Imagine if cars were as difficult to fix as computers. As it is, if you have a problem with your car, you take it to a mechanic--end of story. It may cost you $50; it may cost you $500, but it will be taken care of. The mechanic will take responsibility for it. But that's not the case with technology: When something goes wrong, it's no one's fault.
Let's say you can't get online. The computer manufacturer will tell you its hardware is operating fine. Your service provider says its connection is strong. The software company says its programs are operating normally. But you still can't get online. You need an onsite tech staffer to diagnose and fix the problem, and if your firm isn't big enough to have one, you're stuck. Fortunately, even though technology is the problem, it can solve the problem.
First you have to realize that if you have a problem, it's likely someone else, somewhere in the world, has the same problem. They've probably complained about it. And maybe someone has even responded to it. I had a problem with some Excel files recently. They contained names, addresses and Zip codes in their own cells. The problem was that as I imported the data into Excel, the leading zeros in the Zip codes disappeared. That meant that Zip codes in the Boston area, which start with zero, became truncated to four digits.
A search through Excel Help revealed part of the problem: The cells were formatted to list numbers, and Excel didn't see why any number needed to be preceded by a zero. If the cells were formatted as text, however, Excel allowed the zeros to remain. That is, it treated the contents as text rather than numbers. But how could I make the change to the cells before importing the data into Excel?
I posted a brief query into Google--"dropped zeros in Excel cells." Scores of useful links cropped up. As I suspected, I wasn't the only one with the problem, and solutions popped up in a number of chat rooms, none of which I had previously been aware of. It took me only a few minutes of browsing to find a useful and relevant solution: I was uploading the data incorrectly. By adding an extra step, according to one online expert, I could pre-set the cells from "number" to "text." I tried out the solution, and it worked.
Think of how simple this was. I didn't have to register at any site, call tech support, or sift through endless pages of help menus. Most important, I didn't have to figure out what was causing the problem. Was my data sheet problematic? Was I using Excel incorrectly? Did I need another program? No need to figure out whom to ask if you essentially ask everyone at once and see what pops up.
This system doesn't work all the time, but it can be a help even if the only thing you can do is diagnose the problem. Some months ago, as Yahoo was switching to a new version of its online email system, I started to notice that the email site was taking longer and longer to load on my home computer. Sometimes it wouldn't even load at all. I switched back and forth between the Beta, or test version of the new program, and the old program, with mixed success. I didn't know if there was a problem with my computer, or if the issues were system-wide.
In fact, there may have been a problem with my home computer, because Yahoo mail loaded easily on my office desktop. But that didn't mean the problem was my fault entirely. Again, a Google search turned up lots of people having the same trouble I had. Many had discovered solutions, some of which had limited success. A few were too complex to make it worth my time. For me, the problem eventually resolved itself. Maybe Yahoo had a problem with certain systems, which it quietly fixed behind the scenes. However, my sister-in-law became so frustrated she eventually switched email systems. (Let's hope Yahoo executives are also Googling their problems.) But at least she can be reassured it's not a problem specific to her computer.
The reason this help method works is that we can fairly assume that everyone with a tech problem goes online with their frustrations sooner or later. I don't know where people go with other kinds of problems. I have had only limited success finding online answers to my car problems on various newsgroups. Although I've usually been able to resolve IT problems quickly, I have not yet found an online answer to why my 1993 Geo Prizm makes horrible noises in the cold weather when I try to turn the wheel. The answer is out there, but it's still offline. I have no doubt that soon everyone with any kind of problem--with their car, their children, their pets, their baking--will be online right away. Imagine--every solution to every mundane problem, right at our fingertips.
Meanwhile, if any readers have any thoughts about my Geo, feel free to send an email.
Richard J. Koreto is editor in chief of Wealth Manager.
