Of course, to be able to use these docs requires knowing what program you're looking for in the first place...
That's what always frustrates me about trying to learn anything new in Unix. How do you find out the right command/program for a task (without asking a Unix-y person)?
That's true in general for usability engineers - but you were applying it specifically to Windows, which is definitely designed for a narrow set of users.
With a product like that, they need to figure out what ALL the (relevant) subgroups are who will be using that software, and target each of them in turn. Whether they did this or not, I don't know (although I doubt it), but the point is that each additional group makes the product harder to design.
No, I merely describe what applications designed by highly-paid real-world usability engineers at companies like Microsoft actually look like... Usability engineers apparently don't have a clue even for the narrowly defined community that they are designing for.
I'm sorry, I don't think Windows is targeted at a "narrowly defined community". They want everyone from Grandma to geeks to use it - this always makes the challenge to the usability engineer much larger. Not that I'd excuse the behavior you described - I think it's bad usability, too. But don't think it's easy to design. (I do, however, think it's possible.)
I know the feeling - I'm a student myself, and the market looks pretty bleak for entry-level jobs. I'm going to have to find something in April/May - but it's just as likely to be a minimum-wage job at Subway as it is to be an entry-level one in IT.
...graduate in 3 or 4 years. But to do that in a degree plan where you need 40 semester hours of just math and physics? I don't see how *anybody* really accomplishes that.
Get someone else to pick up the tab (even if it's just loans) and do nothing but schoolwork.
Bah. It's enjoyable - and college is all about getting a well-rounded education, right? So a CS degree doesn't mean you can't get a job - with any kind of degree, you've certainly got a larger selection of jobs you can get. Just don't plan on getting a job that has anything to do with computers.;)
I agree. I have an iBook running OS X.2. I also have WindowsXP on my desktop (which doubles as a low-duty server). Both perform very well, and both are remarkably stable. I don't think I've had any kind of crash on either one for at least 2 months.
Although I do think that parts of OS X are still more user-friendly, stability just isn't an issue any more.
Computers tend to become obsolete long before they wear out. My dad is going to need a new computer soon (to run some newer software) because his home computer was new in 1991. It still works perfectly fine - but good luck running software less than 5 years old.
Actually, that computer was bought when my mother's TRS-80 finally broke down. The idea of hardware obsolecence was foreign to her then, so she brought it to Radio Shack to see if they could fix it. The guys there laughed at her for the idea that they could fix a 15 year old computer. She was really upset having to buy something new (and completely different) and figure out how to transfer her work over.
This is one of the few times I've actually heard of a computer wearing out - in fact, it was still a simple repair, Radio Shack just no longer had the parts/experience to do it.
Furthermore, at my university (and most others I would assume) to get a non-computing related major, you have to take low-level computer science courses based on MS products.
How... strange. Why in the world should they waste their time FORCING non-computer people to learn that stuff? And you can't tell me that there are many college students who don't know how to use Office.
At my school, students are recommended to take the intro CS course (or an easier one with a smidge of Fortran), but it's certainly not required...
Seriously, it's amazing how much money can be made off of human laziness.
Do you own a car? Yes? Then please shut up.
You must live in a big city. That's not an option for all of us. And if you don't live in a big city with great public transportation, you need a car - to get just about anywhere more than a mile or so away from your house - especially in below-freezing weather, which is common up here in the north.
My point - for most people, a car is NECESSARY. Now, it wasn't always that way, but it is now. A Segway is NOT necessary, and in its current iteration, never will be. (It needs to go farther and take less time to charge.)
... is near useless in hilly areas, cannot be operated in business clothing, is disregarded by motorists but should not be used on sidewalks, cannot be operated comfortably for more than a mile or two, etc.
Yeah, I'd like a replacement for cars. Preferably one that's less expensive. I can't afford to move to a big city because I'm finishing school.
I need to get a job so I can support myself. But I can't get anywhere without a car, so I can't get a job without a car, but I need money to afford a car.. ARGH!!
It's still better than going to a private university in the States. We're talking on the order of 10-15k that you have to pay (or get loans for) AFTER any scholarships, financial aid, etc. My parents can't wiat for me to graduate so they can afford to get a newer car... because they certainly can't afford one now...
Hear hear! Credit unions are the best. Instead of using any of the fuck-me-over banks that are so common to Massachusetts, I still use my credit union from upstate NY. Even though I occasionally get charged to use an ATM (by the bank owning the ATM), that's the only fee I see. My paycheck gets directly deposited, but even when it wasn't, the credit union provided postage-paid envelopes for me to mail it in. Did I mention I also get "owner's dividends" each year because I have a savings account (and I used to have a CD)?
I do occasionally run into trouble because all my checks are drawn on an out-of-state bank, but not often. It's certainly worth that minor inconvenience.
I agree. Few people actually get in that mythical 40-hrs of work that they're getting paid for.
I, on the other hand, have the privelege of paying to work at least that many hours, in hopes of getting a piece of paper that represents the work I've done. Once that's done, then (hopefully) it reverses and I find something where I can get paid, instead.
And for people like me (soon-to-be college grad)...
how many of those do you think are entry-level positions?
I'm sorry, I just don't have experience yet. But it seems like no company out there is ready to hire someone who's willing to learn instead of knowing everything already.
Ok, I don't enjoy being a piss-poor student paying to work 10 hour days, so what should I do with my life? Oh wait, I don't have ANY assets, so I can't even grow some food or have a place to live.
Once this year of school is over (yes, I'm still living in the dorms), I am SOL if I can't find a job. I only have enough money to EITHER put a downpayment on a used car OR pay a few month's rent.
... amidst a flood of others who are just as qualified on paper but can't code their way out of a wet paper bag.
I admit it - this is probably me (well, I'm not quite that bad). But I'm still aiming to get a BS CS, because I enjoy computer science. What I've seen so far in my job hunt implies that I'm screwed if I'm not a superb programmer with multiple years of experience in 5 different languages.
I'd rather not work in retail the rest of my life - any suggestions?
Many BIG companies would rather hire newbies for less, and train/MOLD them into the skilled guru they are looking for.
You don't sound like a "newbie" looking for a job, yourself. From my experience looking for a job, even recent college grads have to have experience in several areas before most companies will even THINK about hiring them.
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Of course, to be able to use these docs requires knowing what program you're looking for in the first place...
That's what always frustrates me about trying to learn anything new in Unix. How do you find out the right command/program for a task (without asking a Unix-y person)?
That's true in general for usability engineers - but you were applying it specifically to Windows, which is definitely designed for a narrow set of users.
With a product like that, they need to figure out what ALL the (relevant) subgroups are who will be using that software, and target each of them in turn. Whether they did this or not, I don't know (although I doubt it), but the point is that each additional group makes the product harder to design.
No, I merely describe what applications designed by highly-paid real-world usability engineers at companies like Microsoft actually look like... Usability engineers apparently don't have a clue even for the narrowly defined community that they are designing for.
I'm sorry, I don't think Windows is targeted at a "narrowly defined community". They want everyone from Grandma to geeks to use it - this always makes the challenge to the usability engineer much larger. Not that I'd excuse the behavior you described - I think it's bad usability, too. But don't think it's easy to design. (I do, however, think it's possible.)
I know the feeling - I'm a student myself, and the market looks pretty bleak for entry-level jobs. I'm going to have to find something in April/May - but it's just as likely to be a minimum-wage job at Subway as it is to be an entry-level one in IT.
Not to mention us hard-working no-experience students...
...a job that you
would like,
make you enough income to survive the first year, and
looks really good on a resume.
Pick two.
...graduate in 3 or 4 years. But to do that in a degree plan where you need 40 semester hours of just math and physics? I don't see how *anybody* really accomplishes that.
Get someone else to pick up the tab (even if it's just loans) and do nothing but schoolwork.
Even so, I'm graduating in 5...
Bah. It's enjoyable - and college is all about getting a well-rounded education, right? So a CS degree doesn't mean you can't get a job - with any kind of degree, you've certainly got a larger selection of jobs you can get. Just don't plan on getting a job that has anything to do with computers. ;)
I agree. I have an iBook running OS X.2. I also have WindowsXP on my desktop (which doubles as a low-duty server). Both perform very well, and both are remarkably stable. I don't think I've had any kind of crash on either one for at least 2 months.
Although I do think that parts of OS X are still more user-friendly, stability just isn't an issue any more.
Computers tend to become obsolete long before they wear out. My dad is going to need a new computer soon (to run some newer software) because his home computer was new in 1991. It still works perfectly fine - but good luck running software less than 5 years old.
Actually, that computer was bought when my mother's TRS-80 finally broke down. The idea of hardware obsolecence was foreign to her then, so she brought it to Radio Shack to see if they could fix it. The guys there laughed at her for the idea that they could fix a 15 year old computer. She was really upset having to buy something new (and completely different) and figure out how to transfer her work over.
This is one of the few times I've actually heard of a computer wearing out - in fact, it was still a simple repair, Radio Shack just no longer had the parts/experience to do it.
Furthermore, at my university (and most others I would assume) to get a non-computing related major, you have to take low-level computer science courses based on MS products.
How... strange. Why in the world should they waste their time FORCING non-computer people to learn that stuff? And you can't tell me that there are many college students who don't know how to use Office.
At my school, students are recommended to take the intro CS course (or an easier one with a smidge of Fortran), but it's certainly not required...
You must live in a big city. That's not an option for all of us. And if you don't live in a big city with great public transportation, you need a car - to get just about anywhere more than a mile or so away from your house - especially in below-freezing weather, which is common up here in the north.
My point - for most people, a car is NECESSARY. Now, it wasn't always that way, but it is now. A Segway is NOT necessary, and in its current iteration, never will be. (It needs to go farther and take less time to charge.)
... is near useless in hilly areas, cannot be operated in business clothing, is disregarded by motorists but should not be used on sidewalks, cannot be operated comfortably for more than a mile or two, etc.
Yeah, I'd like a replacement for cars. Preferably one that's less expensive. I can't afford to move to a big city because I'm finishing school.
I need to get a job so I can support myself. But I can't get anywhere without a car, so I can't get a job without a car, but I need money to afford a car.. ARGH!!
On one hand, I'm glad it's being sold to the public.
On the other hand, if I had $4k+, I would be able to afford a CAR (which is certainly a higher priority, for me at least).
It's still better than going to a private university in the States. We're talking on the order of 10-15k that you have to pay (or get loans for) AFTER any scholarships, financial aid, etc. My parents can't wiat for me to graduate so they can afford to get a newer car... because they certainly can't afford one now...
Hear hear! Credit unions are the best. Instead of using any of the fuck-me-over banks that are so common to Massachusetts, I still use my credit union from upstate NY. Even though I occasionally get charged to use an ATM (by the bank owning the ATM), that's the only fee I see. My paycheck gets directly deposited, but even when it wasn't, the credit union provided postage-paid envelopes for me to mail it in. Did I mention I also get "owner's dividends" each year because I have a savings account (and I used to have a CD)?
I do occasionally run into trouble because all my checks are drawn on an out-of-state bank, but not often. It's certainly worth that minor inconvenience.
I agree. Few people actually get in that mythical 40-hrs of work that they're getting paid for.
I, on the other hand, have the privelege of paying to work at least that many hours, in hopes of getting a piece of paper that represents the work I've done. Once that's done, then (hopefully) it reverses and I find something where I can get paid, instead.
And for people like me (soon-to-be college grad)...
how many of those do you think are entry-level positions?
I'm sorry, I just don't have experience yet. But it seems like no company out there is ready to hire someone who's willing to learn instead of knowing everything already.
Ok, it's bad. Do you have a solution? ....
I didn't think so.
Sounds like the life of a college student... I'm with ya, all the way.
Ok, I don't enjoy being a piss-poor student paying to work 10 hour days, so what should I do with my life? Oh wait, I don't have ANY assets, so I can't even grow some food or have a place to live.
Once this year of school is over (yes, I'm still living in the dorms), I am SOL if I can't find a job. I only have enough money to EITHER put a downpayment on a used car OR pay a few month's rent.
... amidst a flood of others who are just as qualified on paper but can't code their way out of a wet paper bag.
I admit it - this is probably me (well, I'm not quite that bad). But I'm still aiming to get a BS CS, because I enjoy computer science. What I've seen so far in my job hunt implies that I'm screwed if I'm not a superb programmer with multiple years of experience in 5 different languages.
I'd rather not work in retail the rest of my life - any suggestions?
It can be hard to wait when you can't get a job.
Many BIG companies would rather hire newbies for less, and train/MOLD them into the skilled guru they are looking for.
You don't sound like a "newbie" looking for a job, yourself. From my experience looking for a job, even recent college grads have to have experience in several areas before most companies will even THINK about hiring them.