Four Foot Lobster Dances The Hula, Prepares To Get Random
Just recently our very own Chris Howard wrote a very interesting article on the relative user friendlyness of computers. He mentioned that computers still don’t have the easy to use interfaces that we see in, say, Star Trek. Though it should be noted that the GUIs have gotten better as time goes on.
However, I do have one point I would like to make. I think that the user experience will get much better after 2030 or there abouts. So, in about 25 years we won’t have as many problems. Don’t get me wrong there will still be issues (in fact, there will always be issues) but they won’t be as bad as they are today.
What makes me say such crazy things? Well, I am basing my opinion on the fact that by 2030 most of the people who have never grown up using computers will be dead. Kind of harsh I know, but stay with me. If you were born on or after 1980 then chances are you have grown up using computers. Doesn’t matter what OS you are familiar with the fact is you are comfortable using one of them. So, by 2030 you will be around 50 years old and by then most of our parents will have passed away.
This is important because for the first time we, as a group of computer users, will all be fairly litterate in everyday computer use. We know we need a firewall, we know not to open strange attachments, in short, they would know how not to become easy victims of all the scammers and virus writers out there. I think that can only improve our lives as a whole. OSviews had a piece recently talking about how the ever present threat of malware/spyware has finally forced over 90% of computer users to change the way they operate. This is a step in the right direction. Imagine how different things would be if everyone ran a secure system and if more stringent anti-phishing schemes were in place? Computing would be that much easier. Would it not?
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Comments
You’re making far too large an assumption here. I understand the logic behind it, sure, but I can point to my own younger siblings as prime examples. I’m 33 years old, I’ve used computers since the late 70’s in one capacity or another and am generally pretty well-versed in taking care of them. I have a sister, a step-sister, and a step-brother, all of whom are younger than me by between 5 and 8 years. Not a single one of them is comfortable using a computer of any type, let alone able to tell you what a firewall is or what it does. In my extended family on my fathers side alone, numbering close to 25 cousins (again of which I am the oldest) only myself and two others are remotely adept at using a computer.
Your point is true, yes. But you can’t assume that these people will have enough active interest to go out and gain knowledge. By comparison, I drive a car daily for up to 5 hours per day and I have no idea when I last had my oil changed, nor do I have even a basic understanding of what makes an engine work - and really don’t care to learn. I understand go, stop, broken, and fixed and that’s about it - it’s just not where my interest is. These people are out doing something other than posting here. Just like my generation doesn’t know a world without television and airplanes, it doesn’t mean we know anything about them other then to take them for granted.