My wife and I spent last Thursday night attempting to get another teacher’s Windows XP system up on their new broadband (DSL) modem. They had been talking to the Eircom techie’s for almost 2 months, the duration of the free trial trying to get connected. As a last resort, this teacher ask my wife, who is the ICT coordinator at the school they both teach in to help. So my wife, a PC user, dragged me, an Mac user, along to help.
I brought my 3+ year old iBook (500Mhz) and the first thing I tried upon arriving was to plug in my laptop. Sure as anything, the Mac pickup the ethernet line and DHCP from the modem, and I was Online.
Knowing that the modem, and the DSL line was working, I proceeded to attempt to get the XP system to connect, I tried the ethernet, I tried the USB, remove network places, reinstalled the DSL software kit. And guess what, nothing. (but you knew that was coming)
What was evident was the spy ware infestation, possible virus’s or worms that were slowing down this 1+Ghz Windows XP system.
End result for the night, nothing. We left them just as we came, no working Broadband. We sent them a CD the next day with anti-spy ware on it, not really expecting it to work. And told them if it didn’t work, find the original install CD’s for their system, and reinstall the OS from the ground up.
I cannot, for the life of me understand how people in the Windows XP world live with an operating system so prone to failure.
Perhaps now that there are a few stores in Cork that are carrying the Mac Mini, which I attempted to sell the people, there my be a turn around.
Perhaps Apple is missing an opportunity here, Mac Mini’s loaners? Let people with PC take one home for a week or so, show them what they are missing. Could be a big thing here in Ireland.