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Information Overload Overblown, Says Gates

Posted by Zonk on from the warning-warning-does-not-compute-does-not-compute dept.

Aarthi writes "Microsoft's annual CEO meet-and-greet kicked off on Thursday with the company's Chairman, Bill Gates, countering the notion that the workers today are not overloaded with information.'We still want a lot of information.' He also outlined plans for Office 12, the next version of its desktop software, which is due to arrive in the second half of next year." From the article: "There is a real temptation that the thing that comes in the latest is the one you shift your attention to, even though that may be the least important...That turns you into a filing clerk."

8 of 258 comments (clear)

  1. Gee, what does Mr Gates think about neurology? by Cryofan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yeah, well, thanks for giving me the latest scoop on what some plutocrat college dropout thinks about how the brain works. Tell ya what, if I ever need some solid info on "information overload", I think I will consult someone who actually knows something about it, like maybe a neuroscientist, or something.

    Who gives a fuck what Bill Gates thinks about every little thing?

    --
    eat shiat and bark at the moon
  2. Apparently... by cnelzie · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...many people believe that once you are an expert or extremely succesful in one area, you are suddenly an expert or very knowledgeable in many, many areas. From what I read, this belief can be held by both the person making the out of their element claims, as well as by the people that find 'truth' (whether or not it is the truth, remains to be seen) in those claims.

    It appears that Bill Gates is not immune to this ego inflating weakness of the human condition.

    I only know this, due to having read a bit of study a year or so back. So, my information could be wrong, out of date or otherwise inaccurate.

    --
    If you ignore the other uses of a tool, does that make the tool less useful, or you less useful?
    1. Re:Apparently... by the+right+sock · · Score: 5, Insightful

      my information could be wrong, out of date or otherwise inaccurate

      ...or completely irrelevant. Gates's book from a few years ago (Business @ the Speed of Thought) is all about collecting as much information as possible and leveraging it to your (company's) advantage. To that end, MS's software is built to create, manage and make accessible piles of information. His comments could be nothing more than trumpeting MS's line that the more info the better -- cutting back is not in their best interest after all.

      And it's not necessarily that people think he's an expert at neurology or informatics or cognitive science -- he's just a highly successful business man and technologist, and his thoughts on a given topic could prove useful or inspiring to others with similar aspirations.

      That book, btw, is terrible.

  3. Don't you get it? by tacokill · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Don't you get it? This is America. Where talking out of your ass is an art form.

    We see this everyday. Some call it bullshit. Others call it spin. Regardless of what is actually is, it's destructive.

    What is surprising is that more don't call this stuff out like you did. I wish that happened more.

  4. How to minimize Information Overload by mindaktiviti · · Score: 5, Insightful

    - Turn off the TV (download your shows if you must). - Browse with ad / flash blocking tools or with an RSS feed reader. - Don't sign up for "reward programs", don't give away your permanent email to any service. - Don't multitask yourself to uselessness (i.e. watching tv while working on your project with music playing and a game minimized you go into every 15 minutes while your paper's in front of you and you're baking cookies). ...You can sign up for my information overload program for just 3 easy payments of $49.9..just kidding. :P

  5. Data overload by cscalfani · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We are overloaded with data not information.

  6. Wish list by CaroKann · · Score: 5, Insightful

    1) Make tasks easier to manage. Make it easier to enter task dates and improve the ability to link tasks to email messages. The ability to have super-tasks be made up of sub-tasks would be a great feature.

    2) The idea of server-based Excel spreadsheets is intriguing. Unfortunately, the article does not go into any details about this. Excel could benefit from improved multi-user editing. The granularity of locking and editing needs to be increased. When more than one user works on a spreadsheet, instead of locking the whole thing, Excel should only lock smaller pieces. Built in version control, with formalized checkout, check-in, and merging of individual spreadsheet pieces, would make multi-user editing much easier to keep under control.

  7. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion