Analogies You Use

[PBComputer]

Trying to explain to clients what is wrong with there system without going to technical is a fine art. Some like to know in technical detail (not every many) but most need it made simply to understand

A few I have being using.

A Backup - Like taking a photo of the content of your computer so if anything happens it's all safe.

Hard Drive Failing - (not great and need to make it better) But i liken a failing hard drive to LP which starts with a few scratches and they develop into more over time.

 

[Markverhyden]

backup - making a photocopy of everything. And remember that if you loose either the original or the photocopy you no longer have a backup.

 

[alluseridsrejected]

Hard drives fail like a light bulb burning out. and take your data with it.
Why you need firewall/end point device/network level antivirus/antispam/adware blocker/Computer antivirus/onsite backup/offsite backup/cryptoblocker/malewarebytes/hacker checks/security patches/3rd party software updates/secure passwords is because network and system protection should be thought of as peeling back many layers of an onion. No single layer is foolproof so the more layers of protection the less likely serious disruption will occur.

 

[TurricanII]

DNS - like a phone book so computer can find the number for a domain or computer name.

Bandwidth is like the diameter of a hose but latency is how long it takes a bit of water to get from one end to the other.

Files are like chapters in a book. When you delete a file it is quicker for the computer to delete the 'contents page' entry rather than actually erase the whole file. The computer doesn't know the file is there. But it is still in there until it gets overwritten.

The IP address is like the street name/house number on a letter. The port number is like the name of the person (the service) that the data should be passed to.

 

[allstarit]

I use the following as a guide:
A pc is like an Office.
A server is the head office for that company.

Inside the pc you have filing cabinets which are the hard drives.

The desks in the office are ram. The bigger the desk the more papers you can open on the desk. Smaller desks means you cant have as much open so you cant work as fast.

The CPU is the office manager who tells everyone what to do. You can have different levels of office managers. Some who can multitask lots which are like i7's and then some who arent as effecient like i3's.

Graphics Cards are like personal assistants who help the office manager by taking on some of the work. Some have big desks (ram) and can do alot whilst some who do basic tasks.

The motherboard is the office layout on where everything goes.

Each computer has an address which is an IP address. The computers get their internal mail from the server who has a WAN ip address.

The server has a mail room that gets all the emails and sends it to the end users.
Some people outsource their mail to an external provider to sort their mail and only deliver the good email. This is a spam filter.

Each office and head office needs to have a security guard to look after the office or head office. This is your antivirus and firewall.
They need to patrol the offices to make sure all the doors are locked and no one can get in.

 

[14049752]

(Popular name Antivirus) is kind of like McDonald's. Everyone knows McDonald's, but I don't know anyone that thinks they make the best burger. (Popular name antivirus) isn't the best antivirus.

 

[GTP]

(Popular name Antivirus) is kind of like McDonald's. Everyone knows McDonald's, but I don't know anyone that thinks they make the best burger. (Popular name antivirus) isn't the best antivirus.

AVG is rubbish, don't use it. Get something better!
Anyone should be able to understand that!

 

[EveVirtual]

I try to use car analogies for everything. People seem to understand them.

I equate a hard drive failing to a transmission...don't want it to throw a rod...

 

[NJW]

A pc is like an Office.

Yes, I use this too, but with bookshelves instead of filing cabinets.

Too small a desk (RAM) means you have to either put something on the floor (Swap file) or put it back on the shelf (close the application) to open another book (new application).

As long as there is space for more books on the shelf, you don't need more shelves (bigger hard drive).

Defragmentation: keeping the volumes of an encyclopaedia together on the shelf and in the correct order.

Icons on desktop: they don't slow the computer down – they're just postcards pinned to the notice board.

 

[PBComputer]

Another more when trying to explain USB1,2 and 3 or download speeds is by grabbing a drinking straw I have in the office and making it smaller and wider

 

[lcoughey]

We get frequent requests to pay less to recover one or two specific files from a dead hard drive. My response to that is this:

"A 747 flying 40,000 feet in the air has all the engines catch fire, the pilot and co-pilots are dead and there is nobody there who knows how to fly a plane. It doesn't matter if you want to save one person or all 400 people on the plane. You first have to get the plane to the ground as safely as possible, get every passenger off the plane as safely as possible and only then would it make sense to start searching for specific people you are concerned about."

 

[nlinecomputers]

I try to use car analogies for everything. People seem to understand them.

I equate a hard drive failing to a transmission...don't want it to throw a rod...

Uh, engines throw rods. Transmissions have belts and gears....

 

[Krynn72]

We get frequent requests to pay less to recover one or two specific files from a dead hard drive. My response to that is this:

"A 747 flying 40,000 feet in the air has all the engines catch fire, the pilot and co-pilots are dead and there is nobody there who knows how to fly a plane. It doesn't matter if you want to save one person or all 400 people on the plane. You first have to get the plane to the ground as safely as possible, get every passenger off the plane as safely as possible and only then would it make sense to start searching for specific people you are concerned about."

I really like that one, as we get it a lot too. Thanks!

 

[stevenamills]

Hard Drive - Like a water pump - Some wear out in a year, some make it all the way to the car cemetery.

Spyware and why your computer slows down - When you put a rock in the trunk, nothing happens, but as you add more and more, it begins to became a drag and take its toll.

Need for periodic cleanup - Like the oil in a car - even the best drivers get dirty oil and it has to be periodically changed,

I'm not sure why I seem to use car analogies. Really not a car guy.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

I'm not totally a car expert either, but people seem to understand them. I like the idea of the house numbers for IP's and the idea of a pc being like an office.

 

[Markverhyden]

Another more when trying to explain USB1,2 and 3 or download speeds is by grabbing a drinking straw I have in the office and making it smaller and wider

Situations like that I use highways/roads and engine size. In the case of USB, cables are all the same. So everyone is one is driving on a 4 lane highway. USB 2 has a bigger engine than 1. And USB 3 is bigger than 2.

In the case of download speeds it's more complicated. For example from the EU computer to youtube is not a 4 lane highway all the way. As we all know there are plenty of hops. So it's more like a roadway system. 2 lanes, 4 lanes, roundabouts, cloverleafs, traffic signals, etc, etc. There can be traffic jams which have nothing to do with the EU's request. A 4 cpu, 32gb RAM, SSD machine (huge engine) with fiber internet might get the same youtube video performance as a Dell D630 (VW) with residential cable internet.

 

[allstarit]

Another one i use to explain types of internet and speeds it downloads

Internet speed/connection = Its a pipe that connects to a water tank. The bigger the pipe the quicker it can fill up the tank. So if you have a small pipe its going to be flowing slower and take a long time to fill the tank up. If you have a larger pipe it can flow faster. Some internet connections can have pairs of pipes going into the tank to make it go even faster.

Dial UP - Is like filling the tank up with a Bucket of water there is no pipe. Have to fill the bucket up and then empty it into the tank
ADSL - Is like a garden hose - it fills the tank but generally dont fill that fast.
Cable - Is like a fire hose - its a larger hose and will fill the tank faster
Fiber - Is like having multiple fire hoses (fiber- 4 pairs or 8 pairs)

Download Quota = This is the water tank mentioned above - Once the tank fills up from the pipes you cant put any more into it. If you have a small tank then you will use up your downloads pretty quick. If you have a larger tank then you can download more.

Bandwidth - ill then explain if users are downloading large files this causes the pipes to loose pressure and makes the pipe bottleneck and doesn't fill the tank up as quick. When this occurs it makes internet feel slow

 

[callthatgirl]

Outlook is like the car, Exchange is the engine.

Engines are different, Exchange is the best one.

Sometimes works lol

 

[GTP]

Another one i use to explain types of internet and speeds it downloads

Internet speed/connection = Its a pipe that connects to a water tank. The bigger the pipe the quicker it can fill up the tank. So if you have a small pipe its going to be flowing slower and take a long time to fill the tank up. If you have a larger pipe it can flow faster. Some internet connections can have pairs of pipes going into the tank to make it go even faster.

Dial UP - Is like filling the tank up with a Bucket of water there is no pipe. Have to fill the bucket up and then empty it into the tank
ADSL - Is like a garden hose - it fills the tank but generally dont fill that fast.
Cable - Is like a fire hose - its a larger hose and will fill the tank faster
Fiber - Is like having multiple fire hoses (fiber- 4 pairs or 8 pairs)

Download Quota = This is the water tank mentioned above - Once the tank fills up from the pipes you cant put any more into it. If you have a small tank then you will use up your downloads pretty quick. If you have a larger tank then you can download more.

Bandwidth - ill then explain if users are downloading large files this causes the pipes to loose pressure and makes the pipe bottleneck and doesn't fill the tank up as quick. When this occurs it makes internet feel slow

Oi! You nicked that from me!

 

[Diggs]

A network switch is like a power strip for the Internet.
A router is like the old telephone operators patching calls through to the Internet.