Segin wrote:
Jules Richardson wrote:
At some point it has to be accepted that people
need a little
education to use a computer - so I don't see why a rudimentary
understanding of how computers operate shouldn't be one of them.
That won't happen as long as Microsoft exists.
I suspect it won't happen as long as people exist :-) Companies do it to make
more profit based on the assumption that most people are just too darn lazy to
bother learning anything about their surroundings. If a company produces a
product that makes it possible for a consumer to somehow muddle through in 80%
of cases without any basic knowledge then they'll sell more of that product.
Never mind that the consumer is tearing their hair out for the other 20% of
the time - it's their own fault, after all.
Problem then lies in that those of us who *want* to use the product to its
maximum potential are left with something compromised because it's been dumbed
down for mass appeal.
Microsoft are certainly one of the worst culprits, if not the worst. But there
are plenty of others who are equally guilty.
Luckily there are still a few companies around who take pride in what they
offer and do produce goods that need a few braincells to operate but result
longer-term in higher efficiency or greater savings. Unfortunately they're
becoming increasingly rare :-(
Hmm OK, rant over :)