I received the following rant from a reader who is experiencing some, um, technical challenges in his job. Not technical challenges for himself: boss and co-worker foundering under the foaming, rushing waters of technology:
They are going to drive me absolutely insane.
Did you know … that you can select the program with which to open a file by right-clicking on the file and selecting Open With…?
DID YOU KNOW THAT?!
That is the MOST AMAZING THING EVER, according to the oldsters. These guys could not figure out how to open a text file that has an extension other than .TXT. I showed them the Open With… twiddlebit, and now Head Oldster is busy adding the procedure to our internal style guide.
Gobsmacked with heartbroken outrage, I said “Dude. Anyone who has used Windows for any amount of time will know that. You don’t have to put it into our style guide.”
To which he responded: “I have been doing this for 20 years, and this is the first time I’ve heard of this. So it should be documented.”
I don’t know how much longer I can work here.
And to top if off, BOTH OF THEM are constantly getting calls from headhunters and former employers who want them back as contractors. How is that possible? Head Oldster can generally get through the day, but The New Guy — Judas on a Vespa with Cheese and Peppers. Watching him navigate through FrameMaker is like watching Stephen Hawking type out A Brief History of Time character-by-character with his eyeballs, minus the genius part of it.
The guy struggles to find the SAME FUNCTIONS THAT HE USES EVERY DAY in the menus. How can he possibly beswamped with job offers? IS THE ECONOMY DOING THAT WELL?
Crickey.
I have to admit, reading this rant made me feel better about my own work . . .
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Pingback by Inside Gaming: 12/12/09 (Tony Hawk, Yahoo’s Clueless, and Darksiders!) | Wicked Games — April 27, 2010 @ 19:39
So very sad. So very true. Once you get a fancy job title, the recruiters come running. Whenever I see an executive, I always remember the Peter Principle. As well as the Dilbert Principle. The “Open With” is a bit of a classic. My father learned how to use a computer when he was 70 and he figured that out in a few weeks.
Comment by Publius — April 27, 2010 @ 21:14
My father would have been 82 this year. I sometimes think, had he somehow gotten access to the internet, he’d have lasted a lot longer. He didn’t technically die of boredom, but after he had to go on a medical disability, his connection with the outside world withered quickly.
Comment by Nicholas — April 27, 2010 @ 21:30