Computer geek-speak is full of TLA's (Three-Letter Acronyms) - those little words that mean nothing to you, and once you're informed exactly what they really mean, mean even less. TIPS, in its constant struggle for educational excellence, has decided to help . . . Hint - place your mouse pointer over each acronym to see what it really means! (Available only for IE folks - sorry!)

" . . . I always have a few younger students who tell me they are not hearing any sound from their "earmuffs." (Yes, I do teach them that they are called headsets.)   I'll go to that particular computer to fix the sound problem by checking the volume control on the computer and the headsets.  Still no sound.  It is then that I realize that they have put the headset from the next computer on their heads . . . "

Introducing the new TIPS spokesperson . . . 

It was rumored that a school technology coordinator, in an effort to clear out some stickiness with the keys, ran an AlphaSmart keyboard through a dishwasher. Unbelievably, once it was dried out, it still worked! 

A teacher was overheard commenting to his computer lab manager that he just couldn't understand why a student would need a dog dish for his work in the lab. After further examination, it was revealed that, in fact, the request was for a "DOS disk."

And yet another item not covered in Phone Tech Support School!

[editor's note: a "firewall" is an electronic method of isolating portions of a network from each other, and/or the outside world.]

" . . . One of our teachers brought in a Internet provider installation CD from home and tried to install it at school. Of course, the installation CD assumed a dial up adapter, which didn't work over the network. The teacher put in a call to the service provider's tech support who immediately deduced that she was trying to install to a network-connected computer. The support tech asked the teacher if the school employed a proxy or firewall . . .  She asked another teacher . . . Since the school was located directly across from one of Lexington's fire stations, they decided together there would be no need for a firewall, so they told the technician that. I can only imagine the tech's response at the other end  . . . "

Blue Screens of Death You'll Never See Department