Makivik Magazine Issue 91

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Computer Technicians
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Bob mesher
The program to train computer technicians in the region while servicing
computers in Nunavik began in 2007 and has just completed its
third year. Prior to this, computer instructors had been travelling to all
communities for nearly seven years giving introductory and Microsoft
Office courses. By now many Nunavimmiut have taken lessons from, or
have worked with, Gilles Beliveau who has been going to the different
communities with a load of laptops for his classes.
Since the Internet became
available through Tamaani, many
home users have acquired a computer
to access the Internet. In 2006
and 2007, Gilles says he had a lot of
calls to repair problems with computers
in their houses. “I noticed
that there were many problems to
do with file management, viruses
and hardware that nobody in the
community could repair,” he said.
In 2008 and 2009 a computer
repair section was added to the
KSB/KRG program that includes
travelling to each community with
three participants of the course to
repair private computers. “I don’t
have the exact amount of computers that were serviced during these
two years but I can safely say that we looked at over 300 computers
per year,” Gilles said.
When people ask Kitty Naluiyuk to repair their personal computer,
Kitty fixes them in her home in Salluit. She says, “When I do fix a computer
I feel great but when it's something I can’t fix, or if it needs more
components, it makes me feel like there
should be a store full of components up
north so I can fix it.”
Kitty says she first became interested in
computer servicing “so that I wouldn’t have
to rely on other people to fix my own. But
when others started trusting me to work on
theirs I really got interested in it.” The technicians
are not paid for fixing computers during
a training course, but when fixing them at
home they can get paid for their work. This
is sad to say but electronics, computers, are
the way of the future and it's really good to
know how it works,” Kitty said. “It's never too
late to learn how to fix computers and it's a
good thing to concentrate on.”
Gilles explained that the most frequent
computer part they have to work on are the
hard drives, which is “very normal and the
most likely part of a computer to fail.” Other frequent problems are related
to file management, computer viruses, spyware (computer software that
takes information from your computer such as passwords or credit card
numbers without your knowledge or consent) and also overheating due
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“The locals where we do our
repairs are proud that Inuit are
now fixing computers, where
once a year a southern technician
would arrive to fix computers.”
MAKIVIK mag a zine
5