You Must Obey: The Unwritten Laws of Technology

PC World Staff, with assistance from our Facebook friends and others

"Fix a computer for a friend or family member and you'll be tech support for life." This is but one of 35 immutable laws of technology that we've identified and recorded for posterity. There will be a test.

You Must Obey: The Unwritten Laws of Technology // Tech Law Frustration (Image courtesy of PC World)

Gordon Moore has one law but we've got him beat. Here at the (unofficial) Tech Law Brain Trust, we maintain a definitive, ever-expanding archive of the laws that govern your technology experiences -- whether you know it or not. Please scan these lists to ensure that you are in compliance.

Basic PC Laws

Let's start with Nerve Central -- the computer.

Law 1: For every fix that a Windows Update patches, the update will break two more things on your PC. -- Darren Gladstone, PC World

You Must Obey: The Unwritten Laws of Technology // Windows Update Hell (Image courtesy of PC World)

Law 2: The likelihood that Windows will automatically install time-sucking critical updates is directly proportional to your need to get your PC started. -- Steve Fox, PC World

Law 3: The hard drive always fails just before you were going to back it up. -- Denise Paolucci, Dreamwidth Studios via Help A Reporter Out (HARO)

Law 4: Your data will get corrupted just before you plug in your new backup external drive. -- Darren Gladstone, PC World

Law 5: Your backup plan is only as good as your last successful restore. -- Michael Fisher, ElephantDrive.com via HARO

Law 6: The number of USB ports on your Mac will always be one fewer than you need at any given time. -- Blair Hanley Frank, Macworld

Law 7: Feeling time pressure to make a computer fix quickly will cause you to take longer. -- David Marshak, via PC World Facebook page

Law 8: If you close the PC case with screws before testing, it won't work; if you test before closing, it will. -- Harry Liebman via HARO

Tech Support Rules

Now that you've mastered the basics, you're ready to move on to Tech Support.

You Must Obey: The Unwritten Laws of Technology // You ARE the Tech Support! (Image courtesy of PC World)

Law 1: Fix a computer for a friend or family member and you'll be tech support for life. -- Danny Allen, PC World

Law 2: Build a computer for someone and he/she owns you! -- Louis Farbstein, via PC World's Facebook page

Law 3: Recommend a product that you've used with no problems and the friend/family member who buys it will immediately descend into RMA [product return] hell. -- Scott Keck, via PC World's Facebook page

Law 4: Show any handy IT skills at work and your company's IT department will start referring difficult co-workers to you. -- Lars Jacobsen, via PC World's Facebook page

Law 5: If it's broken and you call tech support, it will fix itself while you're on hold. -- Brenda Christensen, Public Relations, Servoy.com via HARO

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