What a lame way to get out of helping your friends with their computer problems. Actually, I see it as helping them with their core problem, which is their lock-in to some buggy, proprietary crap.
Or, in a metaphorical sense: If your friend is an alcoholic, you can help him in two ways: You can get him a beer, or you can help him getting rid of the addiction. Your definition of "help" is the first one, mine is the second.
One, they play fair with standards and open protocolls. They don't invent their own crap or "extend" existing stuff, they use standards wherever it makes sense, so interoperability is usually easy. So Apple might not be a Free Software company, but they are Free-Software-friendly.
Two, they know about design and I'm simply more productive with a machine that works for me instead of one that I have to continually beat into submission (windos) or continually tweak and patch and customize (Linux).
Fortunately, I've studied this stuff and got 20 years of experience. I'm quite capable of identifying quickly just what the problem is. I just don't do free tech support for $400 software anymore. Especially not for software from a convicted monopolist who's too busy counting money and cornering markets to care for quality.
If you have a problem with any MS software, I'll tell you to get help from MS tech support. If you want my help, my first advice is to use software from some company that cares about you and doesn't routinely engage in criminal activities, because I don't want anything to do with them, so it's either them or my help - your choice.
That's a matter of how you say it and what exactly you say.
Most windos users are very seriously fed up with the crap that they've been sold, and are wondering why the fuck this $$$ machine works less reliable than their $5 toaster or their $200 TV. Telling them in the right way that that's a problem of that specific model and not a general "computer problem" is something they understand and can relate to, because they know that some cheap china TVs are just like that.
Here's what I do: I lead by example. Then, when someone comes to me with his IE problem, I (honestly) tell him that I'm sorry but I can't help him with that because I use a better browser instead and point him to Firefox.
I don't evangalise, not anymore. But if you come to me with a question or a problem, you get to hear my opinion and very often that is "sorry, that sounds like it's a windos/IE/MS-Office/whatever-specific problem. I don't do windos/IE/MS-Office/etc anymore, can't help you with that. I can only recommend you check out Apple/Firefox/OpenOffice/etc as an alternative, it works for me and doesn't have that problem."
I totally diagree with your statement. The boys you are talking about (if they are in big numbers) will follow the flock if FF was widely used and easy to implement. Why?
Give me one reason that weighs more than "more work, more trouble, yet another program to support".
Yeah, that is probably why people like me (lots of games, nearly no fast-food) are slim and so many of the "typical american fuckups" (lots of TV, very little games, lots of fast-food) are fat like hell.
Sorry, dude, if you live on a diet of McShit food, there is no way you can move enough to burn that amount of fat and calories unless you are hyperactive and a pro in at least three different sports.
"Sweden is an export-oriented market economy featuring a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled labour force. [...] Telecommunications, the automotive industry and the pharmaceutical industries are also of great importance. Agriculture accounts for 2 percent of GDP and employment.
[...]
Sweden is ranked as having the best creativity in Europe for business and is predicted to become a talent magnet for the world's most purposeful workers. [...]"
All the typical signs of a post-industrial economy which relies quite heavily on copyright, patent and trademark laws.
I'll tell you what the real reason is: Microsoft's plan has worked.
IT departments are overworked, understaffed and in the windos department, most of the so-called admins are young people, university drop-outs, MSCE holders and others that are somehow seen as "good enough" to run the corporate desktop infrastructure but that you wouldn't let near the important SAP, Unix servers or other "real" computers. Sorry if that sounds sarcastic, most of the boys aren't at fault, but that's what they are: Boys. Very few corporations pay for real (read: more expensive) windos admins.
So the result is a department that struggles daily to keep things running, often with more hacks than strategy, and where deploying any additional software will be fought tooth and nail because it adds to the already overwhelming workload (did I mention they are almost always understaffed?).
In comes MS and includes the browser in the OS. End of game for all other browsers, because the IT department now sees them as additional software, and unnecessary to boot because "there's already a browser on there".
I don't blame the windos admins. I blame the justice department for essentially dropping their case and the judge for not seeing through the full game. Despite their bundling being found illegal, MS still played and won the game.
And no matter how easy or automatic Mozilla makes it, how many tools they build or how much ads they run, Firefox will always be an additional piece of software that doesn't do anything that a built-in piece of software doesn't already do. And with that scenario, IT departments will be very reluctant to deploy it, no matter the support options, tools, whatever.
There's a difference between the New York Times and/., you know, and it's not just the fact that one has editors and the other has people who are called editors but are actually door-bitches.:-)
Yes, developers can make things different. But MS sets the standards, and the standards are the abominations we all know and hate. Plus, if you as a user change the default, most applications won't uninstall correctly (i.e. leave the non-standard start-menu entries behind). Which, on the "plus" side, opens up the whole secondary market for cleanup software...
I agree that flash has the same problem, and that Linux _might_. However, there are ways to avoid and mitigate these problems. Linux has one huge advantage, for example, and that is proper package management. OSX has a similar advantage, with the fact that it uses self-contained packages (actually just folders) for programs, so you install and uninstall most programs by drag&drop to the applications folder or the trashcan.
And again, yes the admin access is a developer program, but again MS sets the standard - even Office doesn't work correctly if you run it as non-admin (ok, the most recent version might, I don't know about that one). Plus, of course, MS started the whole crap by making the default user run as admin, instead of using something, you know, innovative like sudo which at the introduction of windos '95 had been around for only two decades or so.
Europe's like what...the size of Texas? [...] Your comment displays your ignorance of America (much like most American's ignorance of Europe is so frequently pointed out.) The country is freaking HUGE. Actually, the USA has a landmass of about 9.8 mio. sq. km (3.8 mio. sq mi) while Europe spans an area of 10.2 mio. sq. km (3.9 mio. sq mi).
Texas, meanwhile, has less than 0.7 mio. sq. km (0.26 mio sq mi).
but they have fallen short in features. Which doesn't have to be a disadvantage. I'm reading "The Design of Everday Things" at the moment, and can very much recommend it. It's a few years old, but it's still very much true - more features doesn't mean a better product. Not if you don't get the user interface design right and your cool features are unuseable - as most of the "smartphones" and more and more of the normal mobile phones are.
To me, what makes the iPhone special is that it's the first mobile phone where you can actually use all the features it has. Setting up a phone conference recently was simple and straightforward. Someone later tried to explain to me how I could've done the same on the old Nokia company cellphone, but he couldn't remember all the proper steps. That is the difference that counts for me, and even though there's one or two things I'd like my iPhone to be able to do, it's more important to me that what is there is useable.
I have to disagree on a number of points, that I think could've been researched better:
The "nonstandard keys" complaint about the C64 ignores that back in 1973 when the C64 was designed, there was no standard. You can't be "nonstandard" if there isn't a standard. Even the IBM 8086 keyboards where "nonstandard" by that definition (check here and here for examples)
Snide remark: The vast majority of C64 owners didn't do "real work on daddy's IBM PC" because daddy didn't own a computer at all back then. We were the first generation with computers at home, for the most part.
The constant whining about the lack of backspace ignores that on many of those machines (I don't know all of them, so some might work differently) the delete key actually worked as backspace when you were at the end of a line.
Mostly, I don't understand why the article complains so much about old keyboards, from times when everyone, including the computer companies, was still working things out. There are perfectly crappy keyboards on the market right now. Sure, they have a "standard" layout, but after using them for 3 weeks the keys start to rub off so you can start to learn touch-typing, except that the tactile feedback is nonexistent and the keypresses unreliable. I'd consider that much worse than having key X next to key Y.
Also, can we add the article to the list of "10 worst article navigation methods"?
This is because, like you and your favorite OS, I know how to set things up the way I like it and then everything works fine from there on out. But we weren't talking about you and me. We were talking about first-time computer users. I have the luck of having seen a number of those struggle with various OSes, from my Mom and her Linux machine to my girlfriend and her first windos PC. I can deal with windos, make no mistake. But I've seen how extremely confusing some of those things are to a "newbie".
Example: How many steps does it take to enable a bluetooth mouse in windos? I know, because I counted - I couldn't believe it's so complicated. Or starting an ad-hoc wireless network. Again, I've counted the steps. None of these things are very geeky. I'm not talking about setting up an encrypted disk volume or something of that kind. This is stuff that Mom actually might want to do.
You do realize that term "windos" correctly only applies to Windows OS's not built on the NT kernal, that is Win followed by a number, up to 2000. XP is based on the NT kernal, and thus, while it has a command line interface, is not a GUI wrapped around a command line OS. Yes, I do realize that. I retain the term for old times' sake. Change is hard, as we were just discussing.:-)
Maybe it's only because I am more familiar with it, but I don't see any real issues with the Windows GUI. That is exactly the point I was making. You are used to it, which is why you don't notice the badness anymore. Those "untainted" (i.e. with no prior windos exposure) do. For example, the "Start" menu still puts programs into subfolders named after the company that manufactures the program. Which is a pure marketing stint and is horrible for every regular computer user who really couldn't care less what the company is named.
I could go on. In fact, I have, I've held presentations about the shortcomings of the windos UI. The list is long. Very long. And I'm only dealing with HCI as an afterthought to my real profession, I'm sure a professional designer or HCI expert could point out at least twice as many flaws as I can.
True, there is no untainted view, and change is hard.
However, so far all the real-world cases of switching between different OSes I know of follow this pattern:
Windos -> Linux = learning curve, but generally viewed as a liberation and an improvement, later some cursing over Linux quirks
Linux -> Windos = much cursing and moaning and generally only done "because of the software", windos GUI seen as inconsistent (and that from Linux people!) and confusing
Linux -> OSX = fairly smooth transition, some complaining about loss of configuration, but much rejoicing over consistency and "everything just works"
Windos -> OSX = much rejoicing over consistency, easy of use, beauty and well-thought out design. Nobody I know who made this switch has looked back
Those are the cases I know. Sorry that I know of nobody who switched from OSX to Windos.
Yes, change is hard, but it isn't the same kind of hard for all changes.
Perhaps your definition of "use" isn't typical. For the vast majority of people, "usable" means they get their work done at the end of the day. Indeed, my definition of "use" is slightly different. I haven't forgotten that "usability" doesn't mean "getting it done, somehow, no matter the pain". If you spend a considerable part of your working day fighting with the machine in order to force it into submission and finally get some real work out of it, then the machine is broken, end of discussion.
And, for the record, I'm an Apple fanboy, not a Linux fanboy. I did use Linux for almost 10 years, though, and still use it on my servers. On the UI side, Linux sucks, but at least it's not deliberately mis-designed.
It is bad enough that people in the 1st world have become so used to the abomination that is windos that they seriously defend it as something one can actually use. Let's not inflict that pain on the children in the developing countries, please?
And I am serious. I know a few people whose first computing experiences were not windos. To a man (or woman, in some cases) when they "met" windos later on they found it horrible and hard to use.
So please, let's at least give the untainted a view on what computers could be like.
8-10 Lumens and they try to sell that? That's less bright than a candle. Now I know we started cinema with candles and camera obscura, but what this means for real life is that you have to make the room dark, as in pitch black, in order to see anything.
Look at some comparisons. Note that normal projectors like you use for home cinema, have 200 Lumens and up.
Slashdot Mirror
It actually is trivial. One word: Porn-popup-blocker.
You have no idea how embarrassing a pornographic pop-up (or pop-under) window is for your mum.
Or, in a metaphorical sense: If your friend is an alcoholic, you can help him in two ways: You can get him a beer, or you can help him getting rid of the addiction. Your definition of "help" is the first one, mine is the second.
Nope.
I like Apple for two reasons:
One, they play fair with standards and open protocolls. They don't invent their own crap or "extend" existing stuff, they use standards wherever it makes sense, so interoperability is usually easy. So Apple might not be a Free Software company, but they are Free-Software-friendly.
Two, they know about design and I'm simply more productive with a machine that works for me instead of one that I have to continually beat into submission (windos) or continually tweak and patch and customize (Linux).
Fortunately, I've studied this stuff and got 20 years of experience. I'm quite capable of identifying quickly just what the problem is. I just don't do free tech support for $400 software anymore. Especially not for software from a convicted monopolist who's too busy counting money and cornering markets to care for quality.
If you have a problem with any MS software, I'll tell you to get help from MS tech support. If you want my help, my first advice is to use software from some company that cares about you and doesn't routinely engage in criminal activities, because I don't want anything to do with them, so it's either them or my help - your choice.
That's a matter of how you say it and what exactly you say.
Most windos users are very seriously fed up with the crap that they've been sold, and are wondering why the fuck this $$$ machine works less reliable than their $5 toaster or their $200 TV. Telling them in the right way that that's a problem of that specific model and not a general "computer problem" is something they understand and can relate to, because they know that some cheap china TVs are just like that.
Here's what I do: I lead by example. Then, when someone comes to me with his IE problem, I (honestly) tell him that I'm sorry but I can't help him with that because I use a better browser instead and point him to Firefox.
I don't evangalise, not anymore. But if you come to me with a question or a problem, you get to hear my opinion and very often that is "sorry, that sounds like it's a windos/IE/MS-Office/whatever-specific problem. I don't do windos/IE/MS-Office/etc anymore, can't help you with that. I can only recommend you check out Apple/Firefox/OpenOffice/etc as an alternative, it works for me and doesn't have that problem."
Give me one reason that weighs more than "more work, more trouble, yet another program to support".
Yeah, that is probably why people like me (lots of games, nearly no fast-food) are slim and so many of the "typical american fuckups" (lots of TV, very little games, lots of fast-food) are fat like hell.
Sorry, dude, if you live on a diet of McShit food, there is no way you can move enough to burn that amount of fat and calories unless you are hyperactive and a pro in at least three different sports.
They say information is the enemy of ignorance. Maybe you should try a dose. This time, I've done some of the work for you:
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden#Economy:
"Sweden is an export-oriented market economy featuring a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled labour force. [...] Telecommunications, the automotive industry and the pharmaceutical industries are also of great importance. Agriculture accounts for 2 percent of GDP and employment.
[...]
Sweden is ranked as having the best creativity in Europe for business and is predicted to become a talent magnet for the world's most purposeful workers. [...]"
All the typical signs of a post-industrial economy which relies quite heavily on copyright, patent and trademark laws.
Or maybe, just maybe, in Sweden the elected officials still run the country, not the unelected media moguls.
Europe can be a strange place at times...
I'll tell you what the real reason is: Microsoft's plan has worked.
IT departments are overworked, understaffed and in the windos department, most of the so-called admins are young people, university drop-outs, MSCE holders and others that are somehow seen as "good enough" to run the corporate desktop infrastructure but that you wouldn't let near the important SAP, Unix servers or other "real" computers. Sorry if that sounds sarcastic, most of the boys aren't at fault, but that's what they are: Boys. Very few corporations pay for real (read: more expensive) windos admins.
So the result is a department that struggles daily to keep things running, often with more hacks than strategy, and where deploying any additional software will be fought tooth and nail because it adds to the already overwhelming workload (did I mention they are almost always understaffed?).
In comes MS and includes the browser in the OS. End of game for all other browsers, because the IT department now sees them as additional software, and unnecessary to boot because "there's already a browser on there".
I don't blame the windos admins. I blame the justice department for essentially dropping their case and the judge for not seeing through the full game. Despite their bundling being found illegal, MS still played and won the game.
And no matter how easy or automatic Mozilla makes it, how many tools they build or how much ads they run, Firefox will always be an additional piece of software that doesn't do anything that a built-in piece of software doesn't already do. And with that scenario, IT departments will be very reluctant to deploy it, no matter the support options, tools, whatever.
You're right, I misremembered the date.
There's a difference between the New York Times and /., you know, and it's not just the fact that one has editors and the other has people who are called editors but are actually door-bitches. :-)
Sorry, it doesn't take 3 steps. On XP SP2, it takes 11 clicks and mouse-movements inbetween most clicks (there is one double-click in there).
Take a bluetooth mouse (a new one, not previously connected to that computer) and actually do it.
It isn't quite that easy.
Yes, developers can make things different. But MS sets the standards, and the standards are the abominations we all know and hate. Plus, if you as a user change the default, most applications won't uninstall correctly (i.e. leave the non-standard start-menu entries behind). Which, on the "plus" side, opens up the whole secondary market for cleanup software...
I agree that flash has the same problem, and that Linux _might_. However, there are ways to avoid and mitigate these problems. Linux has one huge advantage, for example, and that is proper package management. OSX has a similar advantage, with the fact that it uses self-contained packages (actually just folders) for programs, so you install and uninstall most programs by drag&drop to the applications folder or the trashcan.
And again, yes the admin access is a developer program, but again MS sets the standard - even Office doesn't work correctly if you run it as non-admin (ok, the most recent version might, I don't know about that one). Plus, of course, MS started the whole crap by making the default user run as admin, instead of using something, you know, innovative like sudo which at the introduction of windos '95 had been around for only two decades or so.
Texas, meanwhile, has less than 0.7 mio. sq. km (0.26 mio sq mi).
Speak about ignorance.
To me, what makes the iPhone special is that it's the first mobile phone where you can actually use all the features it has. Setting up a phone conference recently was simple and straightforward. Someone later tried to explain to me how I could've done the same on the old Nokia company cellphone, but he couldn't remember all the proper steps. That is the difference that counts for me, and even though there's one or two things I'd like my iPhone to be able to do, it's more important to me that what is there is useable.
Mostly, I don't understand why the article complains so much about old keyboards, from times when everyone, including the computer companies, was still working things out. There are perfectly crappy keyboards on the market right now. Sure, they have a "standard" layout, but after using them for 3 weeks the keys start to rub off so you can start to learn touch-typing, except that the tactile feedback is nonexistent and the keypresses unreliable. I'd consider that much worse than having key X next to key Y.
Also, can we add the article to the list of "10 worst article navigation methods"?
Example: How many steps does it take to enable a bluetooth mouse in windos? I know, because I counted - I couldn't believe it's so complicated. Or starting an ad-hoc wireless network. Again, I've counted the steps. None of these things are very geeky. I'm not talking about setting up an encrypted disk volume or something of that kind. This is stuff that Mom actually might want to do.
I could go on. In fact, I have, I've held presentations about the shortcomings of the windos UI. The list is long. Very long. And I'm only dealing with HCI as an afterthought to my real profession, I'm sure a professional designer or HCI expert could point out at least twice as many flaws as I can.
However, so far all the real-world cases of switching between different OSes I know of follow this pattern:
Those are the cases I know. Sorry that I know of nobody who switched from OSX to Windos.
Yes, change is hard, but it isn't the same kind of hard for all changes.
And, for the record, I'm an Apple fanboy, not a Linux fanboy. I did use Linux for almost 10 years, though, and still use it on my servers. On the UI side, Linux sucks, but at least it's not deliberately mis-designed.
It is bad enough that people in the 1st world have become so used to the abomination that is windos that they seriously defend it as something one can actually use. Let's not inflict that pain on the children in the developing countries, please?
And I am serious. I know a few people whose first computing experiences were not windos. To a man (or woman, in some cases) when they "met" windos later on they found it horrible and hard to use.
So please, let's at least give the untainted a view on what computers could be like.
8-10 Lumens and they try to sell that? That's less bright than a candle. Now I know we started cinema with candles and camera obscura, but what this means for real life is that you have to make the room dark, as in pitch black, in order to see anything.
Look at some comparisons. Note that normal projectors like you use for home cinema, have 200 Lumens and up.