4 ms·

If it is any indication, I'm the same KGIII that has been online since, well, before it was world wide. Never have I made a comment, or not made one, based on p

by KGIII 9y ago

If it is any indication, I'm the same KGIII that has been online since, well, before it was world wide. Never have I made a comment, or not made one, based on possible votes. At least not that I can recall, I used to drink and post. So, I may have, I just don't remember it. So, I mean everything I say. I have moderated my own posts to fit site guidelines, but I say what I have to say, bugger the votes. So... I agree, computers are tools to empower individuals in ways they've never been able to achieve in all of prior history, at lest on a mass scale. To do so, they need to be able to get maximum usage from their devices. They need control of their data and their systems. Sure, they might make a few bucks writing blog posts, but the real power is in creation and, doing so requires skill and options. This dumbing down of devices is a disincentive to learn. Dumb devices beget dumb users. Dumb users don't create, they consume. Sure, some exceptions exist, but this is generally true. Dumb users are subservient to dumb devices. So, along with my selfish goal of wanting to have more control over my devices, I guess there's an altruistic reason. Maybe it really is time for a Bring Back The Buttons campaign? I could probably write a few essays on the subject. From the 90s until about the mid 2000s, kids to me, there was a whole generation that actually understood computers, beyond just being able to open Office. They could put them together, understood ECC and RAM, built their own cooling systems, programmed what they needed, and devoured open source like it was a new religion. Then... Well, then came the smartphone. I don't even regularly use my smartphone. I probably should. Maybe it will help me understand the next generation's viewpoints? I don't know... We did pretty well for a while. People were even educating themselves. They created new and wonderful things. I think I'll try formalizing this stuff into an essay and linking to it in a few days. Right now, it's rambling. It is something I've pondered for a while. There's more to ponder and try to make sense of. This is meandering a bit too far off topic for the thread. Bring back our options and presences. Bring back our documentation. Encourage, no demand, people learn. You have to learn to use every other tool, a computer is no different. And yes, yes it is a tool. Even the network is a tool, a tool to facilitate exchanging information. Man, I so hate the idea of having to write software. I really hate programming. I'll have to come up with a more practical example than VLC.

TeMPOraL 9y ago
RE the votes, I don't understand now if you're writing in general or in response to my comment, but if it's the latter - all I meant is that I read what you wrote in the whole thread and I generally agree with it (hence you have my upvotes), and to provide a possible reason why those comments were so downvoted at some point today. -- > Then... Well, then came the smartphone. I don't even regularly use my smartphone. I probably should. Maybe it will help me understand the next generation's viewpoints? It didn't help me. Anyway, if you'll get a smartphone, you'll learn that: - it generally solves most of your needs for unsophisticated communication with people - it sucks when you try to do anything creative with it - it has abysmal interoperability between applications - and beyond that, it goes out of its way to hide the filesystem from you, and even the clipboard barely works Both of that is because it's bound by the features of lowest-common-denominator applications written by competing vendors. -- > I don't know... We did pretty well for a while. People were even educating themselves. They created new and wonderful things. Of course they did. Because if you tell people that a) they can make things they want to make with a computer, but b) they have to spend a little time learning and figuring it out (and c), here are some resources to get you started), people will figure it out. Some of the complexity just is essential, you can't remove it without losing the capabilities of the tool. > I think I'll try formalizing this stuff into an essay and linking to it in a few days. Right now, it's rambling. > Man, I so hate the idea of having to write software. I really hate programming. I'll have to come up with a more practical example than VLC. Please do write it down and share it. And don't worry about writing software (unless you just want to have your dream tools made ASAP) - just provide a clean and detailed description of what you seek. There's plenty of people here who like writing code, and will happily experiment with new paths. Oh, and VLC is a fine example. It's a popular and powerful piece of software.
- Piskvorrr 9y ago
  Re "smartphones suck": With this mindset, I'm surprised that you can use iOS. Although Android is bound towards drool-proof interfaces as well, the pocket computer I have is quite versatile, after some prodding (and rooting). Not a phone-with-apps-on-top, this is a computer-that-also-can-do-voice-calls. (Full Linux distro alongside the phone UI? Check.) TL;DR: newish Androids sucks far less than previous/other types, even though they're constrained by the form factor.

by KGIII 9y ago

TeMPOraL 9y ago

RE the votes, I don't understand now if you're writing in general or in response to my comment, but if it's the latter - all I meant is that I read what you wrote in the whole thread and I generally agree with it (hence you have my upvotes), and to provide a possible reason why those comments were so downvoted at some point today. -- > Then... Well, then came the smartphone. I don't even regularly use my smartphone. I probably should. Maybe it will help me understand the next generation's viewpoints? It didn't help me. Anyway, if you'll get a smartphone, you'll learn that: - it generally solves most of your needs for unsophisticated communication with people - it sucks when you try to do anything creative with it - it has abysmal interoperability between applications - and beyond that, it goes out of its way to hide the filesystem from you, and even the clipboard barely works Both of that is because it's bound by the features of lowest-common-denominator applications written by competing vendors. -- > I don't know... We did pretty well for a while. People were even educating themselves. They created new and wonderful things. Of course they did. Because if you tell people that a) they can make things they want to make with a computer, but b) they have to spend a little time learning and figuring it out (and c), here are some resources to get you started), people will figure it out. Some of the complexity just is essential, you can't remove it without losing the capabilities of the tool. > I think I'll try formalizing this stuff into an essay and linking to it in a few days. Right now, it's rambling. > Man, I so hate the idea of having to write software. I really hate programming. I'll have to come up with a more practical example than VLC. Please do write it down and share it. And don't worry about writing software (unless you just want to have your dream tools made ASAP) - just provide a clean and detailed description of what you seek. There's plenty of people here who like writing code, and will happily experiment with new paths. Oh, and VLC is a fine example. It's a popular and powerful piece of software.

Piskvorrr 9y ago
Re "smartphones suck": With this mindset, I'm surprised that you can use iOS. Although Android is bound towards drool-proof interfaces as well, the pocket computer I have is quite versatile, after some prodding (and rooting). Not a phone-with-apps-on-top, this is a computer-that-also-can-do-voice-calls. (Full Linux distro alongside the phone UI? Check.) TL;DR: newish Androids sucks far less than previous/other types, even though they're constrained by the form factor.