If in doubt do nowt
A problem with computers running software
slower than they can cope with is what you do when something
apparently goes wrong.
Wiggling your mouse and clicking again
may not appear to do much but it often can.
If you click to open a program then
do it again a bit later the extra click may open up a second
version of the same program.
Setting your desktop to Web-Style with
single click operation can be decidedly dodgy if your finger
has little patience or things are slow in getting under way.
Usually you don't realise the second
program is there until you close the one you're working with
and another was there, hiding underneath.
If you're processing a picture and click...click...click..
do you realise that with each click the computer thinks it has
to turn the picture yet ANOTHER 90 degrees.
Another annoying thing is that not all
inputs are echoed back with "wait" or "processing
please hang on a minute" or something reassuring or ACCURATE.
I downloaded some data the other day
from the Internet and a message came up and said "Loading
files…this may take a few minutes". It took two hours!
If someone gets unaccountable program
errors I always check to see if they've got single click in operation
and disable it. That often fixes things.
Repeated mouse clicks when the computer
is struggling to complete a task compounds the delay.
Each time a key is pressed or a mouse
button clicked, the action is a message to the computer which
it will then feel obliged to deal with.
A good rule is to firmly press "Enter"
once or click once and then keep fingers clear if you are doing
a long winded operation, say associated with graphics. If you
don't know what I mean try scanning a colour picture at maximum
resolution and then rotating it through 90 degrees.
Anyway this story is about a young lady,
Carol …., who was given one of the first E-mail systems
for internal communications within the Company.
The computer was installed next to her
desk and she duly read the handbook.
Next she tested the operation.
First type a message, then add an address
and finally press "Enter".
Nothing happened… just the dull
thud of the key.
Try again and press "Enter".
Finally, repeated bashing of the key
in exasperation.
Nothing happened.
She read the manual again and carefully
repeated the steps.
This went on for most of the morning
until she gave up in disgust and went back to her typewriter
and clattered away as usual.
Next morning a big parcel arrived at
the young lady's desk.
She opened it and found inside several
pounds of Z-fold A3 paper.
There was miles of it and each sheet
had the same message, "Hello Jean, this is Carol...."
The top sheet was labelled "confirmatory
copies of E-Mails sent by Carol …."
Then the phone rang.
"Hello Carol, this is Jean.
Something's gone wrong with this new
E-Mail system…yesterday my printer wouldn't stop.
We had to unplug it because it used
up all our paper.
It kept printing out the same message
over and over again….Hello Jean this is Carol….".
I think these new computers are absolute
rubbish!
If only the programmer had arranged
for the screen to show "Sending" or suchlike!
Over the whole Company we must have
wasted tons of paper.
