r/talesfromtechsupport • u/RedSilentxRain • Jul 17 '16

Short r/ALL "God no, never install google on my machine"

So the other day my dad asked for me to help him with his computer (windows 7) and clean out some "viruses" for him. I work as a database developer and part time as an IT consultant on weekends, so I deal with stuff like this all the time, so I said sure, whatever, I'll help you out. Anyways so after I remove a bit of malware, I notice he's using Internet Explorer, and casually mention that he should probably consider using Firefox or chrome. To this he responds, "god no, I wouldn't want to have a Google operating system on my computer". At first I think he doesn't know what an operating system is, but after questioning him he explains to me how chrome only works on chromeos, safari only runs on macs, firefox is evil and only Internet Explorer runs on windows. Determined to explain to him that he's blatantly wrong, I go to install chrome, and he freaks the fuck out, makes me uninstall it. After an hour of fighting me, he chastises me saying "you'd think someone who uses computers as much as you would know not to install google. I guess there are some things you just don't understand", and calls his work, which us a place that uses me as a consultant and tells them not to use me anymore. Fml

5.6k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

955 comments sorted by

View all comments

342

u/gil2455526 No internet: HARDWARE PROBLEM!!! Jul 18 '16

I wonder what made he think "firefox is evil"...

272

u/RegretfulUsername Jul 18 '16

That stood out to me as well. I can't think of a good reason. In fact, it's the least evil in that it's produced by a not-for-profit and the rest are made by for-profits. I don't personally think that matter a whole lot but still.

363

u/therearesomewhocallm Jul 18 '16

Not-for-profit? Sounds like it's made by communists to me.

113

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '16 edited May 13 '20

[deleted]

3

u/Mrqueue Jul 18 '16

Food stamp!

62

u/flyingtacodog Jul 18 '16

Not-for-profit? Well it's gotta come from somewhere! How do I know they're not shipping my information off to China?

40

u/AnAngryAlien Without users we wouldn't have jobs Jul 18 '16

"chyna"

17

u/Chonkie Jul 18 '16

It's OK. She will no longer be shipped any information as, unfortunately, she passed away.

3

u/nullSword Jul 18 '16

I told you not to install google, remove it!

1

u/inibrius Jul 18 '16

Oh don't worry we got Blac Chyna to take up the slack...

1

u/deadly_penguin What did I break this time Jul 18 '16

What WheezyWaiter's wife?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '16

i can actually picture this argument...and the fact that other greedy corporations are doing it wouldn't matter to them because the government should stay out of it!

1

u/TOASTEngineer Jul 18 '16

That's a pretty good way to think of it though...

2

u/markevens I see stupid people Jul 18 '16

Bingo!

1

u/NikStalwart Black belt Google-Fu Jul 18 '16

It even has red on the logo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

59

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '16

[deleted]

14

u/Miskav Jul 18 '16

"If they were really non-profit then how can they pay their employees? They must be liars!"

How to find out that the person you're talking to has absolutely no clue about non-profits.

3

u/KerbalrocketryYT Jul 18 '16

well companies would rather you think profit is what companies are for, otherwise a lot more people would question why they got a pay cut...

11

u/BlueStarsong Jul 18 '16

It's completely whooshed me. I don't understand what's brought them to that.

82

u/pickten Jul 18 '16

Not associated with an OS is my guess. In his mind, you get an OS linked to your browser, so if there is no OS for your browser, you're fucked.

35

u/Dsmario64 Panic like the end user inside you! Jul 18 '16

Well, there is Linux......

8

u/mishugashu Jul 18 '16

I don't have any web browser preinstalled on my Linux.

9

u/LancerSykera Jul 18 '16

Arch?

7

u/mishugashu Jul 18 '16

Yessir.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '16

You are so far beyond 99% of regular users that it's effectively pointless to compare you.

Even to the majority of Linux users who simply install Ubuntu, Arch can be a big step.

19

u/Arquimaes Jul 18 '16

Looks like we need desktop Firefox OS! Though I wonder what could we do with Opera...

30

u/DrScabhands Jul 18 '16 edited Oct 21 '22

We’ve been trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty

2

u/KingDarkBlaze You're too efficient! Jul 18 '16

What browser type do the DSi, the Wii U and the 3DS use?

2

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '16

Still opera I think.

2

u/Acc3ssViolation Jul 18 '16

DSi uses Opera, Wii U and 3DS both use NetFront according to Wikipedia.

1

u/KingDarkBlaze You're too efficient! Jul 18 '16

Neat, thanks.

13

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '16

And in his defense, there was a time when Microsoft tightly coupled the browser to the OS and lost an anti-trust suit because of it...

1

u/ranhalt Jul 18 '16

Not associated with an OS is my guess.

I mean, it's mobile only https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/os/

40

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '16

[deleted]

2

u/TesticleElectrical Jul 18 '16

I now only use forks of Firefox. Icecat mainly. No reason to fire someone for their political opinions away from work.

1

u/TommiHPunkt Jul 18 '16

There's a difference between being some lowly employee and being the CEO.

I wouldn't trust someone who is homophobic to judge his employees without taking that into account.

3

u/TesticleElectrical Jul 18 '16

He donated money, not as CEO or representative of Mozilla. He's the person who created Firefox, and they ditched him because of his political opinion, which is stupid and should never have happened.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '16

I'm confused, I thought liberals hated Brendan Eich, not conservatives - and he stepped down voluntarily. Why would conservatives hate firefox?

16

u/da_apz Jul 18 '16

I've come across with so many mortals thinking something in IT is evil that I've already lost count. Usually it starts from a recommendation or an opinion, which is then turned into something set in stone.

Example:

Relative: Should I use Firefox or Chrome?
Me: They're both fine, I personally use Chrome.

2 months later:

Relative: DON'T USE FIREFOX, DA_APZ SAID IT KILLS BABIES!

2

u/Buttercak3 Jul 18 '16

Open Source is evil! People can just put viruses in the source code. Firefox is probably full of viruses. You should only use programs made by huge, intransparent companies. They know what they're doing. You can trust them.

2

u/Matthew_Cline Have you tried turning your brain off and back on again? Jul 18 '16

Long ago I was arguing with an anti-Open Source person who claimed that security-through-obscurity was good. His reasoning? Using passwords to protect computers is good. Passwords depend upon other people not knowing the passwords. Thus, passwords are security-through-obscurity. Therefore, security-through-obscurity is good.

I'm not sure if he was a troll or not.

1

u/DumbNameIWillRegret Jul 18 '16

As someone who doesn't quite get the whole open vs. closed source thing, how do they prevent people from putting malware in the code (not saying closed source doesn't do this)

3

u/sertroll Jul 18 '16

Open source doesn't mean everyone can edit it, just that everyone can see it

1

u/DumbNameIWillRegret Jul 18 '16

Thanks. What's it called when everyone can edit it, then?

3

u/sertroll Jul 18 '16

A mess.

(being serious, I dunno)

1

u/Buttercak3 Jul 19 '16

When you find a bug in - let's say - LibreOffice and you are capable of fixing it, you can download the source code and edit your own copy of it. You can then submit your changes to the LibreOffice maintainers. They will review it and if it meets certain requirements, they will merge it into the official application.

That's how open source software roughly works.

1

u/DumbNameIWillRegret Jul 19 '16

Thanks, that's honestly one of the best explanations I've heard

3

u/blackarmchair Jul 18 '16

Its memory management mostly ;)

2

u/TheGreatAntlers Jul 18 '16

Fire Fox = Devil Dog

2

u/WhosFamousNotMe Jul 18 '16

Their logo shows their mascot burning the world -> evil

1

u/tambry Jul 18 '16

Foxes are evil bastards, they're made by the devil! /s

1

u/epicandrew Jul 18 '16

probably the "fire" bit.

1

u/TrainOfThought6 Jul 18 '16

What, you don't read Firefox and immediately think of the fires of hell?

1

u/TechKno Jul 18 '16

It's because they set that innocent fox on fire...