http://www.idkfa.com/v3 idkfa: syndicated http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4450 Great success! Thanks for posting. And you've got a point. As far as expertise, Google or sites like Stack Overflow would be our biggest competitors. If we were to, say, graph "necessity of computer help" versus "computer expertise," we'd probably see that as people learn and master basic tasks, their need for help declines. There's even a point where it probably drops to zero as people's confidence and self-sufficiency allow them to learn as they solve problems. There is a point, however, where you've mastered N+1 programming languages, dreamt of database schemas, and have your internal home network's security rivaling that of numerous corporate entities. And you find yourself staring at the blank screen that was once your beloved home computer, wondering when the last time your automatic backups kicked off. In some cases, you can try to troubleshoot the issue yourself. And if you don't happen to have a closet full of spare parts, and you live in Alaska, you've got at least 2 weeks before you can get your precious back. To quote the Firefly Episode Safe: "Sometimes you just need a doctor." We aren't saving any lives, but we're all at risk for hardware failure. There's also the case that, at the very far end of our "necessity of computer help" curve, you start to get into strange, obscure territory, that defies Google searches and requires a human being. Such a thing I wrote about a while back, where the departure of Title Wave's main expert has left them with a non-functioning online presence for years. IT consulting, particularly development consulting, is ungodly expensive, and as far as I can tell, there doesn't exist any community for a place like Title Wave to fall back on should they need access to people at the far end of the curve. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Cognitive Surplus Tue, 17 Jul 2012 02:56:44 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4450 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4449 Thought number one: I got a picture! And made my first post! Thought number two: I spent most of my time at the last conference talking about digital literacy. Everyday at the library I help people functioning at a very low level of digital literacy to do basic life tasks that are now only available online (plane tickets, PFDs, tax forms, job applications, etc.) I don't see too many people asking me for help who are at a middle to higher end level. I suppose I'm at a middle or middle-high level. It's hard to say because my friends tend to be very tech-savvy geeks that make me feel inadequate, but my coworkers and patrons believe I'm a goddess of computer technology. I would use this service, except that normally I crowd source these things to my friends, fiance, brother-in-law and google searches to resolve. Honestly my technology needs are few and far between, for a casual geek like myself, it might not fully pay out. However it is a very cool concept with interesting potential. The problem is casual geeks like myself. I like new gadgets, but don't invest that often in them and don't work the gadgets I have too strenuously. (My laptop spends 90% of its time paying bills, downloading knitting patterns, storing documents, and uploading pictures of knitted projects. I know how to make it do all that.) lizinthelibrary@idkfa.com (lizinthelibrary) Cognitive Surplus Tue, 17 Jul 2012 02:04:32 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4449 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4448 A large number of libraries lend tools for just that reason. Some are public libraries that offer that as one service, others are specific tool libraries. I'm cheating and linking to the wiki list of tool libraries. I also know of a public library that lends out cake pans to patrons for specialty birthday cakes. That certainly makes more sense than what my mother did, which is to buy a new cake for each birthday (3 birthdays a year = a cabinet full of specialty cake pans each used once). These models can work. Often they work under the umbrella of a public library (which is a type of cooperative), but they can work. lizinthelibrary@idkfa.com (lizinthelibrary) Cognitive Surplus Tue, 17 Jul 2012 01:56:39 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4448 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4427 You wear flannel. All you need is a fixed gear bike and a neck beard and you could be a star in Portland. A STAR! conrad@idkfa.com (conrad) Cognitive Surplus Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:18:43 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4427 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4426 I don't think I could successfully market something as a Co-op outside of Portland. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Cognitive Surplus Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:46:07 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4426 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4425 You're right, if you're looking to spend less than $500 overall on a low-end desktop, you'll probably never be able to build something that isn't unreasonably outdated compared to the retail options at a similar price point. Grabbing the latest off-the-shelf model from Walmart is likely the easiest thing. Building reasonably performing computers is another thing. My worry is the following: there is almost no substitute for live testing when it comes to physical hardware. This is because unless you replicate make, model, OS patch-level, and driver versions exactly there is very little guarantee that the performance or reliability of a given configuration will be what it you read it should be online. There are sites like these guys, who do a great job offering mostly-tested full builds, with mostly-tested alternatives depending on your end goals (power consumption, noise level, etc.). However, the difference between component A and the slightly more expensive component B might be 5% improvement, or 20%, or one might be completely at odds with the sound card and corrupt the hard drive on a weekly basis (true story). Components themselves might not range into the industrial laser-cutting price range, but if you make fairly simple mistakes, you can easily misspend $2000 on something that either doesn't work, or that you aren't happy with for the price you paid. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Cognitive Surplus Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:45:27 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4425 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4424 I like the "build new bikes out of busted old ones" concept, as applied to computers. Hell, I do that on my free time anyway, and my grandmother is currently on her longest elapsed time between complete computer meltdown. That'd be a good way to supplement income. Also, though I haven't had a lot of luck there myself (being of average height, and male), we have a similar bike Co-op here. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Cognitive Surplus Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:33:26 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4424 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4422 To supplement my earlier post: I think this could work perhaps as a community project, but not a business. When I was in Seattle, there was a volunteer organization working out of a shed to provide bike repair guidance and tools to people. They would also accept (mostly busted) donation bikes, repair them, and sell them for cheap to keep the system going. I would imagine that this could work as something like that, but with a bit more emphasis on teaching. I'm not sure how you could get the "try before you buy" to work, in this context though. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Cognitive Surplus Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:50:40 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4422 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4421 I suppose this is true. But for this context, it doesn't sound like we're talking about really expensive devices. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Cognitive Surplus Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:46:41 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4421 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4419 I would imagine it's because the utility of owning your own isn't precluded by the cost. If I can spend 200 bucks and get a shitty electric lawnmower that prevents me from having to deal with my asshole neighbors, I'm going to do it. If I want a laser engraver, four axis CNC mill, and a lathe, I'd be a helluva lot more willing to put up with other people's crap if it only cost me 45 bucks a month for a membership to the shop. I suppose there's some break over point where the cost of the device, its utility/convenience, and its inherent specialization provide enough incentive to distribute its cost and availability over a larger group. Successful businessmen would figure out what that line is and capitalize on it. Engineers figure out how to live without it or how to make one on their own. conrad@idkfa.com (conrad) Cognitive Surplus Mon, 09 Jul 2012 13:30:37 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4419 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4418 I don't know if a co-op would work for a service industry, though. I mean, why haven't all you home owners made a 'lawn maintenance co-op' so that between you, you only need one lawnmower, one snowblower, etc. ? Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Cognitive Surplus Mon, 09 Jul 2012 12:13:09 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4418 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4417 Interestingly, the Click and Clack Brothers of NPR fame had a DIY garage back in the 70s, as alluded to in this article that worked very much like this concept. It evidently morphed into a full service shop along the way. Basically, not everyone has the special wrench to pull out a steering column, and they'd rather pay someone 60% of the cost of that wrench to rent one for an hour. Along the way, there were guys in the garage who could help out with advice on the best method for disassembly / reassembly / etc. This also has the distinct feel of a Makerspace, which has gained some prominence in the last few years. It's very expensive to have a 3D printing machine in your own home, but it's not so bad if you spread the cost over 50 dudes who all want to print their own Settlers of Cataan tiles and have a membership to the shared workspace. Ultimately, though, these ideas all seem to orbit around the concept of a Cooperative, which is a time-tested, mother-approved business model for things like electrical power distribution, grain storage/sale, etc. The trick to success, it seems to me, would be the skill to identify your target audience and then build sufficient cohesion to keep them from imploding until some commercial success can be seen. That, however, seems to be the crux of most successful businesses, regardless of the venture. conrad@idkfa.com (conrad) Cognitive Surplus Mon, 09 Jul 2012 11:48:18 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4417 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4416 It would be very hard to make this float. There's a reason mac's are popular... Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Cognitive Surplus Mon, 09 Jul 2012 03:03:43 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4416 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4415 A business idea I had, but first a few things: Thing 1: I've talked about the subject of women in computer science a little bit before. Doesn't make me an expert on the subject, but the paucity of women in the computer and overall engineering fields is unfortunate and confusing to me. Thing 2: Living in Alaska, geographic distance from everything else excludes us from a number of privileges, one of which being convenient and expedient shipping. It is expensive, time consuming, and in some cases impossible due to the fact that some businesses refuse to ship to Alaska. While online shopping is often still the way to go depending on the product and the need, we don't have the flexibility in terms of quick shipping options, or quick turnaround on return items. Thing 3: We have 8-9 months of winter, during which we have record numbers for movie watching and eating out for our population base. Part of that indoors crowd are the computer geeks, specifically those that are the professionals, the hobbyists, gamers, or just designated family computer repair-person. There are a few, small email groups, but to my knowledge there isn't a physical commonplace for these people, nor is there a business that caters to the mid-to-higher end of computer hardware and support. Best Buy doesn't count, as they are much less centered around repair and more about retail, plus their target demographic is considerably less technically savvy. To put it short: there is not a Boscoes equivalent for computer people (even of Boscoes people likely intersect computer people with a high hit rate). Thing 4: I can't definitively say that it is unique to Anchorage or Alaska, but I have not seen the "coffee shack" trailers anywhere else I've traveled. In terms of safety, from my sister's own anecdotal stories, to recent events, these are terrible places to work. Furthermore, for these coffee shacks, and similar businesses (see: Great Harvest kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Cognitive Surplus Sun, 08 Jul 2012 07:03:48 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=4415&msg_id=4415