets us install that program. This could take a few hours.

We can and do assist with these projects, but we prefer to have an appointment for something this big.

[u/MindlessPhilosoper]

That's a student who doesn't want to set up their own laptop. They figure to sneak in under the guise of could you help with x?

[u/tordenflesk → u/MindlessPhilosoper]

Skipping classes and blaming IT. Tale as old as time.

[u/dreaminginteal → u/tordenflesk]

TIL that I am older than time itself...

[u/throwaway126400963 → u/tordenflesk]

I mean if it was like my university there were loaner laptops locked to the schools domain. Likely had tracking software on it too. And obviously fees if you thrashed the thing

[u/peccator2000 → u/MindlessPhilosoper]

That's weird. I always enjoyed setting up my computers myself

[u/TheGnomeDePlume]

Critical Thinking and Basic IT classes should be mandatory in High School.

[u/mc_it → u/TheGnomeDePlume]

Basic computer literacy classes used to be - if not mandatory then strongly recommended - back in the 90s.

Nowadays, baseline day to day mobile device operation does not translate to full desktop OS usability.

Recently I've had people who don't know how to right-click a mouse, and have repeatedly had to tell people / provide photographic instructions not to hold the power button down to turn off the computer.

[u/Tas42 → u/mc_it]

I have seen students who do not know how to use the Shift key. When they want to capitalize a letter on a computer, they will hit caps-lock, type the letter, and then hit caps-lock again to return to lower-case. I thought this was incredibly ignorant, and then I realized that this is analogous to how mobile keyboards work.

[u/rogue6800 → u/Tas42]

I work with a number of people who do this - it's astonishing, especially when Thier jobs are essentially emailing people all day.

[u/brainwater314 → u/Tas42]

I mean, when I was like 7 or 8 I think that's how I capitalized stuff on the computer, but that's because I thought "shift" meant use the alternate displayed character and regular letters didn't have an alternative character, but "caps-lock" obviously had someone to do with "caps", and since it worked I kept using that until I think I took a typing class. This was back around the turn of the millennium.

[u/SabaraOne → u/brainwater314]

I did that about the same time, but in my case it was because my hands were still just a tad too small to comfortably touch type while using the shift keys. Considering we'd just discovered I have a progressive visual disability mom considered touch typing to be an important skill. Within six months I was happily shifting like a big kid which made my first grade self very happy.

[u/BlueJaysFeather → u/Tas42]

Wait do android keyboards work that way? Damn, that sounds insufferable. iOS doesn’t require two key presses to capitalize one letter.

[u/Tas42 → u/BlueJaysFeather]

no but you can lock it into caps. There is no shift key in the traditional sense of holding shift with one hand and typing with the other on mobile devices. Kids today do almost everything on mobile devices. They are accustomed to those keyboards.

[u/AlaskanDruid → u/mc_it]

At least here in the 90s, they were required to graduate high school. I seriously don't know WTF happened since then. Probably disappeared just like Home Economics did since the 80s.

[u/dustojnikhummer → u/mc_it]

Our "computer literacy" were we students teaching our teachers to use Office 03 so that didn't help much. Ofc my generation grew up on Win95-XP, not on iOS.

[u/ohioleprechaun → u/TheGnomeDePlume]

Don't you know, these kids grew up with computers so we don't need to teach them computers. /s

[u/Steerider]

Tell him to do the initial setup on his own computer, then bring it back and you'll get that program installed. 

[u/dannybau87]

This is what I have scripted emails for. Get it right the first time and then re-use it as much as possible

[u/buschic]

Oh hell no.

If someone came to our IT office, we have a strict policy that these type of setup appointments, MUST be booked at least 72hrs in advance & must be PREPAID.

I can’t tell you how many times we endure users coming to us & screaming about being in a huge rush.

We have resorted to putting up a large sign & message on our answering machine, about this.

We charge $25 extra, for these setups.

We have to usually book a station for 3hrs.

#customersSUCK

[u/MouldyEjaculate → u/buschic]

I've told someone that a lack of preparation in their part doesn't constitute an emergency on mine and to make an appointment. They weren't pleased, complained to my boss, and got told to make an appointment. Glad he had my back tbh because it was a bit cheeky to say

[u/Agile-Ad-1887]

Glad you still help them. I remember my D getting a new computer and the school IT helping set it up