The point is not that we technically proficient people can deal with SpyWare but rather that the 99% of computer users who are not technically adept can use their computers, the internet and their email without having to fight a constant battle with unwanted intrusion.
What other mass-produced, home appliance can you think of that requires a deep understanding of its inner workings? We, as the technicians, should be hanging our heads in shame that we have failed, in over 20 years of trying, to devise a machine and an interface and a secure environment that allows the end-user to enjoy the internet or office suite or any other application with such carefree abandon as they do their TV or Dishwasher or Microwave.
Sure people need to be careful, just as they do when driving or using a blender, but surely it is not beyond the wit of man to hide the complexity of the system. Surely a better use of our time and effort, rather than trying to play catch-up with 'the man' is to start finding common ground upon which we can progress best practices... Let the Corporations then compete on price and feature-sets from that good and solid foundation rather than firing off in their own directions with their own agendas and muddying the already dirty waters.
Well, you must be pretty hopeless not to be able to install the Java runtime. Last time I installed it on Windows, it took half a dozen mouse clicks and a couple of minutes tops.
That is SO not the point. Why the hell should a, for example, 55 year old occasional computer user need to even know WHAT Java is, let alone UNDERSTAND why they need to install it?
Surely the uppermost aim for any software engineer / developer / designer is to hide complexity from the user?
I have two roles at my work: the first is as an IT Project Manager and the second is in a Procurement role for 3rd-party software development effort (i.e. a Client). If the technical-lead on a project or a supplier ever told me that "all the user needs to do" is to "just" download and install anything (including Java) to run their application I would throw them out the door / off the project!
This is as absurd as priming your fuel pump everytime you want to drive somewhere, or calibrating your derailleur gears before you can use your bicycle.
I have BBC, NYTimes, a few industry-specific, a few 'for interest' (e.g. Economist, New Scientist, Reason.com), a few for sport and one for UK TV Listings. Maybe a dozen tops and I am one of the most well-informed people I know.
Too much information = too easy to lose the salient stuff.
We all need to realise that as techies / designers / purveyors and exponents of highly-specialised knowledge we have a duty to educate our users and clients to ensure they know what their Pound (Dollar, livestock, shiny pebble, whatever) is buying.
Yes, the client has an objective they wish to achieve but it is we techies that must accept the responsibility to inform them of the many and various pros and cons to each approach in delivering that objective. That is the only way the client can make an informed choice.
If we do this right and do this continually we will one day have a technologically informed populace and the days of coding and designing for ancient and out-moded platforms will be gone, there will be no more moronic users to anger Tech Support and all will be as light, heavenly singing will fill our ears and all things good will happen to all. Can I get an Amen on that ?
I don't know about the US, but here in the UK we have employmee contracts, employment law and tribunals to go to.
My employment contract requires me to work 37.5 hours per week fulfilling the duties of my documented Job Specification, plus any other reasonable tasks when requested by my line management. If you refuse to do unreasonable tasks, and that includes working unreasonable hours with no over-time over a sustained period, and the company fires you, you are entitled to sue them for wrongful dismissal.
I'm assuming you're going into the IT industry, probably already sat a load of IT exams, probably spend a lot of time in front of your PC ??
I know that describes me pretty damn well, and its books from non-tech perspectives which keep me 'connected' to the real world... There's a sh!t-load more to life than computers. Now's your chance to find out about some of it...
Try reading the following instead:
Love in the Time of Cholera (G.Garcia-Marquez),
Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera),
Romeo + Juliet (W.Shakespeare),
High Fidelity (N.Hornby),
Prozac Nation (E.Wurtzel),
Roots (A. Haley),
Berlin (R. Jenkins)
Good luck - hope you read something which changes you forever.
isdfnmo
Weirdly, Microsoft themselves may have prior art on Amazon's predictive auto-complete in their Visual Studio.NET programming environment. As you start to type a line of code, it pops up a select list of potential matches. You can then use the cursor keys or mouse to pick the one that you want and hit TAB to auto-complete your line...
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No, friend, you really don't.
The point is not that we technically proficient people can deal with SpyWare but rather that the 99% of computer users who are not technically adept can use their computers, the internet and their email without having to fight a constant battle with unwanted intrusion.
What other mass-produced, home appliance can you think of that requires a deep understanding of its inner workings? We, as the technicians, should be hanging our heads in shame that we have failed, in over 20 years of trying, to devise a machine and an interface and a secure environment that allows the end-user to enjoy the internet or office suite or any other application with such carefree abandon as they do their TV or Dishwasher or Microwave.
Sure people need to be careful, just as they do when driving or using a blender, but surely it is not beyond the wit of man to hide the complexity of the system. Surely a better use of our time and effort, rather than trying to play catch-up with 'the man' is to start finding common ground upon which we can progress best practices... Let the Corporations then compete on price and feature-sets from that good and solid foundation rather than firing off in their own directions with their own agendas and muddying the already dirty waters.
We have a lot of work to do, I'm afraid.
Well, you must be pretty hopeless not to be able to install the Java runtime. Last time I installed it on Windows, it took half a dozen mouse clicks and a couple of minutes tops.
That is SO not the point. Why the hell should a, for example, 55 year old occasional computer user need to even know WHAT Java is, let alone UNDERSTAND why they need to install it?
Surely the uppermost aim for any software engineer / developer / designer is to hide complexity from the user?
I have two roles at my work: the first is as an IT Project Manager and the second is in a Procurement role for 3rd-party software development effort (i.e. a Client). If the technical-lead on a project or a supplier ever told me that "all the user needs to do" is to "just" download and install anything (including Java) to run their application I would throw them out the door / off the project!
This is as absurd as priming your fuel pump everytime you want to drive somewhere, or calibrating your derailleur gears before you can use your bicycle.
Not acceptable!!
Who needs 4800 news sources?
I have BBC, NYTimes, a few industry-specific, a few 'for interest' (e.g. Economist, New Scientist, Reason.com), a few for sport and one for UK TV Listings. Maybe a dozen tops and I am one of the most well-informed people I know.
Too much information = too easy to lose the salient stuff.
We all need to realise that as techies / designers / purveyors and exponents of highly-specialised knowledge we have a duty to educate our users and clients to ensure they know what their Pound (Dollar, livestock, shiny pebble, whatever) is buying.
Yes, the client has an objective they wish to achieve but it is we techies that must accept the responsibility to inform them of the many and various pros and cons to each approach in delivering that objective. That is the only way the client can make an informed choice.
If we do this right and do this continually we will one day have a technologically informed populace and the days of coding and designing for ancient and out-moded platforms will be gone, there will be no more moronic users to anger Tech Support and all will be as light, heavenly singing will fill our ears and all things good will happen to all. Can I get an Amen on that ?
my 0.02 anyway.
I don't know about the US, but here in the UK we have employmee contracts, employment law and tribunals to go to.
My employment contract requires me to work 37.5 hours per week fulfilling the duties of my documented Job Specification, plus any other reasonable tasks when requested by my line management. If you refuse to do unreasonable tasks, and that includes working unreasonable hours with no over-time over a sustained period, and the company fires you, you are entitled to sue them for wrongful dismissal.
Check it out, and Good Luck !!
I'm assuming you're going into the IT industry, probably already sat a load of IT exams, probably spend a lot of time in front of your PC ?? I know that describes me pretty damn well, and its books from non-tech perspectives which keep me 'connected' to the real world... There's a sh!t-load more to life than computers. Now's your chance to find out about some of it... Try reading the following instead: Love in the Time of Cholera (G.Garcia-Marquez), Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera), Romeo + Juliet (W.Shakespeare), High Fidelity (N.Hornby), Prozac Nation (E.Wurtzel), Roots (A. Haley), Berlin (R. Jenkins) Good luck - hope you read something which changes you forever. isdfnmo
Weirdly, Microsoft themselves may have prior art on Amazon's predictive auto-complete in their Visual Studio .NET programming environment. As you start to type a line of code, it pops up a select list of potential matches. You can then use the cursor keys or mouse to pick the one that you want and hit TAB to auto-complete your line...