>Well, for you and I that's not a bad rule. For folks just trying to
>make their machine stop crashing, trying to update everything is a
>pretty typical strategy, and the first thing customer support will ask
>you.
I could rant further, of course.
I am increasingly of the opinion that general purpose computers are
unacceptably dangerous in the hands of people who don't know a very
great deal about how to control them. People who just want to get
email or browse the web should use a phone or a tablet that can't do
anything else, or screw up anything else. Etc...
And while that's an insurmountable problem in people's homes, I would
argue that it's not insurmountable in a place of business. If, as a
business owner or administrator, you put a general purpose computer
into the hands of an employee, then you have a basic responsibility
to know how to protect it and maintain it, or to hire, or contract
with, someone who does.
That includes knowing whether it's a good idea to take the advice of
a first-level help desk person or not. Would they let the person who
runs the machine-tool lathe try fix it when it breaks down, or would
they bring in the in-house mechanic? For that matter, would they let
a clerical person try to fix the copier when it jams? Or would they
call in the copier repair person? But for some reason, when it comes
to computers, all bets are off. Anybody can use one and anybody can "fix" one.
Ken