Asked if he was a computer nerd or a computer trouble-shooter, Shaun Minifie – manager of Kuripuni’s computer retail outlet Computer Troubleshooters – takes time to consider.
If you label yourself a computer enthusiast, you tend to end up as every one’s trouble-shooter,” he says.
“My view regarding people’s lack of knowledge regarding computer use is not one that labels them ‘lacking intellectual ability’, and I must say that often people come to us for advice, suggesting that they are ‘a bit slow’ when it comes to dealing with the complexities of their particular programmes and this is rarely the case. Today’s electronic technology is often quite complex.”
Mr Minifie says besides being involved in the management of Computer Solutions and assisting his staff of one, Zac Bruce, he is also a computer technician who is on call for “mostly home users”.
“The main problem out there appears to be connected with viruses or a need for advice on how to do certain things, or problems with hardware – a technical term not always fully understood.”
Mr Minifie suggests there’s no need to panic when hearing the terms “hardware” and “software”.
“Computer hardware can be described as no more than anything you can touch, including monitors, printers, disks or disk drives.
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Software is the stuff you can’t really see – it’s the magic component that instructs the hardware to carry out certain tasks.
“A piece of software is called a ‘program’ and these come on disks or CDs – or they can be copied to your computer from the internet.
“So don’t panic when some computer nerd says, ‘it’s probably a hardware problem’. Translating the techno speak, this means there’s something wrong with the computer, for example, a disk drive, keyboard or central processing unit [CPU]. And, the dreaded comment, ‘it must be a software problem’, this refers to a problem with the program you are trying to run.”
Mr Minifie adds assistance can be given to “the bewildered” by telephone, by call-out or by using a new technology – remoting to people’s computers.
“What we do is install the software on the user’s machine. If we get a phone call requesting some help I can connect directly with their computer and nine times out of 10 can sort out the problem – no need to do a call-out or alternatively, the user does not need to unplug their computer and bring in the hard drive to us.”
Mr Minifie adds: “We find that many of our clients have problems with hardware. They may be running machines that are five or six years old and of course electronics are like everything else, they do wear out.
“Often troublesome computers just need a good clean out and everything will be fine. With experience you can tell when a computer starts up where the hardware fault will be or even pinpoint an operating system error.
“There’s also a worrying baddie out there, the computer virus,” he says. “Current at the moment is one called Antivir.
“Many are pretending to be anti-virus software – it looks real, it looks pretty, but does not actually do anything helpful. The main emphasis is to con you into paying for the right to use the software. It is, however, a lethal virus which takes passwords and key strokes. It’s tenacious and very difficult to get rid of.”
Mr Minifie suggests many of these lethal viruses originate from Eastern Europe, products of organised crime. A lot of money can be made from electronic crime.
“There’s also a huge black market in what’s called ‘Botnet’ which are machines that the hackers can control. I would suggest that 90 per cent of the spam emails that are sent are Viagra ads. Everybody gets those!
“These are sent out by your everyday computer user who, of course, has no idea that their machines have been interfered with.”
Mr Minifie describes the problem as a cyber-war – a constant battle between the companies attempting to prevent the movement of viruses and the criminals trying to infect machines – with the general public caught in the middle.
The enthusiasm for his job is evident, especially when Mr Minifie explains his job is a direct result of a love for electronic technology.
“When I first set eyes on a computer, going back to 1982, I was hooked. Other than a brief time selling these machines in the 90s none of my jobs have been technology-related,” he says. “You might say I’m a gifted amateur,” he adds with just a hint of a smile.
Mr Minifie joined the Kuripuni business two years ago, eight years after it was established by a previous owner. During the two years he has observed computer technology going ahead in leaps and bounds.
“The rate of change is phenomenal. Take, for example, the introduction of the internet and broadband – although both technologies have been around for a length of time – these are the ones that are having the most impact on people’s lives at the moment.
“You can source almost any type of world news when you want without having to wait for the six o’clock news on television or radio and if you are after other types of information it’s all there for you, invariably compiled by those in the know.”
Mr Minifie sees a challenge in the future as more readers move from the print media to the electronic media. He labels the challenge as “a double-edged sword” as although there is considerably more freedom of subject matter on the internet, the downside is some people are much more prone to believing everything they read on their screens.
“We know, of course, that information is only as good as the source from which it comes – it’s a matter of not believing everything that you read and checking out the source. On the positive side, access to the internet is a great tool for children doing homework research and of course, a means of keeping in contact with friends, family and colleagues.”
From here on things get technical and Mr Minifie adopts his Computer Geek role as he explains the current state of the internet as we know it may be running out of steam.
“To explain what is happening, in relatively simple turns, every computer that is connected to the internet has a unique identifier. The identifiers that we have at the moment are called IP addresses – these have the name of IPV4 – that’s a particular system that it uses. Currently there are not enough of those systems to go around.
“Even 10 years ago it was never envisaged that the internet would be such a colossus. We never thought then that we would have televisions and cellphones connected to the internet, would also need IP addresses.”
Mr Minifie explains the new system, called IPV6, is a new way of addressing internet capable devices. This new technology may well demand changed electronics for computer users.
“I have to admit that New Zealand internet providers are way behind as far as updating their technology. I think they are waiting to see what is in store for us in the future.
“However, it’s inevitable that eventually users will have to redo their modems – the modem is the device that plugs into your phone line and brings the internet to you. Older modems may not be capable of using IPV6.
“New technology includes more of the same but faster,” Mr Minifie says.
“Take for example the new operating system Windows 7, which obviously has had an enormous amount of work put into it and is fantastic. Microsoft have paid a great deal of attention to how the average user wants to do things and Windows 7 enables people to decide what they do.”
Mr Minifie insists the computer has gone from being a “nerdy, hobby piece of equipment” to a useful appliance in many households.
“In fact, many of our clients are housewives and mums who use the internet for banking, paying bills and keeping in contact with others, for example, social networking – Facebook.
“So if problems arise, nine times out of 10, we are approached by the woman of the household.”
Source:-http://www.times-age.co.nz/local/news/nerd-now-net-knight/3921630/
