Subj : Support And Scams To : Daryl Stout From : Barry Martin Date : Tue Jul 07 2020 09:51:00 Hi Daryl! DS> Paul, BM> (You must not have had your reading glasses on and didn't recognize BM> me!) DS> You're lucky I didn't call you Nancy...you might have thought DS> you had undergone a sex change, and didn't know it. Either that or Richard would have gone into shock looking at 'Nancy'! BM> Heck, half the 'tech support' at the tech suppport sites don't know BM> what's going on: "please reboot", or pull up what the customer's BM> complaint is in the database and follow the instructions. If works, BM> great, if not, put on that Really Concerned "It's serious!" Face and BM> pass the device on to the next support level. DS> Like some of the questions to tech support. One woman didn't DS> realize she plugged the power strip into itself, and couldn't DS> figure out why it didn't work. Another woman, to free up space, DS> deleted all the pickled files (dills). Those were the data link DS> libraries (DLL's)...no wonder her system crashed. I've had "mystery wires" here. Some I knew about: it managed to get tangled in the run behind the desk and cheaper/safer to leave the disconnected cable than to attempt to remove and risk pulling/damaging a connection. Also had three HDMI cables to my monitor with two HDMI inputs. One input in use, the other had a short extension to the cubbyhole under the desk (below the monitor, where my knees are) as easier to connect under there than pull the monitor out to connect directly. For some reason the one marked as going to the extra port was disconnected and an unidentified cable going to the back of the monitor. Must have made sense at some time! DS> One tech support guy got fired after one of these idiots DS> called, and he told her "Unplug your computer, box it up, and DS> return it to the store for a refund. You're too stupid to own a DS> computer". There have been times that kind of a comment would have made sense! Part of the problem is people haven't been taught how to troubleshoot or think things out. BM> Quite sure the WalMart folks got similar training to what we got at my BM> store: "this is the very basic stuff, a few sprinkles of slightly more BM> advanced stuff in order to up-sell and make the copmany more money, and BM> if you're on any sort of commission to make a little more in your BM> paycheck". I had an advantage of having done hobbyist electronics for BM> around twenty years prior. DS> At least with T-Mobile and Verizon, I can talk to someone in DS> person, and not have to call a toll free number, and wait for a DS> half hour to speak to someone with a funky accident. I hear India DS> got a gold medal at the Olympics for telemarketing. Though of course the folks at T-Mobile and Verizon (didn't they merge?) have been trained in cell phone stuff. Bet they couldn't tell you a glass container is better for a blender because glass won't absorb stains like plastic can! BM> I'm less tolerant and if happen to answer the phone will just say BM> something like 'no thanks' or 'not interested' and hang up on them. DS> I keep getting calls from an 876 area code. That's Jamaica, and DS> it's likely a scam operation. I've blocked it on my smartphones. DS> There's a bulletin on the BBS, entitled "Fraud: You Win To Lose". Hmm: don't recall getting any 876 calls in a while - today's a new day!! BM> Assuming the FAX machine is connected in and configured correctly it BM> should work: the machine is designed to work with a regular telephone BM> line -- which just reminded me: regular landlines are sort of analog. DS> Well, the ARQ/FAX light on the modem is flashing, which means DS> it's ready to accept calls. So appears you connected correctly. BM> I'm three-quarters remembering you do not have a landline, two digital BM> phones, and some sort of special phone for Ham communications (VoIP?). BM> I don't think any will allow the FAX machine to connect properly, BM> though the Ham Phone might have a FAX port or some way to configure an BM> output to make the FAX machine happy. DS> You're probably right. I have a T-Mobile cellphone, which is DS> now my answering machine, and good for texts, and a Verizon DS> cellphone, which is for phone, texts, and limited surfing, and DS> email checks. There are all sorts of ways to connects all sorts of stuff. Know there's a device where one can park their cell phone in and it connects to the land line phones so when a cell call comes in one can answer via one of the land line phones. (The connection to the outside world via the original landline has to be disconnected.) Quite sure software to accept VoIP type FAXs to the computer. Know the scanner/printer at the store could also send and receive FAXs. BM> Quite sure one can -- I'm got an internal modem card I removed from a BM> computer ages ago -- not sure why keeping other than it's small and so BM> doesn't take up much room in the storage box and does have potential BM> use to me or maybe someone. Also have an external modem in storage. BM> Takes more room but otherwise ditto. DS> Thunderstorms have been scattred around (they are even now), As long as they don't 'get even'! BM> The local DMV/County General Store (one half is the state Department of BM> Motor Vehicles, the other half is for Scott County stuff: deeds, BM> licenses, -- pretty much everything that could be done at the City Hall BM> offices without the parking hassles) was closed for a few weeks because BM> someone tested positive for COVID-19 and so they just closed the place BM> and disinfected. (Similar for the I-74 Bridge being constructed -- one BM> of the construction works tested positive so they temporarily shut BM> down.) DS> The Little Rock Zoo, which had been closed due to COVID-19, had DS> reopened, but it was soon shut down again until further notice, DS> as 3 employees tested positive for COVID-19. Too bad. Niabi Zoo on the Illinois side recently re-opened with restrictions: think it's open by reservation only, and then 9-12 and 1-3. Restriction on number of people per time, allows for cleaning, etc. DS> colonoscopies. He said he was careful not to bend over if she was DS> behind him. BM> ...It's too early! I was trying to figure out how to make a joke out of BM> her drawing a blood sample while he was in the 'colonoscopy position'! DS> Never mind dancing cheek to cheek. Sometimes it's romantic, sometimes not! ¯ ® ¯ BarryMartin3@ ® ¯ @MyMetronet.NET ® ¯ ® ¯ (Humans know what ® ¯ to remove.) ® .... May your mug shot be featured in a proctology textbook! --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .