Annoyed at companies misuse of words.

[Bodsda]

I went out to town today and visited PC World and Argos. By the time I got home I was pretty annoyed.

Argos annoyed me for there acknowledgement of Mac OS X but there complete inability to even mention Linux or Unix. Then the put in the info box, "Macs are not plagued by Virus's and malware like your *PC*, so you can get on with what you were doing, uninterrupted."
Well, that really got me annoyed, since when has a 'Personal Computer' meant a computer running Windows? My phone is a computer, its personal, so its a PC but it doesnt have virus's and its not running windows.

Then i went to PC World, and well, they got on my nerves. I had not been in the store any more then 4 minutes before a sales rep walked up to me and asked me if I needed anything. I thought I would be polite and asked her to show me the memory they had, lo and behold, I was walked to the hard drives, so I asked a bit clearer, sorry, I meant RAM. I was told to wait whilst she went and got a tech guy... Why employ someone in a computer shop when they no nothing about computers?
Then they tried to sell me 3 different kinds of anti virus, 2 Internet security programs and a years warranty. I proceeded to calmly explain to the tech guy that the software he was trying to sell me would not run on my computer. After 10 minutes of discussing my hardware requirements (which i already mentioned was not the issue) he asked me what version of Windows I ran. Well, that was it, I was promptly ignored for a while before he came back trying to sell me Vista Home premium on a 1.6 ghz Desktop with 512mb of RAM. hmm... At that point I just left.

I found the overall experience rather disappointing and am considering emailing both companies.

[steeleyuk]

If they put Linux/UNIX on the packaging, etc then people expect them to support it.

I hate PC World with a passion. Went in a few years with my dad carrying a bag, they asked to take it off us and put them behind the security station. Won't even go in there anymore...

[swoll1980]

Why employ someone in a computer shop when they no nothing about computers?

Because most of the people that know how to use computers aren't going to work as store clerks for $7.50/hr

[dragos240]

I went out to town today and visited PC World and Argos. By the time I got home I was pretty annoyed.

Argos annoyed me for there acknowledgement of Mac OS X but there complete inability to even mention Linux or Unix. Then the put in the info box, "Macs are not plagued by Virus's and malware like your *PC*, so you can get on with what you were doing, uninterrupted."
Well, that really got me annoyed, since when has a 'Personal Computer' meant a computer running Windows? My phone is a computer, its personal, so its a PC but it doesnt have virus's and its not running windows.

Then i went to PC World, and well, they got on my nerves. I had not been in the store any more then 4 minutes before a sales rep walked up to me and asked me if I needed anything. I thought I would be polite and asked her to show me the memory they had, lo and behold, I was walked to the hard drives, so I asked a bit clearer, sorry, I meant RAM. I was told to wait whilst she went and got a tech guy... Why employ someone in a computer shop when they no nothing about computers?
Then they tried to sell me 3 different kinds of anti virus, 2 Internet security programs and a years warranty. I proceeded to calmly explain to the tech guy that the software he was trying to sell me would not run on my computer. After 10 minutes of discussing my hardware requirements (which i already mentioned was not the issue) he asked me what version of Windows I ran. Well, that was it, I was promptly ignored for a while before he came back trying to sell me Vista Home premium on a 1.6 ghz Desktop with 512mb of RAM. hmm... At that point I just left.

I found the overall experience rather disappointing and am considering emailing both companies.

Man, I feel your annoyance! I actually posted something like this a week or so ago about the misuse of the word PC or personal computer, it really gets on my nerves.

[koshatnik]

Shops come out with all sorts of crap to do with electronic items and computing. Like having more megapixels in your camera makes for sharper, higher resolution images. Err, no. People still listen to this crap though, and buy the gear, so shops keep churning out the garbage.

[Swagman]

Uk

pc World is losing so much money they are moving Currys and store sharing with PcWorld here in Peterborough.

Probably because Pc World here has the larger, posher store.. Might be T'other way round where you live.

As for service.. Just wear an Ubuntu Baseball cap or apparel. They avoid you like the plague then.

[Bodsda]

Shops come out with all sorts of crap to do with electronic items and computing. Like having more megapixels in your camera makes for sharper, higher resolution images. Err, no. People still listen to this crap though, and buy the gear, so shops keep churning out the garbage.

I think this is actually an extremely large problem. Those shops are practically lying to you and people just take it because they don't know any different.

I can only give computer shop examples because thats where my knowledge is. But if I wanted to buy a lawnmower and found out that what they were telling me was untrue I would be extremely annoyed.



As for service.. Just wear an Ubuntu Baseball cap or apparel. They avoid you like the plague then.

Only if they actually have any idea about what it is. Which, most of the sales rep's don't.

[Swagman]

They did that with the term "Power PC" until it dawned on them what PowerPC meant.

[howefield]

I found the overall experience rather disappointing and am considering emailing both companies.

Not an uncommmon experience, but the power to vote with your wallet and let them know what you think is about the best you have.

These places are businesses purely and simply to make money, that is why they exist. If they can work out how to make money selling the products you want, then they will do it. Probably ;)

Most PC branches used to sell a few boxed editions of Linux, Mandrake (as it was) and Suse come to mind. Not any more, not a single one. Presumably, couldn't sell them, it didn't help that they were generally very few in number and relegated to the bottom, almost invisible shelf, but in any event, they couldn't sell them.

PC World is fine for browsing and pricing is a little better than it used to be, especially if you get a web price and can collect at store. But as for knowledge... most times they are not at the races, but they do not need to be, they only need to "know" more than the average public.

But your experience is not limited to technology, how many Tesco shopfloor workers could have a serious conversation about the food they sell, never mind the food they don't ?

[howefield]

As for service.. Just wear an Ubuntu Baseball cap or apparel. They avoid you like the plague then.

You are making one hell of an assumption that they would recognise it....

:D:D

[Bodsda]

This is a section from argos.co.uk

Operating System
software that handles the computer's basic functions - Windows for PCs and Mac for Apple.

Now I'm even more annoyed, since when does an operating system only perform 'basic' functions! Not to mention their complete lack of acknowledgement of any other existing OS's

[Bodsda]

Not an uncommmon experience, but the power to vote with your wallet and let them know what you think is about the best you have.

These places are businesses purely and simply to make money, that is why they exist. If they can work out how to make money selling the products you want, then they will do it. Probably ;)

Most PC branches used to sell a few boxed editions of Linux, Mandrake (as it was) and Suse come to mind. Not any more, not a single one. Presumably, couldn't sell them, it didn't help that they were generally very few in number and relegated to the bottom, almost invisible shelf, but in any event, they couldn't sell them.

PC World is fine for browsing and pricing is a little better than it used to be, especially if you get a web price and can collect at store. But as for knowledge... most times they are not at the races, but they do not need to be, they only need to "know" more than the average public.

But your experience is not limited to technology, how many Tesco shopfloor workers could have a serious conversation about the food they sell, never mind the food they don't ?

Yeah, but this is precisely my point. I would believe what a Tesco's shopfloor worker told me about the food because I assume they know more then me, if I found out they were lying to me and that sausage was not vegetarian I would go mental!

Are there no authorities that make sure that the information companies are telling their customers is factually correct?

[howefield]

Are there no authorities that make sure that the information companies are telling their customers is factually correct?

Of course there are, you can make complaints to a multitude of bodies if you think that you are being misled.

Start with Trading Standards, but there are a host of others.

[dragos240]

This is a section from argos.co.uk

Operating System
software that handles the computer's basic functions - Windows for PCs and Mac for Apple.

Now I'm even more annoyed, since when does an operating system only perform 'basic' functions! Not to mention their complete lack of acknowledgement of any other existing OS's

I wish people would know what a PC actually stands for! Man this is annoying!

[zmjjmz]

Speaking of a misuse of words...


virus's (should be viruses)
no (should be know)

:-P

Anyways, you do have an Advertising council in the UK. If you want, you can complain to them.

[Bodsda]

Hmm, what to complain about though... I doubt the fact that they are ignoring Linux would make for a substantial case.

[MikeTheC]

Yeah. PC stands for "Politically Correct"...

That means you can't say the following anymore:
broad
retard
n*****
cripple
b**** (as other than a deliberate insult)
honey, sugar, babe, etc...
f*****
*****rdly (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/*****rdly) (even though the origin is of one Mr. *****rd, and not the *other* common slight)

Yes, it's getting to be a mighty tough world out there when we're not allowed to even speak our minds any more without fear of reprisal.

[rookcifer]

As has been explained before, the use of the term "PC" originally referred to IBM compatible computers. IBM's first computer targeted at home users was actually called the "IBM PC" and was released in 1981. Later on the IBM hardware was what M$ chose as their platform for Windows.

A Macintosh was not IBM compatible back then (Macs ran on totally different hardware as did the Commodores and others). Macs only recently switched to "PC" hardware in 2006. Therefore, even if not correct in 2009, the terms have stuck to differentiate between Windows based "PC's" and the Macintosh.

People who argue about the usage of "PC" to describe Windows machines are usually ignorant of the history and where the terms originated in the first place.

[azangru]

since when has a 'Personal Computer' meant a computer running Windows?

Since "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" commercials? ;)

[Old Marcus]

This is a section from argos.co.uk

Operating System
software that handles the computer's basic functions - Windows for PCs and Mac for Apple.

Now I'm even more annoyed, since when does an operating system only perform 'basic' functions! Not to mention their complete lack of acknowledgement of any other existing OS's
That's not the only place they cocked up:

Ramdom Access Memory (RAM)
;)

[коммунистическ]

This is a section from argos.co.uk

Operating System
software that handles the computer's basic functions - Windows for PCs and Mac for Apple.

Now I'm even more annoyed, since when does an operating system only perform 'basic' functions!

Since the 1960's when the software operating system's only job was to input, process, then output information. Today, it still holds true that all specialty applications are technically not considered part of the Operating System.


A Macintosh was not IBM compatible back then (Macs ran on totally different hardware as did the Commodores and others). Macs only recently switched to "PC" hardware in 2006.

Technically, Apple computers have used IBM hardware for decades. The PCI(-X) interfaces were created by Intel, the motherboards have been based on Intel designs, even the interface for which the PowerMacintosh processors was a standard Intel Laptop connections. The PowerMacintosh G4 sitting next to me uses a Foxconn Server motherboard that was slightly modified to contain a PowerPC processor and an OpenFirmware chip in place of a BIOS. Besides that, it contains a PCMCIA slot for an Airport card, which is another laptop feature created by Intel. It even uses all of the standard IBM style buses and notification systems. Only in 2006 did they switch to an Intel processor with an EFI interface.

[Screwdriver0815]

Some time ago, in the beginning time of my Linuxuser-career I was in the german equivalent of PC World: Media Markt.
I wanted to buy a new HDD for my old computer in which the BIOS has this 1024 cylinder problem, which results in the BIOS not recognising HDD's which are bigger than 40 Gb.

So I asked the guy in the shop (who appeared after 10 minutes) for a smaller HDD because of this problem (I explained it to him) and he said "how old is the machine then, respectivly which Windows is installed?" I said, "no Windows, Linux." He smiled and said "ah great, the first customer who has a proper operating system" and then he gave me instructions on how to format a bigger HDD (they of course had no smaller HDD than 300Gb) to make it possible to run it in my old computer. He used OpenSuse by the way and we had a nice talk about Linux. :D

this was a nice surprise because normally the Media Markt is the same like the PC world you have described.

[MikeTheC]

The points about the true sources for Apple's older motherboards are well received. It's indeed been some time since they used truly custom-spec stuff. In fact, that probably happened right around the time they originally developed the Common Hardware Reference Platform in the mid 1990s. That, BTW, is what the clones were built from.

It has been an interesting process to observe over the years. Having grown up with the computer world starting in the 1980s, I've had a chance to see many changes. I can well remember the days when there was no such thing as a defacto standard in the computer world. I'm of mixed minds on the extent to which standardization has been a good thing, vs. the cornucopia of choices we used to have.

In many ways, Linux resembles the computer world of the 1980s insofar as giving you a plethora of options. However, it takes it a step further and in a better way by giving you a lot of interoperability right along side the plurality. That, to my mind, is kind of a "best of both worlds" thing.

The biggest problem as I see it, from the perspective of the computer world (and not the users in it) is the fact that choice has been reduced to the extent it has. One has only to take cognizance of the reality that most people out there don't even know there's such a thing as a computer running an OS not made by Microsoft, or that it's even possible -- or legal :shock: -- to grasp the significance of this fact. It's dangerous to us all.

[steveneddy]

I went out to town today and visited PC World and Argos. By the time I got home I was pretty annoyed.

Argos annoyed me for there acknowledgment of Mac OS X but there complete inability to even mention Linux or Unix. Then the put in the info box, "Macs are not plagued by Virus's and malware like your *PC*, so you can get on with what you were doing, uninterrupted."
Well, that really got me annoyed, since when has a 'Personal Computer' meant a computer running Windows? My phone is a computer, its personal, so its a PC but it doesn't have virus's and its not running windows.

Then i (I) went to PC World, and well, they got on my nerves. I had not been in the store any more then 4 minutes before a sales rep walked up to me and asked me if I needed anything. I thought I would be polite and asked her to show me the memory they had, lo and behold, I was walked to the hard drives, so I asked a bit clearer, sorry, I meant RAM. I was told to wait whilst she went and got a tech guy... Why employ someone in a computer shop when they no (know) nothing about computers?
Then they tried to sell me 3 different kinds of anti virus, 2 Internet security programs and a years warranty. I proceeded to calmly explain to the tech guy that the software he was trying to sell me would not run on my computer. After 10 minutes of discussing my hardware requirements (which i (I) already mentioned was not the issue) he asked me what version of Windows I ran. Well, that was it, I was promptly ignored for a while before he came back trying to sell me Vista Home premium on a 1.6 ghz Desktop with 512mb of RAM. hmm... At that point I just left.

I found the overall experience rather disappointing and am considering emailing both companies.

I understand annoying.

[Pogeymanz]

Shops come out with all sorts of crap to do with electronic items and computing. Like having more megapixels in your camera makes for sharper, higher resolution images. Err, no. People still listen to this crap though, and buy the gear, so shops keep churning out the garbage.

Oh Crap. Then what do more pixels mean, then? Does it only apply to the on-camera viewer then? I believe I have been duped!

[howefield]

I understand annoying.

Were the highlighted errors the only ones you could find ?

You need to look harder. :lolflag::lolflag: