IHU Microsoft
Apr. 8th, 2009 10:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tsukinofaerii*sigh* MS Office 2007 came out how long ago? And people are still confused about .docx files. (Also resistant to using .pdf, which is so much more convenient for our purposes that I could scream. Why? "I don't do it that way." ARGH.)
I don't normally whine about work, but I've had three calls about this, and it's not even technically my problem. You upload a .docx file. Someone else downloads it. It magically converts to a .zip. Or worse, they don't have the latest version of MS Office and aren't computer literate enough to get the converter.
The question is always, "What are you going to do to fix it?" Not "what am I doing wrong", but "fix it". I just spent fifteen minutes explaining to an instructor that I CAN'T. The problems are inherent in the file type—it's inconsistent when downloading and not likely to get better. We recommend avoiding .docx like it's a man in a copper helmet yelling out his atheism during a thunder storm. Unfortunately,even mandatory computer literacy programs (which we don't mandate) or instructor training for our system (which we also don't mandate) can't pound the actual basics into some heads. I suspect it's because our computer literacy classes suck and our teachers are stubborn, but that's a whole 'nother rant. (My kingdom for a school of people who know the difference between an operating system and a browser!)
Why is it that people feel the need to keep pushing? Even if I've said "do it this way", they want to do it that way. Never mind that, you know, "that way" doesn't work, will never work and kind of makes you look like an idiot. Worse, it wastes time that could be used actually resolving the problem. Or doing your work, but gods forbid that.
The point of this is, for the sake of my quickly growing headache, if someone in a tech support position tells you "don't do that", please please please don't argue with them unless you're buying their aspirin. If you really, really think you're right, ask to speak to someone else. It may not save lives, but it keeps the dents in desks from growing too big.
I don't normally whine about work, but I've had three calls about this, and it's not even technically my problem. You upload a .docx file. Someone else downloads it. It magically converts to a .zip. Or worse, they don't have the latest version of MS Office and aren't computer literate enough to get the converter.
The question is always, "What are you going to do to fix it?" Not "what am I doing wrong", but "fix it". I just spent fifteen minutes explaining to an instructor that I CAN'T. The problems are inherent in the file type—it's inconsistent when downloading and not likely to get better. We recommend avoiding .docx like it's a man in a copper helmet yelling out his atheism during a thunder storm. Unfortunately,even mandatory computer literacy programs (which we don't mandate) or instructor training for our system (which we also don't mandate) can't pound the actual basics into some heads. I suspect it's because our computer literacy classes suck and our teachers are stubborn, but that's a whole 'nother rant. (My kingdom for a school of people who know the difference between an operating system and a browser!)
Why is it that people feel the need to keep pushing? Even if I've said "do it this way", they want to do it that way. Never mind that, you know, "that way" doesn't work, will never work and kind of makes you look like an idiot. Worse, it wastes time that could be used actually resolving the problem. Or doing your work, but gods forbid that.
The point of this is, for the sake of my quickly growing headache, if someone in a tech support position tells you "don't do that", please please please don't argue with them unless you're buying their aspirin. If you really, really think you're right, ask to speak to someone else. It may not save lives, but it keeps the dents in desks from growing too big.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-08 04:01 pm (UTC)I got my first SAT scores.... I don't think I did terribly for my first try, but as I researched the things I didn't know the first time around, I think I could do a LOT better.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-09 03:24 pm (UTC)Study study study!