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Why Users Hate IT Products and Developers
bfwebster writes "The Washington Post has a commentary by one of its regular columnists, Marc Fisher, on why computer users hate what he terms 'our techie masters.' One of his more pungent and, I suspect, on-the-money comments: 'Computer training has become the living hell of the American workplace...each new system is more confounding than the last, and each new product strips away many of the advantages of the previous system.' Not a Luddite screed; more an angry outburst asking why commercial software systems are often so wretched. Worth reading and pondering."
The short answer would be:
RTFM
Each new system is more confounding than the last? But somehow these "mere mortals" manage to forward me tons of "funny" mpegs and powerpoint animations, and I'm sure that wasn't part of the computer training.
I'm starting to think this isn't the best place to promote my Anti-Sig Campaign.
You can come work at my school, we haven't upgraded our computing system in nearly 18 years.
Western Illinois University UIMS
University Information Management Systems uses an IBM Multiprise 3000 model 7060-H50(S/390) processor to support host-based administrative information systems. The H50 system's suite of operating system software is based on IBM's z/OS. More..
The four members of the systems staff select, install, test, maintain, implement, and trouble shoot a wide variety of z/OS based products on test and production systems. Over eighty products from about twenty vendors make up this system. A separate z/OS system is maintained on the same machine for use by WIU students enrolled in programming classes. More..
While these systems may not seem so out of date you have to remeber they're all COBOL backwards compatible from 1985 and up. So don't like upgraded, don't do it! Upgrading to a new system would be completely impossible right now as tied in as the entire thing is. The best case scenario for switching to something not so old would be a phase out plan, which is not in place.
So obviously this doesn't affect EVERYONE!
Ignore the "p2p is theft" trolls, they're just uninformed
He must be new, and uninitiated by his bofh. My users would commit suicide before uttering such heresy. Almost.
Just recompile the kernel! Piece of cake!
*THWACK*
Okay. Here's your 386 running Windows 3.1
"And this is what I mean: I'd really like to have the system before that."
*BEEP*
Here's your old Apple II.
gawd, do we have to do EVERYTHING?? :)
Whereas Righteous Free Software programs like crontab and gnu make and grep always have intuitive, orthogonal systems that make sense at once!
Mind you, oddly enough I do find vi[m] extremely intuitive.
Whence? Hence. Whither? Thither.
in a conversation with a co-worker; the rhetorical question - what is the function of the IT department anyway?
A: They observe you carefully and determine whether you're doing your job. Then they try to find some rule or regulation about the machine or network they control, that you use, that will prevent you from doing your job. Then they enforce it.
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
They're on to us! Hide all the evidence that we've been deliberately writing confusing software and in an effort to become their techie masters!
Remember: You have no idea what they are talking about and we never had this conversation.
And afterwards, he can hold the piece of paper up to a computer screen, hoping that it will somehow get absorbed into the internet.
"Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
I can see it now:
Drone1: Were you here all night?
Drone2: Yeah, I just kept on filling out TPS reports, and before I knew it, the sun was coming up. I just need to fill out a couple more before I level up to Middle Management!
Drone1: Sweet!
Drone2: Yeah, I can't wait to use my new "Schedule Meeting" power.
How is your new job?
Blimey! I never thought of that... I remember reading shortly before Windows 95 was released that the Microsoft codename for Win95 was "Chicago" and the codename for the next Big Consumer Release, which would be completely NT based (i.e. the one which we now know as Windows XP) was codenamed "Cairo". How incredibly sneaky ... Cairo ... Chi Rho ... XP
And so after a nice test-drive we knuckle-walked off into the sunset. But I understand end-users of software much better now.