4mo ago

no amount of documentation can save users from themselves

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And that's how an iPhone with an interface that even a toddler can figure out sold a few billion units.
- At what cost, though? I thought the generations after the millennials would be more tech-literate. But after seeing Gen Zs around me at home and at work, things are just regressing.
  
  It was inevitable. We took a mishmash of things that kinda worked together with a patchwork of software and shoved it into a streamlined define with a custom made interface to tie it all together. One of those things pushes the user to learn more, and it’s not the finished and polished product.
  
  Can't really blame them either, it was our generation that dropped the ball in making sure they were more tech literate than us. Not that I have kids but still.
  
  Nah, our generation had to tinker with shit to get it working. Kids these days have it easy, which is good from a user perspective, but fails to train them how any of it actually works at a deeper level.
  No one has to install a device driver anymore.
  
  See my other comment.
  Tldr: Parents make sure to teach their kids not to shit on the ground.
  
  The modern electronic devices are far more railroaded than it was back in the day tho.
  Want to download an application? There's the App Store. No need to download random .exes from sketchy websites (and learn what a "computer virus" is the hard way)
  Downloaded a picture? It's instantly inside your gallery. Back then we needed to find a folder called "Download" or "My Documents" using something called the Explorer!
  iPhone and Android made a lot of things dumber and easier to take in, but I feel like it had a detrimental effect on digital literacy.
  
  A little. Hands on parenting is what they need. I made sure my baby brother is tech literate when my mom is 100 percent not. He just graduated highschool this year. Sure some of the blame is on tech but kids don't know how to shit in a toilet either and parents make damn sure they learn as quickly as possible.
  
  Want to download an application? There's the App Store. No need to download random .exes from sketchy websites (and learn what a "computer virus" is the hard way)
  We've had that for years, it used to just be called apt-get. Though I'll admit a GUI software center is nice when I don't know exactly what I'm looking for
- As someone who's used and uses both for work and isn't a fanboy of either, sorry but apple does not have an easy to learn interface. It seems like every single choice they made was done to just be different from the alternative, more often than not to the detriment of the user. If they lock people in to how their ecosystem works low tech people can't easily change.
  
  If they lock people in to how their ecosystem works low tech people can’t easily change.
  Other people can just mimic the iPhone interface. That's basically what Android did.
  The real difficulty of switching to another device from Apple is the multi-year contract that the phone companies try to get you on.
  
  Back in 2012 apple won a UI patent and we know how those megacorps do. No idea to what extent but that sorta stops any big contenders on copying them. The multi year contracts are a meme from the past but it's the same sort of people who aren't techliterate enough to learn a new UI, that keep with the contracts.
  
  The multi year contracts are a meme from the past
  I don't know if I'd can cell phone contacts a meme.
  
  Carrier lockdowns seem to be an US only thing now.
  
  They sorta are, plenty of options for cheap quality untilited phone plans out there even with international included and very few people actually need a state of the art 1k phone to make payments on.
  Don't get me wrong, I'm not policing how people should spend their money. All I'm saying is that plans are from the past and don't need to exist, like faxes.

85 comments