I Do It For Free

I never thought of setting up a business for what I do for fun. Hmm.

Presents Causing Panic?

Except these days they're figuring out cell phones, computers, USB flash drives, Xbox 360s, PSPs, BlackBerries, DVD players, Treo 650s, digital videos and cameras, fancy photo printers and TiVos. Now Dec. 26 means parents spend hours deciphering manuals or on the phone on hold to get tech support while kids forlornly wait for their shiny new toys to become more than expensive paperweights.

That's why Hacker ran this ad: "Call Us Because You Know You Need Us."

Hacker had prepared for this day — finding four extra people in case he needed backup, like the guy he met at the drive-through coffee shop in Falls Church ("He seems techie"). And he'd borrowed friends' Xboxes and latest gadgets to make sure he was up to speed.

"The biggest noise is from the kids these days," Hacker said. "When the parents get computers or digital cameras and can't figure out how to work them, they take it in stride. When the kids' machines don't work, you hear about it immediately. They scream the loudest: 'Dad, I don't have 10,000 songs in my pocket! What am I going to do?' "

Learning to think for yourself would be a good start. Then you could try reading the directions.