less is more

I will never understand why PC users and mac users alike feel the need to "install." I was recently diagnosing a problem on a friend's computer and his first response was "Well, can we download a utility that will take care of that." It's a hardware problem; No amount of downloading will make up for a hardware resource conflict. And, Again, can I take a moment and bitch about the fact that pc hardware is so fucked up installing even the smallest Mini-PCI card on a laptop can produce a BSOD. When apple starts making intel machines sometime next year, it will be interesting for PC users to begin to understand why we are constantly smug about the fact that OS-X "Just works".

Anyway, back to my simplicity rant. This friend (with the current HW issue) is the same one who a few months earlier had me re-format his hard drive because he had installed "SOMETHING-zilla" that alegedly blocked popups and spam, deleted viruses, and made perfect julienne fries, when in fact it was spyware. He was so anxious to download and install something that "solved his problem" that he ended up creating more problems.

Generally speaking, The less things on your computer you have "installed" the better. In the words of Joss Stone, less is more. Computers are pack animals. The less baggage they have to tote around, the more quickly they move.

Oh, and you knuckle-dragging pc users out there... if you get an email from some address with a @supersoftware.tw or @ezsupermaxi.cz address that makes stupendous claims and allows you to install some utility totally free of charge, please just delete the email. ...Or rather, don't... and remember I charge $90/HOUR with an on-site minimum of 2 hours.