These stock images of people ‘fixing’ computers are so wrong they’ll give you physical pain

Stock images are a useful editorial tools, allowing content managers and staff writers to reap the benefits of employing key images when nothing short of a generic subject could suffice. Unfortunately, the photographer is not always familiar the technicalities behind what it is that he or she is photographing, particularly when the subject is technical or science-related. The following are some of the most cringe-inducing stock images I’ve ever had the displeasure of viewing; the complete and utter disregard of how this hardware actually works gives me physical pain and nausea. Thank you Shutterstock.

Wrench to the CPU

One does not simply pry out their CPU with a wrench. To do so means you’ve just donated both the CPU and the motherboard to the garbage heap as the wrench will most likely destroy the underlying pins beneath the CPU, ensuring you’ll never be able to fit another CPU.

There are a few things wrong with this picture: First of all, wrenches have no place in computer assembly. Secondly, the position of her hand indicates that she’s tampering with a motherboard, yet I see a motherboard right in front of her, implying that she’s “prepping” the tower to receive the motherboard. No. This is wrong.

Removing soldered components with a tweezer

Perhaps if the solder was missing, then it would make sense to remove the component with a tweezer, but that isn't the case here; the solder remains intact and hand appears ready to yank it out.

“Maybe no one will notice if I break these as well.”

Loose plastic gloves
There are far better nonconductive glove options than these loose plastic lunch gloves. Not only do plastic gloves increase perspiration, and thus moisture, but the baggy form will easily get cut on one of the board’s many sharp surfaces. Not to mention, this person is soldering what looks like the surface of a capacitor.

Soldering the CPU pins
I enjoy the look of medical precision embodied by this image, but soldering the CPU pins is a guaranteed way to destroy the motherboard.

“Got a tweezer? Good, just tweeze some stuff like you know what you’re doing.”

Soldering anything
There’s a clever guise of productivity and expertise in the image below, when in fact, it’s completely wrong; the CPU tray is supposed to be soldered from the other side (most likely by a machine).