[wpietri]

Circa 1989 I remember people complaining that the NeXT computer (which eventually turned into the current Mac OS) was needlessly coddling users, and that anybody who wanted the power of Unix needed to know how to recompile their kernel. I also remember people objecting to MS Windows because people really should be using MS-DOS so that they understand what's going on.

The main point of computers is to make things easier for people. Most of us make our livings because computers are very good for that. If most users really had to deeply understand the technologies involved in solving their needs, a lot fewer of us would have jobs and much more time would be wasted by people who were just trying to get something done. So yes, let's absolutely coddle users.

[pacifika]

The main point of computers is not to make it easier for people, that mindset leads us to cede control of our lives to technology.

The point of computing is to be a tool to make people more powerful and efficient, an extension of our abilities, able to do more or better.

[wpietri]

Yes, I think we agree. That would fit within my definition of "things" in "make things easier". They can only do more/better with computers if the software is built to support them in that. If instead we insist that people focus on understanding the computer rather than doing the things they want to do, then they will do less and/or worse.

[ok_dad]

I would be fine with users doing less with their computers, if they in turn understood how they worked and why we all get angry here about things like: politicians likening cryptography to criminal activity, companies hoovering your data from every site you visit, etc.

[wpietri]

I see. In what areas are you prepared to make the symmetrical deal? That you'll do less and get less while investing more time in understanding areas other people are less expert in?

[ok_dad]

I’ll cook more if we had less shitty pre made food in stores and less fast food. I could make several other examples but that’s just one I thought of.

[prange]

> The point of computing is to be a tool…

The point of a tool is to make things easier for people.

[6510]

There are millions of job openings for coders now. Illiteracy was not a good idea.

Also, youtube just served me an un-skip-able 12 minute add 30 seconds into a video. It was the 3rd add. The thought police is all over the web now. My windos cant download photos from my iphone. My windos is rebooting when it feels like it. The glued in phone battery life is garbage after 2 years. I must have purchased 30 chargers now. My new laptop requires a microsoft account. Google search is not working anymore. Adsense is driving up prices.

Its like trying to get nutrition from MacDonalds. The mc drive is convenient tho. Very easy for users.