Before you start believing you are the most uninformed subscriber on our mailing lists, consider what has been reported by the Major Computer manufacturers.

From COMPAQ

Compaq is considering changing the command "Press Any Key" to "Press Return Key" because of the flood of calls asking where the "Any" key is. Another Compaq technician received a call from a man complaining that the system wouldn't read word processing files from his old (5 1/4) diskettes. After trouble-shooting for magnets and heat failed to diagnose the problem, it was discovered that the customer had labelled the diskettes, then rolled them into the typewriter to type the labels. Another customer called Compaq tech support to say her brand-new computer wouldn't work. She said she unpacked the unit, plugged it in and sat there for 20 minutes waiting for something to happen. When asked what happened when she pressed the power switch, she asked "What power switch?

From AST:

AST technical support had a caller complaining that her mouse was hard to control with the dust cover on. The cover turned out to be the plastic bag the mouse was packaged in. Another AST customer was asked to send a copy of her defective diskettes. A few days later a letter arrived from the customer along with photocopies of the floppies.

From IBM:

A confused caller to IBM was having trouble printing documents. He told the technician that the computer had did it "couldn't find printer". The user had even tried turning the computer screen to face the printer - but his computer still couldn't "find" it. Another IBM customer had trouble installing software and rang for support. "I put in the first disk and that was OK. When it said to 'Insert disk 2'  I had some problems with the disk, but I managed to just squeeze it in. When it said to put in the third disk, there was just no way it would fit."

From DELL:

A Dell technician advised his customer to put his troubled floppy back into the drive and close the door. The customer asked the tech to hold on and was heard putting the phone down, getting up and going across the room to close the door. Another Dell customer called to say he couldn't get his computer to fax anything. After 40 minutes of trouble-shooting, the technician discovered the man was trying to fax a piece of paper by holding it in front of the monitor screen and hitting the "send" key. A Dell technician received a call from a customer who was enraged because his computer had told him that he was "bad and invalid". The tech explained that the computer's "bad command" and "invalid" responses should not be taken personally. Yet another Dell customer called to say that his keyboard no longer worked. He had cleaned it by filling up his tub with soap and water and soaking the keyboard for a day, then removing all the keys and washing them individually. An exasperated caller to Dell Computer Tech Support couldn't get her new Dell computer to turn on. After ensuring the computer was plugged in, the technician asked her what happened when she pushed the power button. Her response was "I pushed and pushed on this foot pedal and nothing happened." The "foot pedal" turned out to be the mouse.