Because I'm hands-on, DIY, I've often turned to YouTube instructional videos and avoided giving up and going to a pro (technician, plumber, whatever). Recently, I told my neighbor at one time if your faucet leaked, you'd take it apart, find the bad washer, get a replacement at the hardware store. Put everything back together. I said now we’ve proprietary parts only a pro can identify and replace. I added this is everywhere, in cars (rolling software, it seems, when things go wrong) or nonrepairable iPhones. My neighbor summed it up, With tech, we've built a world of frustration.
YouTube has literally thousands, if not millions, of instructional videos. And they give you "insider knowledge" for free. YT is especially good if your problem is related to computers/digital technology. As ever, all you have to do is type in good keywords and then take the pick of instructional videos that come up.
For example my laser printer was behaving badly, printing outside the margins. Something really awry. This suggested I needed to return the embedded software in the printer to Factory Settings. So I searched for "HP Laser Printer M203dw factory reset" and the videos come up. I chose one, narrated off-camera by a fellow with an Eastern European accent (these videos can literally come from anywhere) and with few words other than One, Two, Three he shows what to push, what to hold for 20 seconds and voila, Factory Reset, everything is copacetic.
Even better than the English as a Second Language instructional video upload are the ones without any speaking whatsoever. Typically, a video played against loud music with a heavy techno beat, you get the answer to your question of how to install wi-fi drivers for Realtek chips by watching a screenshot of a desktop and typically an open terminal window with fast typing and mouse clicks of what to do. As ever, all YT videos can be replayed if you miss a step.
The list of jams I've gotten out of with YT is a long one, and so often, the right YT video has seemed a godsend. I thought I'd bricked my Kindle, letting it discharge to 0%. But no, hold the power button 40 seconds and go from there.
But for the leaky faucet, I took it apart and emailed pictures of everything to my plumber. He called and said you need a Delta 1740 core, a spring, and a seal. He was booked out and said, You took it apart, you can put it together. Gratis professional advice, probably for past work. I watched a YT video and soon returned to no-leak goodness.
Image credit: android.com.pl
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