Ask HN: What should I put in my “computer person” handbag?
Which means, there is an expectation that we suppose to make "computer things" work.
In particular, the following real-life scenarios are things where (at least for me), it would be realistic for a layperson to assume an experience engineer should be able to help:
* "Hey, aunt X has a couple (thousands) pictures on her phone, can you put them on my computer ?"
* "Oh, and by the way, can we look at them on the big TV ? That would make - insert name of a 10y old kid you're emotionnaly attached to - so happy" ?
* "Damn, there is a sheet of paper stuck in the printer, we need to print the card for the birthday of - insert name of a 100y old person you're emotionnaly attached to - can you help ?"
* "Oops, my laptop screen is black, but I need the excel spreadsheet that's in the SSD, how do I get it ?"
* "I don't understand, every time I switch the TV-on, the Internet gets slow in my bedroom"
* "My computer is so slooww since I lent it to - insert name of a 14y old teenager who's going to do what 14y old teenagers do with a computer".
* etc, etc, etc... I'm pretty sure most HN readers had some kind of related experience.
One option to deal with that is the passive-aggressive "No I won't fix you computer" t-shirt [1], but, let's assume you want to be able to be more helpfull.
Let's picture ourselves as old-time doctors. Back in the days, if one of your relatives was an MD, you can be pretty sure they always went around with a handbag full of a few instruments, a couple medecines, etc... that let them be "helpful" in a maybe 80% of the everyday "bobos" (in the "small sores" meaning").
Sure, they would not be able to perform open-skull heart surgeries, but stitching / banding / cleaning / soothing could be expecting.
My claim is:
* "showing pictures from a computer on a TV screen" is not open-skull brain surgeries
* however, because every single device is subtly incompatible with every single other device, it's far from trivial if you don't have right cables / plugs / converters / etc...
* therefore, a "computer person" should have a couple tools / items (even software, maybe ?) at hand to be able to help in 80% of the sensible cases.
So, what goes into this bag ? I would start with those items, but any idea / suggestion / "swiss army knifes" is welcome
# hardware
* hdmi<->hdmi cable (seems like it's the one reliable thing on tv) * hdmi<->usb-A adapter * hdmi<->usb-C adapter (in the average gathering, neither "no-one" nor "everyone" has an Apple device) * a hefty usb stick (still vastly the simplest way to transfer files) * usb-C <-> usb-a cable that works for both power and data * a usb-C <-> AC/DC adapter (you'll have) * some dust-cleaner spray ?
(I could add "screwdrivers", etc... but have you actually every used them to "fix someone computer/phone issue" ? I mean, once you've open the laptop, what do you do to make windows 8 aggree to connect to the wifi ?)
# network
* an ethernet cable and usb adapter (is it still the most reliable internet link stuff, or is there something better ?) * something to check if the wifi signal is strong enough ? * your own 4G dongle ?
# software
* I've barely been using windows in the last two decades, but every real human being is using some version of it. I guess it's pretty thin in the "tools to fix things department". If I were to put some usefull stuff on a stick to diagnose / help / recover / whatever, what would it be ?
* are there any linux usb-distro specifically targeted towards "fixing your uncle's computer"
Etc, etc...
[1] https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/Funny-Programming-No-I-Won-T-Fix-Your-Computer-by-noirty/34501314.FB110