the cursor has a tail tbf
this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2026
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A call for some support on Mac came in one day and I told the cx to go to the Finder. Cx said “Mac doesn’t have a ‘finder’. Sounds like windows talk to me. You sure you know what you are doing?” So I said “You called me. You see the icon on the dock with the smiley face? What name did you make up for it?” Cx said “Apple actually calls that the task master.” So I said “Sure they do. Click the task master.” Proceeded to fix cx’s issue for him (PEBKAC issue) and then got a one star customer survey back.
I'm guessing that the user did eventually figure out it's labelled as "finder" and got pissy at you for being all pedantic and not just calling it what they call it because really, is the correct name so important?
(Or is your standard-issue "read customers' thoughts to know what exactly they mean" device broken? Really, how can you call yourself support without crucial equipment to spare customers from having to be clear?)
It's been a while since I used a mac but doesn't it literally say 'Finder' at the top of the screen when you open that?
You think all long time apple users know that the application name is up there, or that there is even a menu for the app at the top of the screen? No, sometimes telling people to click on the apple in the top left, so that they can go to restart, blows people's minds.
I honestly still find it such a weird UX decision to decouple the menu from the application window. Especially when you have multiple windows open on a large screen, the menu is on the opposite corner of the screen. Makes no sense
it's a really interesting decision because while it makes the menu positioning consistent, it also creates a hard link between the active window and the desktop, which means that things like "hover to focus" and "click button in background window" fundamentally cannot work.
It sure does.
yes
If it weren't for rating you poorly, that'd be incredible performance art.
I did had one support call, a long time ago, where I told the guy to use the mouse and click on the start button. Then I heard the sound of something tapping on glass.
"Sir, please keep the mouse on the table and then move it. You'll notice the arrow moving too. Move the arrow to ..."
Yeah, that was still when everybody had CRT screens. That should give you an indication how long ago it was.
I did a support call in the 90's where "clicking the left mouse button" was stumping her. After trying a few variations of instructions, I decided to take a step back and better assess the situation.
Me - Ma'am, are you left or right handed?
Her: right
Me: Lift your right hand, and look at the mouse. It should be a palm sized white plastic device with two buttons, one on the left and one on the right where your fingers rest. There should also be a small cable that extends from the far side and plugs into your computer. The underside of it has a little grey ball in the middle. Do you see it?
Her: You mean the doohickey on the floor?
Me: Pardon me?!? Well, it should be on your desk, not the floor. Why would it be down there?
Her: You mean the foot pedal?
Me: *light bulb clicks on. Are you really familiar with sewing machines?
Her: yes, but this doesn't work anything like that.
Me: ok. We have found the problem! This is great. First step is to take the foot pedal off the floor and place it on the desk, under your right hand when you are sitting comfortably.
From there everything went smooth as silk.
Dear god…
This is gold!
I once had a support call where I told the customer to click the Start button and they didn't know what it was. I clarified by saying that it was the button in the corner of the screen. They did it and then said that their entire screen turned black.
Apparently they'd pushed the power button on their monitor.
To the guy a few weeks ago that said I wasn't being fair to users not reading error messages and comparing it to a doctor reading your charts. Read this fucking thread.
A ton of power users who never worked in service desk don't understand how incompetent the average user is. It is quite something.
I'm laughing my ass off reading this threat because I can imagine every single one happening.
When I was young, older people thought the monitor was the computer and had no idea there was a chassi under the desk connected to it. :)
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i guess some people are too young to remember wired mouses
I prefer wired accessories. They don't need to be charged, and I don't have to worry about them having connection issues.
Yeah, and because the distance is less than a meter and nothing has to move between the 2 devices, a cable makes so much more sense.
I especially loathe wireless keyboards on desks. The thing don't even move. There is no functional reason to be wireless. If you really want a wireless desk for some reason, just drill a hole and pull the usb cable through. It will save you about 200€ and tons of faff keeping the connection working properly when the device eventually runs out of battery.
I only use wired. Batteries and charging suck.
Wireless has gotten pretty good over the past few years. I have a super cheap wireless mouse from Aliexpress that I use to control my PC while I'm on my couch (I have the PC plugged into my TV to watch Youtube videos and play the occasional game) and I only have to charge that thing every 2 months or so for like 20mins. The much bigger problem is the annoying latency and random connection breaks, but that might just be a factor of the mouse being super cheap.
My keyboard does both wired and 2.4ghz wireless with a physical toggle and it's super reliable, but I have no idea how long the battery would last because I use it wired for my work Laptop during the day and wireless on my couch at night, so it's basically always at full charge.
It only works well because you have a super cheap wireless mouse from Ali. I have a fairly expensive wireless mouse from Logitech and I have to use it in Bluetooth mode to get less stutter because the USB port on my display, literally 10-20 cm from the mouse, is angled the wrong way and apparently the Logitech unifying receiver is DIRECTIONAL but not by design.
I use one on my main computer. It still works while charging, and even on Linux I get a notification when the battery goes under 10%. I plug it and use as a wired mouse for the day, and maybe leave it charging overnight and unplug it in the morning. Had it for 8 years now, never an issue.
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Relying on batteries is for suckas
Wired vs. wireless is whatever works for you, but no one misses balled mice. No one.
Whoops! Big mistake buddy, you said something on the internet. Now we’re gonna fight! I miss balled mice. How ‘bout them apples? Nothing is as satisfying as cleaning the lint out of those things was
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