by Gideon MacLeish

Created on: May 24, 2007

I work as a support technician for an Internet service provider. One of the most common elements of my job is dealing with people who are frustrated with their computers.

Computers are frustrating because we expect them to work. Period. We live in a world of convenience where a pizza's as simple as a phone call or a stop at a website and the transaction can be cleared with a credit card. Where our appliances work at least until we can replace them with something better. Computers, we believe, should be different.

The problem is, owning and maintaining a computer is not as simple as flipping a switch. You need to maintain an antivirus with updates, antispyware software, and usually a router somewhere in the mix. All this just to have a computer and surf. And those are just bare minimums; the savvy computer user will do a whole lot more.

While the question is why computers are frustrating, I'd like to offer a few simple tips to make them less so. Keep in mind, this is only a starting point, and you may want to pick up more tips along the way:

First, physically clean your computer, your keyboard, and your mouse on a regular basis. You can buy canned air at many electronics stores, but blowing it out with an air compressor is a good idea as well. If the idea of maintenance annoys you, I suggest you use an optical mouse rather than the old ball type mice. They require less maintenance.

Second, run system utilities. Defragment your hard drive regularly and run error checking (Windows XP-speak for the old computer program CHKDSK).

Third, Keep your antivirus and antispyware software current and run them at least once a week. When someone asks me about running their AV program, I tell them it's NEVER a bad idea. This can save a lot of headaches down the road.

Fourth, if you're on a Windows computer, Automatic Updates. You may not like all of the updates, but many of them contain security patches that can help protect your computer.

Happy surfing!

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