4 ms·

The digital native is not a myth, he's just going extinct. Back in the day the difference between a computer user and a computer programmer was, at best, blurr

by doozy 9y ago

The digital native is not a myth, he's just going extinct. Back in the day the difference between a computer user and a computer programmer was, at best, blurry. You had to know how to program to use a computer. And hardware and operating systems were complicated things you had to study, they weren't the appliances of today that "just work". I think the breaking point was around the time Windows XP and Mac OS X were released. The difference in skills between those raised before that time and nowadays is mind blowing. So the digital native exists, you just won't find one without grey hair.

Terr_ 9y ago
That's definitely one way of looking at it, so now what we really have are digital colonists.
KGIII 9y ago
This reminds me of a story I like to share. You can have the short version. I touched my first computer in the early seventies. It was from HP, took punch cards, mag strip cards, keyed entry, and could output to a plotter, tv, or LED. It was horrible. I hated it. Late seventies, early eighties, I now have to use a terminally connected computer and have a computer at home that required additional memory, just to use lowercase letters. It was horrible. I hated it. Late eighties, it hasn't improved. No, no it has not. I still have to dance a strange dance and wait for my work to be completed. Usually, that meant waiting for my work to be completed in another part of the university. If I wanted to search the 'net, those searches went out to people - who'd send me an answer back in as long as 72 hours. It was horrible. I hated it. I pretty much hated computers until the 2000s. Oh, I used the Infernal Beasts of Spite and Retribution - but it was adversarial. We're on friendly terms, more like old enemies too tired to continue fighting but with mutual respect. I don't like programming, tweaking, or fixing. I will, but I don't like it. In fact, I use Linux because she's a familiar beast and I pretty much don't ever have to screw with it. It does what I want and stays the hell out of my way. That's the short version. It usually contains more details and a whole lot more vulgarities. As a parting comment, it has been wonderful to live through these changes and advancements.

by doozy 9y ago

Terr_ 9y ago

That's definitely one way of looking at it, so now what we really have are digital colonists.

KGIII 9y ago

This reminds me of a story I like to share. You can have the short version. I touched my first computer in the early seventies. It was from HP, took punch cards, mag strip cards, keyed entry, and could output to a plotter, tv, or LED. It was horrible. I hated it. Late seventies, early eighties, I now have to use a terminally connected computer and have a computer at home that required additional memory, just to use lowercase letters. It was horrible. I hated it. Late eighties, it hasn't improved. No, no it has not. I still have to dance a strange dance and wait for my work to be completed. Usually, that meant waiting for my work to be completed in another part of the university. If I wanted to search the 'net, those searches went out to people - who'd send me an answer back in as long as 72 hours. It was horrible. I hated it. I pretty much hated computers until the 2000s. Oh, I used the Infernal Beasts of Spite and Retribution - but it was adversarial. We're on friendly terms, more like old enemies too tired to continue fighting but with mutual respect. I don't like programming, tweaking, or fixing. I will, but I don't like it. In fact, I use Linux because she's a familiar beast and I pretty much don't ever have to screw with it. It does what I want and stays the hell out of my way. That's the short version. It usually contains more details and a whole lot more vulgarities. As a parting comment, it has been wonderful to live through these changes and advancements.