Geekery Saves You Money

I was just flipping channels eating some delicious ice cream when I landed on the television shopping channel QVC. Regardless of the fact that yes, I was indeed watching QVC, the important part of that detail is what exactly was being sold. The item being talked about was an automated computer hard drive backup device. The device was meant to plug into a USB port on a computer and it would simply back up pretty much everything it could grab. I’m sure the majority of people who have ever had a personal computer have had a situation where information/data on their computer was lost, so yes, backing up your computer is very important. However, the thing that surprised me was how expensive the item was. The product itself was $180 (USD (United States Dollars)) and came with other accessories that pushed the total price of the item to over $200. That is a good chunk of change, in my opinion, and thus I realized that being a total geekoid and knowing how to manage my electronic technology entirely myself has saved me quite a good deal of money! To show you all just how much moola I am saving myself, I shall give some detailed examples with potential prices/values! Hooray!

Basic Computer Stuff

The Problem: Setting up a new computer, adding desired software, customizing, data transfer, etc
Potential Solutions: Have a technician come to your home and walk you through it
Price Ranges: $135.99 – infinity (Firedog); $149.99 and up (Geek Squad); $99/hr – $300/4 hour block (Geeks Onsite)
Why Do it Yourself?: Setting up a computer you just bought can be tedious and somewhat confusing, absolutely. New and changing operating system software can take time to adjust to. Connecting all your peripherals and installing appropriate software can also be really boring and even confusing. However, computer technology is very rapidly being upgraded to be easier to set up, customize, and use by pretty much anyone. That said, it is a good idea to learn how to set up a computer on your own eventually versus paying someone to do it for you time and time again. If you learn the first time from a professional, you won’t have to shell out big bucks in the future if you get a new computer. Also, most new computers have warranties so that if you do need help setting up your computer you can call the manufacturer and receive instruction for free.

Potentially Difficult Computer Tasks

The Problem: Upgrading an internal manufacturer part (I.E.: graphics card) to a newly purchased market product
Potential Solutions: Take it to a computer shop to have them install it for you or have a tech come to your home
Price Ranges: $49.99 – $149.99 (Geek Squad); $135.99 (Firedog); may be cheaper at local stores in your area
Why Do it Yourself?: Taking apart a computer can be intimidating, no question. If you are not careful, you can destroy the entire computer without even removing anything via your own static electricity. Even though something like that can happen, it is not as scary to open up a computer as it may seem. The inside of a desktop computer is usually pretty spacious and is not jam-packed full of devices as one would think. You may have to move around wire bundles and what not, but usually the whole process of removing/adding a piece of hardware (like a graphics card or RAM memory) is extraordinarily straightforward. If you have a screw driver, enough lighting, and a steady hand you are in great shape to start out with. The hardest part of adding and removing hardware is the pre-removal process that you have to do before opening up your computer. From my experience, people don’t take enough time to make sure all the old software, drivers, settings, and other files from old hardware are removed and not being used by anything before they install the new hardware. Sometimes extra steps need to be taken that are not described in-depth by a manufacturer in a small Installation Guide, so you should “do your homework” before anything. In all honesty, though, removing software is far more tedious than actually opening up a computer, fiddling with the hardware, and putting it back together. Once you do it the first time, you will feel 1000 times more confident about your computer knowledge and capabilities and will thus start to feel even more comfortable around the inner workings of computers which is always a good thing!

Usually Scary and Explosive Problems

The Problem: Virus and/or malware removal from 1 computer with possible data recovery
Potential Solutions: Take the computer to a tech shop, remotely troubleshoot, or have someone come to your home to repair the damage on-site; get a new computer entirely
Price Ranges: $150 – $400 (Geek Squad); $219.99 – $400+ (Firedog); $139.99/year (iYogi subscription)
Why Do it Yourself?: In the long run, learning how to remove viruses/malware is the best experience to go through in order to learn how to protect your computer from malicious stuff in the first place. Viruses and malware vary in severity and how much they can damage or destroy your computer, not to mention if they are capable of stealing personal information from your hard drive. Removing malware and/or viruses can be tricky to do completely, properly, and safely. If you have a bunch of spyware that is not as malicious as some of the mutating trojans that modify an OS command center and registry, removing the software can easily be done by yourself without the help of a paid professional. If you do end up getting some horrific virus that locks you out of your own computer and overloads the hard disk to the point of permanent corruption, though, I would say pay for someone to fix it or buy a new computer. You only get that one approval from me, though. Haha. As I said, having your computer bombarded by a really malicious virus is a horrible thing to experience, but really it is the best tool to teach every computer user what to avoid to keep their computer and data safe.

Just these three tasks I’ve listed in this post – all of which are extremely commonplace and occur every single day – can really add up to some big bucks if you pay someone else to do them for you. The companies that provide these services make money on customers that have no idea how to do the jobs themselves or are simply too afraid to do it for fear they will damage their computer. If you are completely new to computers and have no idea what any of the terminology means, then yes, it would be beneficial to have someone else do these tasks. However, I am a big believer that if you have the opportunity to learn how to do a task and troubleshoot your problem(s), absolutely task it. If a professional comes to your house and can show you how a problem needs to be fixed, take the time to listen and learn. It will pay off in more ways thank in just your bank account!