Posted on 11/01/2010 5:28:00 AM PDT by ShadowAce
Average people, the kind you see walking down the street, buying milk at the grocery store and frequenting Walmart, Kmart and other similar retail chains are a very fickle bunch. They are also very demanding. Not one of them would accept damaged goods willingly. If they buy a television and it doesn't work they take it back. If they buy an item of clothing and it is damaged in some manner it is sent back post haste. If they buy a piece of meat and two hours later it is green, that piece of meat is forcefully returned to the butcher (LLBC).
Yet, when it comes to computers. These same people who throw a raving screaming tantrum when a button on their new DVD player is loose will accept a computer with a faulty operating system.
Sure they will throw the same tantrums with a physical computer fault however, on the software side of things they will accept without a murmur and actually request to install the most bug ridden, virus infected and unstable operating systems in the history of computing. They will use these systems and not care that it is sending spam to the four corners of the world (why do people say that? The world is round) or some fifty odd viruses are siphoning off their passwords, credit card numbers and personal details for sale on the black market.
Even when these people know about spam and malicious programs they still allow those into their system, and live with it crashing and running slow for months. When asked why they allow this to happen they shrug their shoulders and say they do not know. Yet most of these people are intelligent, successful at their trade and are able to raise families. When it comes to computers however, it seems that their brain shuts down and they revert back to Neanderthal ways of thinking.
WHY?
I don't blame these people. As much as I become exasperated at uncle Pron Surfer or cousin Email Link Clicker when I have to reinstall their operating system for the n'th time I still don't blame them. They are simply a product of their environment. It is the environment which I blame.
The environment, created by software and service companies, that end (L)users don't know how to properly use a computer, is responsible for this sheeple mentality. These companies act on the premise that people are dumb and design their operating systems and programs on that principle. Throughout the years of this patronizing by the software companies, the average person has been trained like Pavlov's dog to accept sub-quality products.
The attitudes that people have in that computers crash, viruses and malware are a fact of life and programs are always buggy are brought about when these software companies release improperly tested software. When the end (L)user rings up to complain they are told that unfortunately this is how it is and things will be different in the next release. The customer has no other choice but to accept this and thus the brain washing begins.
If I remember correctly, the computers of yesteryear were of higher quality and far more reliable than the latest personal computers of today. The excuse that the code is more complex and does more does not wash with me. The real reason is that not enough quality control is exercised.
The design of these operating systems is also at fault. They are designed on the assumption that computer users are dumb and just want things to work without having to think. So these companies try to build an operating system which does all of the customers thinking for them. The computer is then turned from a useful, powerful and complex machine into a mysterious beige box which does nothing very well except chew up resources. It pains me to think that computers which were less powerful than a modern mobile phone could send people to the moon while modern computers, thousands of times more powerful, are harnessed into sending spam, propagating viruses and surfing pron.
I think it is a huge waste and a crying shame that people have this attitude about computer software. What can be done about this? I think that, as with everything, it starts with education. Educating people that they don't have to live with this computing situation. Educating people that a computer is more than a black box. Educating people that, like the family car, a computer is a complex machine which needs regular maintenance. Finally, educating people that they do not have to accept sub-standard software and that there are alternatives available.
That is the main reason people return faulty goods in stores. They know there are alternatives. The software alternatives are hidden and slandered by companies so the end users do not feel they have a choice. Once they realise they have a choice then perhaps the quality of software will return to it's previous level of excellence. Perhaps then, people will be thought of as valued customers, instead of dumb (L)users. What do you think?
"I get paid to support Windows, I use Linux to get work done."
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Thanks!
Please do tell Carnac.
Microsoft don’t have the money for decent testing? Do me a favour!
When Windows 98 came out, I got it shipped to me free of charge, so I could test the new BDA driver model for video capture devices.
I wasn’t a paid tester. The only reason I got it was because I pointed out to Microsoft’s own development team that they’d made a schoolboy error in the code.
A while later, they released Windows 98 Second Edition and I got sent that as well, because I was STILL telling Microsoft that the BDA structure wasn’t working properly.
Microsoft have always had the internal resources to test Windows thoroughly. But, it’s cheaper to release the software early, and let the poor saps who pay for it figure out where the bugs are.
And yet people still mess around with the internal workings of their computers and then complain when it breaks. They buy a system, then something else comes along, and they just plug it into the computer. An update comes out they they blindly apply it. Every time something like this happens, they are, effectively, rejetting the fuel injectors, or adjusting the oxygen sensor of the engine.
Pretty soon, you get people who complain their computer "is slower than when they first bought it" and go out and buy another.
Well there goes 50% of the market.
LOL,
Ya think?
I'm sure he feels much better now, having taken his digital Core Dump.
LOL
Probably more than that.
I’m glad this moron is such an authority.
Since he knows so much about creating operating systems that:
* will meet all user needs and wants
* work bug-free with the vast (and constantly growing) variety of complex hardware out there
* work bug-free with the vast (and constantly growing) variety of complex software out there
* are user friendly enough for most people
* allow for the free flow of desired information
* and simultaneously remain impervious to the vast (and constantly growing) array of computer hackers and security attacks put forth by well-financed crooks,
I invite him to write one.
I’ll be waiting.
As you imply, there is no such thing.
The one I use works for me and my needs/wants. Likewise, the one you use works for you.
The biggest problem isn't with the OS, it's with the user(s).
ping
I would like to know what you were thinking when you said that, instead of just writing it off completely. I suppose if you were talking about original purchase of an OS that doesn't do what you want to do, I could agree with ya.
Pretty much since most stuff today is designed to keep most non mechanics and techs from working on it. I used to work on my 70s/80s era vehicles for the most part.
Years ago on Letterman (or it may have been on Leno), they brought on the world’s fastest typist, and had her show off her skills. She typed up a whole page on an electric typewriter in just a few seconds.
When the host went to read it back, it came out as completely incomprehensible gobbledygook.
As you may have guessed, she was a Dvorak typist and they gave her a QUERTY keyboard. Of course, this was done with her connivance, to educate the public about the Dvorak layout.
Years ago on Letterman (or it may have been on Leno), they brought on the world’s fastest typist, and had her show off her skills. She typed up a whole page on an electric typewriter in just a few seconds.
When the host went to read it back, it came out as completely incomprehensible gobbledygook.
As you may have guessed, she was a Dvorak typist and they gave her a QUERTY keyboard. Of course, this was done with her connivance, to educate the public about the Dvorak layout.
True enough. Blasted sorcerers and their black arts!
What a stupid article. Mac, Unix, Linux, they all have issues. You cannot possibly say that year after year with businesses, scientists, and all kinds of people using Windows without a fuss means Windows is so faulty that it should be singled out as being faulty. Illogical argument.
This is just another bullsh*t article claiming Linux is perfect, which we all know is not the truth. Just more propagana from the little kid crowd. Grow up and stop being an angry idiot. Mcirosoft is not the “establishment”.
Agree.
That's not my memory.
I am so sure this guy has complained about the water quality from his well or city water. No?!? Has he not tested it?!? He complains about an operating system but not something that he consumes internally? Yeah, it’s “safe” within parameters, but that’s not saying it doesn’t have problems.
I am so sure this guy has complained that his auto cannot do 200 mph—there’s no reason we can’t make cars go 200 mph! Or does this guy have all the anti-collision devices in his car? Why does he accept anything less than a full HANS device? hmmm...
Etc.
If he thinks that there’s the ability to make an OS that is superior, then he should do so and make billions. However, he must realize that “superior” includes being a better value and being useful to people...and many people want something that will run legacy programs, have broad software support, and be relatively inexpensive.
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