From my last post it would seem that Magic wouldn’t be so bad for your computer — but I have bad news for you.

Ironically, right before writing this post, I got a call. A friend and client of mine was having trouble with Microsoft Word (Word and windows practice a LOT of magic.) The issue was that word crashes right when it is opened. I am not sure he was even seeing anything. I couldn’t give him a good answer on the phone because I couldn’t see the computer and there were no good methods online to give me an adequate solution to the problem. Why? Because no one has a clue what is going on behind the scenes with Microsoft Word except for Bill Gates and his cronies. It is, for all intensive purposes, magic that word even opens in the first place. So there is no explanation other than trial and error for Microsoft products.

I have to make an apology as well. After having used Linux for the past half a year, I have grown accustomed to knowing exactly what is happening when I press a button. Linux makes no attempt to hide what is going on. I became disillusioned with the idea that a smart computer tech could likely fix any problem. I was wrong. No one can be expected to fix something they don’t understand. That is why reinstalling windows is such a common choice when a computer begins to crash. It is because the IT world was left in the dark about what is truly going on with Microsoft products so all we have to work with is trial and error and what Microsoft tells us to do. A good tech works to remove magic from the equation — but we can’t do that with Microsoft windows or office.

So next time you end up having a problem with your computer. Try your best to remove magic from the equation. I have learned that it really isn’t possible to completely remove all magic from the equation — but that doesn’t mean you can’t try! What you need to know though is that magic means that there is no understanding and without understanding there is usually no good way to use it effectively.

God Bless,
-Daniel Kolansky