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Comment Re:Chiming in (Score 1) 312

by _el_tuki_ (#23497742) Attached to: Tech's 10 Worst Entry-Level Jobs
I totally agree with you. The way questions are asked can be the difference between an automatic "yes" or "no" from the caller and an actual investigation from his/her side. This works better with noobs of course, since they don't really know what the answer should be, so they have to do some work to provide one.

Q: Is the cable plugged in? A: Yes (of course)
vs
Q: Where is the blue/yellow cable going to/coming from? A: Let's see...
Q: Have you rebooted the computer/modem? A: Yes (or course)
vs
Q: What have you tried in order to resolve the problem before calling? A: Nothing, I just assumed it was a problem with "the system"
Q: Do you see "control panel" on your start menu? A: No
vs
Q: What items do you see in your start menu? A: My Computer, My..., Control Panel, ah, there it is!

Of course you have to adapt the questioning method to the actual caller, just like you have to adapt the way you give instructions:
noob: right/left-click level instructions
some exposure: open/close level instructions (open , type this, ...)
knows the basics: end result level instructions (what is your IP/MAC?, ...)
higher: probably already has all the information you will need at hand
Biotech

Fish Poison Makes Hot Feel Cold and Vice Versa 169

Posted by kdawson from the rhymes-with-fugu dept.
SoyChemist writes "Ciguatoxin causes bizarre neurological symptoms including temperature reversal, a burning sensation, and an imaginary feeling of loose teeth. It is produced by algae and accumulates in the fatty flesh of tropical fish. While traveling to the tropics, a man from England ate some bad seafood that contained the unusual poison. His story, and the tale of some unfortunate sailors of an earlier age who suffered the same affliction, appeared in the current issue of Practical Neurology and was summarized on the Wired Science Blog. Both the Wired blog and the peer-reviewed journal neglected to mention that the potent neurotoxin has been made from scratch by organic chemists."
Security

Month of PHP Bugs Has Begun 165

Posted by Zonk from the quick-hide-the-furniture dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The previously announced Month of PHP Bugs started three days ago, and already lists 8 security vulnerabilities in PHP and PHP related software. From the site: 'This initiative is an effort to improve the security of PHP. However we will not concentrate on problems in the PHP language that might result in insecure PHP applications, but on security vulnerabilities in the PHP core. During March 2007 old and new security vulnerabilities in the Zend Engine, the PHP core and the PHP extensions will be disclosed on a day by day basis. We will also point out necessary changes in the current vulnerability management process used by the PHP Security Response Team.'"

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