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What Should People Understand About Computers?
counterexample asks: "It seems to me that there aren't very many good books out there that explain to the layman what is really going on with computers. My mother cannot go to the bookstore and pick up a book that will make her understand the strange language that we IT people speak, or why her computer would be susceptible to a virus. So, I intend to write such a book. I have a fair idea of what should be in it (history of the Internet, how computers talk to each other, what a hard drive does, etc.), but I'm interested to see what you all have to say. What do you wish your users knew? What kind of questions are you so sick of answering because you hear them every week? What does the general public think they understand, but really don't?"
"What does the general public think they understand, but really don't?"
Women.
"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
...joke isn't funny anymore.
The difference between reality and fantasy is a nice soundtrack.
Design a mechanical arm that comes out from between the pages and stabs the reader in the face every time they confuse "memory" with "disk space." You'll be doing us all a great service.
... but I'll only provide them if your book is to be released under the Open Document license.
The Death Penalty: Killing people to show others that killing people is wrong.
The big box that you put the CDs into is not a CPU.
I can explanate how to administrate your network. You must configurate and segmentate it, so it can computate.
I think "general public" includes women themselves....
You must be new here.
When I was 8, I got a computer for Christmas. My granny said to me, "Ask it who the Prime Minister is!"
Stick Men
...he knew how to treat a female impersonator!
joke, waste your mod points elsewhere
"Made up/misattributed quote that makes me look smart. I am on
Homer: Now then... computer.. kill Flanders!
Ned: Did I hear my name? My ears are burning!
Homer: [whispering to mouse] That's a good start, now finish the job!
Ned: Oh, you're busy. Catch you later, compu-tator!
Homer: Oh, five thousand dollars for a computer and it can't even handle a simple assignment!
Developers: We can use your help.
Page 1: reference list of book opcodes ...
Page 2: program to produce page 2 text
Page N: md5 sums of pages 2-N used to check for possible reading comprehension problems
Epilogue: "Now grasshopper is one with computer."
Now that's a book that will let them know what computers are all about.
People need to understand that computers are magical boxes that run on white smoke and fairy dust. Never, ever open your computer, or even risk hooking new devices up to it; you might cause the spell to fail. Understanding how it works is of course beyond any normal mortal; computer geeks are a different breed of human utterly different than you or I.
All software installed on the computer when you get it is part of a complex enchantment; to attempt to remove any bundled software or to even look at configuration options is to destroy the enchantments and render your computer a worthless heap of metal.
The internet is an evil place where every website is either a lie or an attempt to lure children to molesters. Of course, email from your friends is always safe - after all, your friends would never send you a malicious file.
Son, a woman is a lot like a refrigerator. They're six feet tall, 300 pounds... they make ice... umm...
Ok Maybe you do have a point here about some women not understanding myself but I think that just like with most things in life you can't sterotype women this way. As for the going for the looks part, men are the same way as women on this. You have to be somewhat physically attracted to someone in order to date them. And if they want to know where to find all the nice guys a great place to start is slashdot. But that's just my opinion.
My name is a variety of floral rose, and no, it's not blue
1. That when an AV program tags your email (EMAIL CONTAINS VIRUS) that it does NOT mean that it is now OK to read the email because the AV program "fixed it"!
2. That just because you don't notice your computer running faster after I search the registry to remove gator, that it is now safe to reinstall weatherbug!
3. A firewall does not enable you to safely turn on every neat flash, activeX, java, or any other "cute" program that "you want to show me" "that you found on the internet". I would personally like a good analogy with a bullet proof vest and taking a bullet between the eyes.
4. How to use HTML or a preview button.
"Your computer represents the work of literally millions of people, from hardware to software, that have worked virtually independently of one another to create a complete product. The fact that it works at all is a miracle. Please don't complain if something isn't to your liking."
>>>shudder at the possibility of the history of computers being taught to my parents.
:)
I agree.
The book should take on the angle of driving a car.
ANALOGIES
Controls: keyboard and mouse
Engine: OS
Bumpers: AV software
Crooked mechanic: Windows update
Lemons: Windows (please pass a lemon law for this crap OS)
Mclaren F1: GNU/Linux (or is linux an original VW which became a porsche?)
Car Jackers: script kiddies/spyware/adware
Of course You need road signs, maps, short cuts, scenic routes and many other things. "Drivers training" should be a requirement.
(copywrite Ken Wood 2006)
The government which is strong enough to protect you from everything is strong enough to take everything from you.
People need to understand that computers are magical boxes that run on white smoke and fairy dust.
Reminds me of that BOFH issue where the BOFH got a user to fry his power supply. "See that puff of smoke? Your computer doesn't work any more because you let the magic smoke escape!" Priceless.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
The less they know, the more I can charge for my services. :0)
Wait: if you said there are four billion locations, and then you say computers can do billions of things a second, why can't a computer search all locations in 4 seconds instead of days, like you said?
See how complicated this discussion becomes....
https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
Me: Ok, tell me what the screen says now. ..." ..."
Mom: It's blue.
Me: What do you mean "it's blue"? What does it say?
Mom: It says, "9F D8 34 7B
Me: Um, that's ok, ma, I don't speak hex.
Mom: "... FA 25 3C A2
What kind of computer program does that?
Modern computers have a little screen that pops up if the OS crashes, that tells you in 5 or so languages to hold down your power button for a few seconds, and restart the machine. They also ask you on reboot if you want to send a bug report back to the manufacturer so they can fix the problem.
Conversation from last week:
Me: Ok, now that I've installed your first DVD player and shown you the play and stop buttons, let me explain the menu.
My Mother-in-law: No, I really don't need to know about that.
Me: Oh, it's simple, you just move these arrows around, and you can select the scene you want to jump to, and so on.
M-I-L: No, I think that will just confuse me.
Me (remembering that she didn't know how to work the thermostat after her husband died): Yeah, OK, maybe all you need to know is the controls that work like the VCR: fast forward, rewind, play,...
M-I-L: Which, frankly, I never really understood...
Six score characters.
Brevity being wit's soul
I have enough space.
You must be new here.
The fact he didn't know enough about women to know they are part of the general public makes it obvious that he is NOT new here.
Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
Simple 5 step solution to converting someone to Linux (works best with a tower-style PC with available bays):
1) Get a LiveCD of your favorite distro.
2) Take a cheap CD-ROM drive and disable the eject mechanism (to disallow ejection of the LiveCD).
3) Use the emergency eject buttom to place the LiveCD in the drive and close the tray.
4) Place the CD-ROM drive into the machine (preferably where the user can't see it)
5) Boot the machine and ensure that the CD will boot first.
To upgrade the OS, simply repeat steps 1, 3, and 5.
(This was funny, perhaps even practical. Laugh.)
Of course, after all, the internet is based on the Total Crime Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), as well as some other protocol building on that like the Hacker Tool Transfer Protocol (HTTP - remember, hackers are evil people who want to destroy your data), the Simple Malware Transfer Protocol (SMTP) or the Fraudulent Transaction Protocol (FTP). Also there are data formats used like the Porn Distribution Format (PDF). You see, the internet is EVIL!
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Well, there you go! They tried to upgrade their RAM at home and ended up with a better computer. A good outcome all around!
The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/Macmini_OriginalU serGuide.pdf
That loud whooshing sound you hear is the joke flying straight over your head.
By summer it was all gone...now shesmovedon. --
Anything anyone needs to know about computers they can get from watching Tron.
I have dealt with the public every single day for the last 10 years. And not just end-users, but their parents and granparents. Just when I think I've heared it all, someone says something else that surprises me. So here are some things I want people to understand:
1) The 'hard drive' is a part inside the computer, it is NOT the whole computer.
2) The 'Computer' does not include a printer and a monitor, those are part of the 'computer system'.
3) The 'monitor' is not the 'computer'. It is only one part of the 'computer system'.
4) 'Windows' is NOT the 'computer'. It is an 'operating system', and it's not your only option.
5) The 'operating system' is special command and control software that makes your computer actually do something like allowing you to use 'application software'. It is the FIRST and MOST COMPLICATED software to be installed on your computer, and can not be un-installed without affecting every other software that is installed on top of the 'operating system'.
6) Windows does not know about every piece of computer hardware in existance, and can not possibly know about hardware that will be made in the future. That's what 'device drivers' are for.
7) 'Plug-and-Play' does NOT mean that it just works. It means that it can identify itself to the 'operating system' so that the correct 'device driver' software can be chosen by the 'operating system' without you needing to know any technical details.
8) Printed manuals are not common. Electronic informaiton is common. 'readme.txt' should not be ignored.
9) You did not buy 'Microsoft'. You did not buy 'Microsoft Windows' or 'Microsoft Office'. You bought a 'license' to use 'Microsoft Windows' or 'Microsoft Office' under specific conditions.
10) No, I can not just give you a copy of your favorite commercial software.
11) Yes, free software does exist.
12) No, a DVD burner does not mean that you can easily copy your lastest commercial movie rental.
13) If you choose not to READ what's on your screen before you click 'yes' or 'next' then don't complain if something bad happens.
14) When asking for help, DETAILS are very important. A history of the activities that led to the problem, or information about how to recreate the problem are VERY IMPORTANT.
15) If you see an error message, don't just ignore it, WRITE IT ALL DOWN. Simply saying 'There's something wrong' is not very helpful, and can waste a lot of expensive service time.
16) 'Microsoft Internet Explorer' is NOT the internet. It is a web brower that allows you to view web pages which may be located somewhere on the internet.
17) 'Microsoft' is NOT your e-mail retrieval program. 'Microsoft Internet Explorer' is NOT your e-mail retrieval program.
18) Your ability to access information which may be located somewhere on the internet is restricted by the weakest link in the chain of other computers between your computer and the computer from which the information is available.
19) Your local computer service professional does not need to know that your chemically dependant, recently divorced pregnant cousin's computer is working fine when your computer is the one being serviced.
And there's more that the end-user needs to understand, but those are the ones that immediately come to mind.
- James.
- James