Deus Ex Alpha

Thought we should take a break from the usual disappointment in next-gen installments, and awkward DJ comments to focus on disgusting filth. As you guys may already know, I'm a computer technician at the moment, and deal with weird shit all the time. (no seriously, one time a woman was trying to get into a locked folder, and I managed to get into it for her only to find countless photos of DICKS. JUST DICKS.)

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TELL ME YOU GUYS DON'T LET YOUR PC'S GET THIS BAD.





What's truly sad is that this is only a fraction of what we get sometimes for repair. One time we had a chain-smoker with an iMac and she literally holds her smoke right under the air intake. After 4 years she now has a stained and sort of burnt screen (on the interior) not to mention that the mac smells like shit, and was comparative to the customer's own hygiene. Another case was (I kid you not) a Barber who didn't think to un-plug his cables from his tower, and instead decided to cut the cables with scissors to bring the PC in for repair.

Admin: please don't use PNG format for photos. I've reuploaded the photos in JPG for you.

Aidan: Thanks Dae

*shrug* looks like my PC. It's dust cooled and gives me awesome fps. Jokes aside I somewhat clean it sometimes, with a shovel. Was especially fun when I was renovating the walls here.

How the hell does this even happen?

I guess it's just a lack of maintenance but ugh. Is it that people are unwilling to clean their PC or just too stupid to understand it needs to be (yes, stupid, because everything mechanical needs cleaning of some sort).

I don't clean mine fully as often as I should but the most you'd see in it is a bit of dust and what-not.

I'm positive my mouse has more crap in it then my PC, as does my old keyboards.

requesting someone post dead_mouse_in_intake_fan.jpg

Lets be reasonable, you're selling a small and screwed shut apparatus to the customer, and depending on the type of warranty tampering with it may appear to void it. Now, lets ask ourselves this, how many PC salesmen tell the customer on what schedule they should clean their PCs? Secondly, are the instructions for maintenance in a visible place?

If you don't educate the customer you don't get to complain much. The wire cutting bit seems a bit too out there as well, I'd like to believe the guy just raged and cut them to make some kind of point, even if it made him look like a total clown. Even an infant knows that if you yank on wires they come out. An adult should be able to figure out how to disconnect the video cable as well.

Even if indeed all apparatus needs some kind of maintenance, seemingly uniform sealed boxes do not get the same attention as other devices with bigger importance in every day life or with easily opened bits. I doubt lot of customers even know how many fans pull air in or that they do it at all.

clyzm wrote:requesting someone post dead_mouse_in_intake_fan.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/HTYvwIQ.jpg

Close enough.

This example actually happened to one of really old computers once back in the mid-90s. Our Windows 95 pretty much stopped working, turned out to be a collection of rat crap and it's corpse.

Far before me being any good at computers, though.

[e] @r12m: If you own a pet do you feed it, wash it and give it shelter, or do you let it die because you were too impatient to actually educate yourself about it?

The same should apply to computers or anything really. There's not much in life that doesn't need some form of maintenance, if you're not willing to educate yourself on how to use a device (and therefore attempting to troubleshoot errors - manuals exist for reasons) then why should I give sympathy?

I'll try to help to the best I'm able but I ain't going to commend you for ignorance.

Specifically for the purpose of cleaning computers I've got a blower:



It works much better than a vacuum cleaner for computers. Way more efficient and safer against static electricity. Takes seconds to blow 80% of the dust away.

I use a hair dryer on cold to blow out then vacuum the rest.

I just use the vacuum cleaner but I would actually prefer a blower like Dae's. I've used 'em before and they do tend to be way better than your average vacuum cleaners.

I use a computer duster, sometimes dual wield

On a related note, whats wrong with woman having folder full of dicks? Oo

Man, I don't even bother cleaning it up no more. It's a desert.. and EVERY SINGLE DAY THERE'S DUST IN THE QUANTITIES YOU CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE.
I once tried it, and I used a vacuum cleaner (READ: Never use vacuum cleaners! Use blowers!), sadly.. lost my beloved video-card to that.. NEVER AGAIN

So.. yeah.. my PC's like that, though not from the outside.

EDIT: Why on earth would you use vacuum cleaners Magniir?
Read this man, I learned my lesson long ago, the hard way.

I know it's bad but it's all I had at the time. Furthermore, my own PC has NEVER been as bad as the pictures in that article, fuck that shit is dusty.

r12m wrote:On a related note, whats wrong with woman having folder full of dicks? Oo

There isn't. Everyone is entitled to their own private business (even though it may be weird as shit).

However, making a technician open that folder on your laptop that is facing the rest of the (very busy) store is wrong. I mean, how the fuck can you forget a 1.4Gb folder of dicks on your computer? Like, would you just browse through your files one day and go, "oh my! look at all these dicks! I forgot about all these dicks!"

James wrote:I use a hair dryer on cold to blow out then vacuum the rest.

That's a very cost-effective solution. I like that.

clyzm wrote:I use a computer duster, sometimes dual wield

This is my current solution, and only because I get the cans so damn cheap at my work. it costs a customer $15 for a 2-pack, where my employee price is about $4. On a related note I picked up a $120 HDMI cable the other day for $11. Seriously, stay away from retail stores if you can or you will always pay MAD inflation. Good thing about Best Buy is that they at least offer a "Price Beat Promise," and DO match any online retailers now.

This is my current solution, and only because I get the cans so damn cheap at my work. it costs a customer $15 for a 2-pack, where my employee price is about $4. On a related note I picked up a $120 HDMI cable the other day for $11. Seriously, stay away from retail stores if you can or you will always pay MAD inflation. Good thing about Best Buy is that they at least offer a "Price Beat Promise," and DO match any online retailers now.

Good advice pimp

I wish I had kept the pictures of an old PC I had to try and resurrect from my dad's workplace.

It was chocked full of about 10 years worth of brick dust. No wonder the bloody thing wouldn't turn on.

canned air da best

Allan wrote:It was chocked full of about 10 years worth of brick dust.

Oh god, I can picture it though... I can picture it :S

Professor Layton wrote:canned air da best

I get a weird feeling when I buy air for money

Haha, if you get some brandless type it really costs nothing though. Plus you can put the nozzle in hard to reach places.

But the idea is still weird I suppose...