
Seriously, how fucking hard can it be?
Click START, then click SHUT DOWN.
That’s a TWO-step process that for the past 10 years in a row I’ve had to sit down with you assholes and explain, re-explain, re-explain, re-explain, re-explain, re-explain, re-explain, re-explain and re-explain START, then SHUT DOWN! START, THEN SHUT DOWN!!!
What, in the precise two-step process—that I’ve written down and given to you on numerous occasions—do you not get?
“But Jason,” Dad will say, “it’s confusing that I have to click START in order to shut something down. That just seems counterintuitive.”
Oh is it, Alan? Is it counterintuitive? Would it help if, instead of a START icon, Microsoft created an icon that looked like a 63-year-old retired accountant with back problems bending over to unplug his computer from the wall? Would that kind of visual be less “counterintuitive”? Apparently it would because every FUCKING year I come home and find that you’ve been resorting to exactly that kind barbarism.
But it ends here! DO YOU HEAR ME, ALAN? It ends here!
You and mum had better brace for the possibility that one of you is going to walk into the family room someday and find the other electrocuted, lying in pile of their own shit next to the computer, because that’s what’s in your future if you keep unplugging it from the wall rather than following my VERY simple instructions!
And GODDAMMIT, STOP PRINTING OUT HARD COPIES OF ALL YOUR EMAILS!
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Image by Edw/ShutterStock



















Anthony Tam
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 4:14 PMGet a Mac.
Brett Sanderson
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 7:14 PMyes old people = get a mac
justin k
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 7:57 PMif you get a mac , turn it off by pulling the plug from the wall then grab computer and throw through window…
Peter Simpson
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 8:52 PMDon’t be silly.
Bob
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 4:15 PMI find this extremely offensive. Where is the physical violence that this type of anger obviously demands?
Brett Sanderson
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 7:15 PMyou have never had to expline a very simple thing to some one 1000000000 times have you?
Red
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 4:49 PMJason, cut the crap talk and get a life.
Agent Smith
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 4:50 PMI’m with Bob. Jason- get a life mate. You’re a rude arrogant pig to be treating your parents this way.
Stop your immature little rant and grow up.
Brett Sanderson
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 7:16 PMyou really dont get it at all do you?
RB
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 4:53 PMCreate shortcut on desktop to run “shutdown –f –t 00”, name it “SHUTDOWN” and give it a pretty little red shutdown icon…
Problem Solved :)
Elephant Fresh
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 5:00 PMMcSweeney’s – for when just one book of faux intelligent dogshit from Dave Eggers isn’t enough. This is bad writing, and irritating unconvincing anger. BOO I SAY. BOO.
Brett Sanderson
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 7:19 PMi could very well say look who typing, but im sure you wouldn’t understand what i meant.
MoeFo
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 12:05 PMteh lulz indeed. “Luk hooz talking! Joo shuld lern to uz teh grammarz!
Jeffery King
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 5:25 PMlove it
Scooter
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 5:35 PMGold. Well done Jason. Best xmas rant I have seen so far.
Atomsk
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 5:49 PMHaha! excellent, excellent.
I love this stuff I really do.
Brett Sanderson
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 7:17 PMi did that once…2 days later they broke it…beond repair.
Alex K
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 8:23 PMlooooooooooooool
Davey David von Davidson
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 8:41 PMFar out, man. Take it easy!
David Barnett
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 9:30 PMI feel your pain, so does Google!
Just in time for the festive season Google have released a website to solve our dilemma: http://www.teachparentstech.org/
Dave
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 12:48 AMWhy so much anger? Seriously I don’t understand how this could actually be submitted as an article. Give me a chance to write something and I promise it’ll beat the pants of this ‘author’.
olearymo
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 10:45 AMYou mean beat the pants *off* this ‘author’, not ‘of’.
Nice start.
Chris Southall
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 2:03 AMlol, nice 1
Jamie
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 5:52 AMI believe that actually constitutes domestic violence here in Australia.
PJ
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 6:13 AMRant or not do we really need the F word so much from you guys at Gizmodo
Dave
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 11:09 AMIsn’t he (Jason) just linking a part from mc sweeny? It’s satire? No reason to get fired up.
Chris
Sunday, March 6, 2011 at 11:17 PMGet them a resonably modern computer with proper power management, and they can just press the power button to shut down.