Windows 7 is going to rot your brain
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... at least that's what our possible future could be if Renee C. is right according to her latest post in her epic thread:
What has Basic 2008 done to us
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vbgeneral/thread/b60a1f8e-9c81-4962-a4de-61bf7edb506d/
I thought I'd start a new thread here because it is a very interesting question she asked and I can't stand responding to threads with more posts than years of life for the oldest human on Earth.
Anyhow, here's my response to her last post...Corey, I've though more about this And now I've seen and used system 7.
I like System 7 even less than I liked Vista and here is why.
I figure that all people have some growing to do when they step up to a computer. OSes SHOULD NEVER become very easy to use, people should work harder to use this new tool. In other words people should use computers to be smarter instead of making comuters dumber.
Renee
Accordingly then, operating a computer is like belonging to a meritocracy, where there are barriers to inclusion for those who can't or won't put in the appropriate level of education and passion. Sounds like Linux
Devil's advocate though: Isn't the purpose of technology to fascilitate difficult or arduous tasks so that we do not need to expend so much effort into meeting the task's goal. Everything from Oldowan stone choppers to aquaducts to printing presses to steam engines to transistors to (ouch!) the IPhone have contributed to a steady progression toward trivializing complex systems thus allowing us to expend resources on new and perhaps never-before attempted endeavors or frontiers. It would appear, then, that OS's should continue this trend and move out of the way of people trying to use software that runs on those OS's to bring us to new levels of human achievement.
Wow, when I put it that way it makes my cubicle job seem almost edgy, dare I say... sexy. -
Hi,
I don't think that computers should be so simple that anyone can operate them. That really does bring us to a level doesn't it? If computers become so simple something will have to happen. Either computers will be become very boring or the most boring people will be interested in using them. We can start there.
Renee -
I disagree that computers would become boring. I might replace that with the term mundane or trivial. In other words, a mundane peice of technology is one that operates on such a sublime or assumed level that we users are typically either not aware of them or else give little to no thought as to how they operate... until they stop operating (which OS's have a tendency to do at times
)
That's not to say that such technology is not boring though (enter the digital watch), but a reliable and simple to use OS that intuitively performs your tasks while revealing little to no clue of what's going on in the background, I think, would be a welcome addition to our world for all those users who just can't quite figure out how things work and clog up the help lines. Will such an OS ever happen as technology stands today? No.
So to summarize: I think such mundane, well-functioning technologies are already all around us and yes, many are boring, but these things do not necessarily serve to make us dumber so much as to make us more informed, productive, innovative, etc. This is NOT however suggesting that all (or even most) such technologies effectively achieve that goal of informing, being productive, inducing innovation. Rather, its how the users choose to use these tools that defines those metrics. (That's another issue to debate: whether adoption of technology actually helps or hinders us.)
As for boring people using such an OS... I think you're probably right there. But there will also probably be savvy yet productivity-minded people right along side them.
Does that strike you as wrong? -
No, it doesn't strike me as wrong. As far as "productivity minded" is concerned, I do not think there is a lot of in-depth thinking amongst the "productivity minded". I like the problems an OS delivers and they generally deliver a lot. It's the unknowns and uncertainties that interest me - not the certainties. I like the OS to have a certain ability to use it.
Renee -
Renee,
With your experience you know that there is nothing more challenging for the developer than developing an easy to use UI.
I find very interesting and challenging to search and find new techniques and technologies to make computer brighter.
To me, the fact that the computer user expect the machine become easier to use is what makes it more interresting and less boring
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