This one happened a couple hours ago, and I'm still pissed.
The backstory. A while back we replaced all of the computers at the various machine centers on the plant floor with newer, faster units and LCD flat panel monitors. Each monitor was a 20" wide screen, which from Dell at the time was cheaper than 20" standard screens. (Oh hail the almighty dollar. $$$)Naturally, this meant that the screen resolution was going to be set high, at 1600x1050 for these particular models, in order for the display to be crisp. It's worth noting that even with the standard screens, the standard res is 1280x1024. Not much different, just wider for the most part, but still icons and such are going to be small.
The old farts who run some of these machines began complaining, bitching they couldn't see it with their aging eyes, but once they realized there was nothing to be done, they shut up about it. Not this guy. So, we come to yesterday. I installed a printer on this one PC, which has /zilch/ to do with changing the screen resolution. The screen res had been set by someone to 1024x768, which of course made everything on the screen screwed up and distorted, /including/ the terminal program they use to connect to the manufacturing system. So, after I logged the system back in for him, /now/ he notices that the text on the terminal screen is fuzzy. Like it has been all this time, he just got used to it. Can I make it sharper? Sure. So I reset the resolution to 1600x1050, where it was when I first deployed it. Well, gosh darn, now Internet Explorer has small text. Duh. Thus the title of this posting, you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Come to today. I had to gather some information off that printer, and when I get down there, the foreman is there with this guy trying to increase the text size in Internet Explorer. Naturally, with the res set high, that isn't going to so much, and I attempted, very calmly, that you can't have it both ways. He starts in about how I'm wrong, it was clear before I installed the printer. (This is what I hate... you do anything to a PC, then anything that happens, even if you didn't bother that portion of it, is your fault.) I go on explaining in step by step, laymans terms details that changing the text size in Internet Explorer is not the same as the resolution. If the resolution is set low, IE will be big, but then the text in the terminal screen is going to be distorted because the monitor was not designed for that resolution. Bullshit, he says, he works with it every day, it was fine before I installed the printer. I told him flat out, it was the same as it always was, you've gotten used to it and just now noticed it. So he now claims I'm full of shit, I'm calling him stupid. I counter, (yes I said this), "Who's the PC expert here?" He states he doesn't care, he knows he's right. He goes so far as to ask the foreman to call the level 1 helpdesk to get someone to do what he wants because I'm refusing to do my job (implied I'm refusing to pull the solution out of my ass), I'm a stupid idiot and do not know what I'm talking about. The decibels in this room were reaching rock band level, mark my words.
So, the foreman steps in as mediator (he also understands what I'm saying, knows I'm right, and tries to defuse this as best he can, because this guy isn't listening.) He says let's put it back the way it was. So I reset the resolution back to 1024x768, which makes everything distorted once again. We bring up the terminal screen, and... GASP! It's fuzzy! Imagine that! The guy now knows he's been proven wrong, looks at it, and just says, "Ok.. I'll live with it."
WHY IN THE HELL DIDN'T YOU SAY THAT THE FIRST TIME!?!?!?! WE COULD HAVE AVOIDED THIS WHOLE LOAD OF SHIT IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! was ringing through my head at that moment.
As order was restored, and as I walked out with the foreman, he just chuckled and said, "I know you were right, but he was never going to listen. That's why I just wanted to prove him wrong. I deal with shit like this from them all day."
It helped a little to have someone on my side in this, but damn, if you know nothing about computers, have claimed publicly you know nothing about computers, then don't start claiming you do! I knew that if I reset it back the way it was, it would be fuzzy again, and he'd start complaining about that again, and I know he wanted it both ways. Damned Catch 22.
The backstory. A while back we replaced all of the computers at the various machine centers on the plant floor with newer, faster units and LCD flat panel monitors. Each monitor was a 20" wide screen, which from Dell at the time was cheaper than 20" standard screens. (Oh hail the almighty dollar. $$$)Naturally, this meant that the screen resolution was going to be set high, at 1600x1050 for these particular models, in order for the display to be crisp. It's worth noting that even with the standard screens, the standard res is 1280x1024. Not much different, just wider for the most part, but still icons and such are going to be small.
The old farts who run some of these machines began complaining, bitching they couldn't see it with their aging eyes, but once they realized there was nothing to be done, they shut up about it. Not this guy. So, we come to yesterday. I installed a printer on this one PC, which has /zilch/ to do with changing the screen resolution. The screen res had been set by someone to 1024x768, which of course made everything on the screen screwed up and distorted, /including/ the terminal program they use to connect to the manufacturing system. So, after I logged the system back in for him, /now/ he notices that the text on the terminal screen is fuzzy. Like it has been all this time, he just got used to it. Can I make it sharper? Sure. So I reset the resolution to 1600x1050, where it was when I first deployed it. Well, gosh darn, now Internet Explorer has small text. Duh. Thus the title of this posting, you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Come to today. I had to gather some information off that printer, and when I get down there, the foreman is there with this guy trying to increase the text size in Internet Explorer. Naturally, with the res set high, that isn't going to so much, and I attempted, very calmly, that you can't have it both ways. He starts in about how I'm wrong, it was clear before I installed the printer. (This is what I hate... you do anything to a PC, then anything that happens, even if you didn't bother that portion of it, is your fault.) I go on explaining in step by step, laymans terms details that changing the text size in Internet Explorer is not the same as the resolution. If the resolution is set low, IE will be big, but then the text in the terminal screen is going to be distorted because the monitor was not designed for that resolution. Bullshit, he says, he works with it every day, it was fine before I installed the printer. I told him flat out, it was the same as it always was, you've gotten used to it and just now noticed it. So he now claims I'm full of shit, I'm calling him stupid. I counter, (yes I said this), "Who's the PC expert here?" He states he doesn't care, he knows he's right. He goes so far as to ask the foreman to call the level 1 helpdesk to get someone to do what he wants because I'm refusing to do my job (implied I'm refusing to pull the solution out of my ass), I'm a stupid idiot and do not know what I'm talking about. The decibels in this room were reaching rock band level, mark my words.
So, the foreman steps in as mediator (he also understands what I'm saying, knows I'm right, and tries to defuse this as best he can, because this guy isn't listening.) He says let's put it back the way it was. So I reset the resolution back to 1024x768, which makes everything distorted once again. We bring up the terminal screen, and... GASP! It's fuzzy! Imagine that! The guy now knows he's been proven wrong, looks at it, and just says, "Ok.. I'll live with it."
WHY IN THE HELL DIDN'T YOU SAY THAT THE FIRST TIME!?!?!?! WE COULD HAVE AVOIDED THIS WHOLE LOAD OF SHIT IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! was ringing through my head at that moment.
As order was restored, and as I walked out with the foreman, he just chuckled and said, "I know you were right, but he was never going to listen. That's why I just wanted to prove him wrong. I deal with shit like this from them all day."
It helped a little to have someone on my side in this, but damn, if you know nothing about computers, have claimed publicly you know nothing about computers, then don't start claiming you do! I knew that if I reset it back the way it was, it would be fuzzy again, and he'd start complaining about that again, and I know he wanted it both ways. Damned Catch 22.
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