Hey Luddite!

Hello.

Did you know that you can check somebody’s availability for a meeting slot before you book it in and expect them to be there?

In iCal, click on Available Meeting Times…

And it will show you this window…

…which will let you know the availability of everybody in your invitee list. You can even click the “Next Available Time” button in the top right hand corner to find a slot when everyone is free.

Similar stuff is probably also possible on Windows. Welcome to technology.

Are you doing a presentation?

Yes -> OK, you can use powerpoint.
No -> STOP USING FUCKING POWERPOINT

Do you use a file server in your place of work? Do you put numbers at the start of your folder names? Do other people at your place of work also use that file server? Well this handy hint will show you how people in the 21st century use something as ancient as the alphabet to find things!

Your file server probably looks like this…


Figure 1. Bad.

“What’s wrong with this?” I hear you ask. Well, believe it or not, there is plenty wrong with this. Human beings actually developed language as we know it over 100,000 years ago, and even the written word was invented a few thousand years ago, probably before you were even born!

When your brain has been conditioned over thousands of years to work in certain way, it is able to do it almost without thinking! That’s why computers display lists of folders and files in alphabetical order, your brain is able to navigate the list without you even needing to think!

Check out this example here, and notice how much easier it is to predict where the folder called “Admin” will appear (hint: it begins with A and will be at or near the top).


Figure 2. Better.

When you put numbers at the start of the folder names, all of a sudden your brain has to think about where each folder will appear in the list. Let’s take a look at what your poor brain goes through each time you need to find something in numbered folders:


Figure 3. A complete fucking waste of my time.

And now let’s have a look at what your brain does when confronted with a list of folders in alphabetical order:


Figure 4. Evolution in action.

In conclusion, stop putting numbers on the start of folder names.
Welcome to technology!

Using this handy comparison chart you can see that, just like Powerpoint and Word, email amazingly supports both text and images.

Figure 1. Handy comparison chart

It would appear that not a lot of people are aware of this fact though and tend to put their text and images into Powerpoint or Word documents before attaching that document to an email to send it to someone else. If you ever find yourself about to do this, why not try typing text into an email, and sending it. This has a multitude of benefits especially for the person who has to read and respond to your very important words.
See if you can follow the diagram below. Don’t worry, it’s not a maze and you won’t get lost! This is called a flow-chart and it shows how simple it is for people in the 21st century to reply to your mission critical feedback if you simply write it in an email:

Figure 2. Flow chart depicting the process of replying to an email

Now try following along through this one, the process of replying to your million dollar idea when it is inside a binary file format such as Powerpoint or Word:

Figure 3. A complete fucking waste of my time

Not so easy now is it! In conclusion, stop attaching pointless binary files to emails.
Welcome to technology!