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OK, there are some good techs and some not-so-good ones. I have found one way to measure their competence level is look at what software/hardware they recommend to their clients.
A person is NOT a good tech if:
He/she recommends using Internet Explorer over Firefox or Opera. Now I know using a 3rd party browser won't exactly make you invincible, but at least it's won't let everything in like IE which is known as the "open door." And don't tell me about IE 7 - it's basically version 6 with a new skin. Oh and BTW, I know by default Firefox can't access certain web pages but that's fixed by installing the IEtab extention.
He/she recommends using Norton Internet Security instead of something better. I have been a tech for 6 years (2 with the company I am with now) and I am amazed at how many times I have to remove this piece of crap software to fix a customer's issue. Version 2006 was a blatant embarrassment to the company, and 2007 isn't much better. Mcafee is also following in the same path. Instead of Norton, there is NOD32, AVG, Antivir, Kaspersky, or F-secure. Any of those are much better alternatives.
He/she recommends ANY Lexmark printer. Yeah, the printer only costs $80. Wait 'till you have to buy the ink. By contrast, a $150 Canon printer not only delivers better quality, but it's ink is a LOT less expensive and lasts much longer. In short, the money you saved will be lost very, very quickly.
He/she recommends a Dell PC "for the support." Dell PCs are actually pretty good (just not the low-end ones!), but trying to get a tech you can actually understand is worse than trying to get a date with Evangeline Lily.
If the client cannot afford a PC with a Intel Core 2 Duo, he/she recommends a PC with a Pentium 4 instead of an AMD "because of the name." The Core 2 CPUs are the fastest right now, but the next fastest are the AMD Athlon X2s. The P4 is junk, even though the clock speeds are higher. I'll try to make a comparison: the P4 is a sports car while the AMD X2 is a pickup truck. While the sports car is fast, it can only carry a small load in it's trunk and needs to come back to reload several times, while the pickup truck is slower but can carry the entire load at once in it's bed, so it gets the job done much quicker. The Core 2? A combo of the 2.
Oh, and please don't say Intel CPUs are more reliable. I am currently using a nearly 6 year old AMD 1.2GHz T-bird that has never failed me.
A person is NOT a good tech if:
He/she recommends using Internet Explorer over Firefox or Opera. Now I know using a 3rd party browser won't exactly make you invincible, but at least it's won't let everything in like IE which is known as the "open door." And don't tell me about IE 7 - it's basically version 6 with a new skin. Oh and BTW, I know by default Firefox can't access certain web pages but that's fixed by installing the IEtab extention.
He/she recommends using Norton Internet Security instead of something better. I have been a tech for 6 years (2 with the company I am with now) and I am amazed at how many times I have to remove this piece of crap software to fix a customer's issue. Version 2006 was a blatant embarrassment to the company, and 2007 isn't much better. Mcafee is also following in the same path. Instead of Norton, there is NOD32, AVG, Antivir, Kaspersky, or F-secure. Any of those are much better alternatives.
He/she recommends ANY Lexmark printer. Yeah, the printer only costs $80. Wait 'till you have to buy the ink. By contrast, a $150 Canon printer not only delivers better quality, but it's ink is a LOT less expensive and lasts much longer. In short, the money you saved will be lost very, very quickly.
He/she recommends a Dell PC "for the support." Dell PCs are actually pretty good (just not the low-end ones!), but trying to get a tech you can actually understand is worse than trying to get a date with Evangeline Lily.
If the client cannot afford a PC with a Intel Core 2 Duo, he/she recommends a PC with a Pentium 4 instead of an AMD "because of the name." The Core 2 CPUs are the fastest right now, but the next fastest are the AMD Athlon X2s. The P4 is junk, even though the clock speeds are higher. I'll try to make a comparison: the P4 is a sports car while the AMD X2 is a pickup truck. While the sports car is fast, it can only carry a small load in it's trunk and needs to come back to reload several times, while the pickup truck is slower but can carry the entire load at once in it's bed, so it gets the job done much quicker. The Core 2? A combo of the 2.
Oh, and please don't say Intel CPUs are more reliable. I am currently using a nearly 6 year old AMD 1.2GHz T-bird that has never failed me.
( I run it 25% just to be safe 
Firefox is not more bulletproof than IE. If firefox was bulletproof, there would never be a update other than for new features. By my last count, firefox been updated more than IE7 has. IE problem is it's too popular. The more popular a software is the more it's targeted. And IE7 is not IE6 with a new skin, lets not let bias spread false information. The problem with IE (as well as firefox) is simple, to make them bullet proof you have to force the user to never go to any website that isn't safe, ever. Which will never happen because the pull of the "wtf is that" is just too great.
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