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30 years ago, information technology was made with the expectation that users would tinker with it. Subsequently, most products were designed with that in mind,

by 2000UltraDeluxe 5y ago

30 years ago, information technology was made with the expectation that users would tinker with it. Subsequently, most products were designed with that in mind, and the documentation was written with tinkering in mind. Today's consumer products are made with the expectation that they should always "just work". The result is that users reactions to problems have a tendency to range from frustration to panic and rage, rather than an inquisitive curiosity aimed at solving the problem. I guess you could still tinker with most products, even if some brands make it increasingly hard. The real difference is in the expectations of the users.

AussieWog93 5y ago
>The result is that users reactions to problems have a tendency to range from frustration to panic and rage, rather than an inquisitive curiosity aimed at solving the problem. To be fair, a lot more people now (many of whom are not tech nerds) are forced to use computers in order to do things that didn't require a computer 30 years ago. I'm sure the average HN user's reaction would be closer to frustration than inquisitive curiosity if they were forced to navigate a complex and banal social system in order do something like sign up for a phone plan or watch a movie.
- stavros 5y ago
  Hell, my reaction is frustration when I am forced to navigate a complex and banal stack of broken technologies in order to do something like make my light switch work, and I'm a developer. Technology is terrible, it barely works, and when you work at the edges of it (like we do), you hit the "barely" very often.
- 2000UltraDeluxe 5y ago
  > To be fair, a lot more people now (many of whom are not tech nerds) are forced to use computers in order to do things that didn't require a computer 30 years ago. This is definitely a contributing factor. Forcing non-technical people to use computers is a rather daft idea, but it saves money since the majority know just about enough about computing to manage to do things after a bit of trial and error. Any bump in the road is sure to cause tears and shouting though.
marcus_holmes 5y ago
The difference is that only people who accepted the consequences of tinkering bought those products back then. We knew that if we messed up and bricked it, that was on us. Consumer devices are made for consumers - people who don't know how to create. If they follow some messed-up tutorial on YouTube and brick their device, they don't see that that's their fault. They complain to the manufacturer and expect a replacement or a refund. So manufacturers have to protect themselves from these people, by locking the device down so you can't mess it up. It's not to stop us from tinkering with it. It's to stop the consumers from breaking their stuff "accidentally".

AussieWog93 5y ago

>The result is that users reactions to problems have a tendency to range from frustration to panic and rage, rather than an inquisitive curiosity aimed at solving the problem. To be fair, a lot more people now (many of whom are not tech nerds) are forced to use computers in order to do things that didn't require a computer 30 years ago. I'm sure the average HN user's reaction would be closer to frustration than inquisitive curiosity if they were forced to navigate a complex and banal social system in order do something like sign up for a phone plan or watch a movie.

stavros 5y ago
Hell, my reaction is frustration when I am forced to navigate a complex and banal stack of broken technologies in order to do something like make my light switch work, and I'm a developer. Technology is terrible, it barely works, and when you work at the edges of it (like we do), you hit the "barely" very often.
2000UltraDeluxe 5y ago
> To be fair, a lot more people now (many of whom are not tech nerds) are forced to use computers in order to do things that didn't require a computer 30 years ago. This is definitely a contributing factor. Forcing non-technical people to use computers is a rather daft idea, but it saves money since the majority know just about enough about computing to manage to do things after a bit of trial and error. Any bump in the road is sure to cause tears and shouting though.

marcus_holmes 5y ago

The difference is that only people who accepted the consequences of tinkering bought those products back then. We knew that if we messed up and bricked it, that was on us. Consumer devices are made for consumers - people who don't know how to create. If they follow some messed-up tutorial on YouTube and brick their device, they don't see that that's their fault. They complain to the manufacturer and expect a replacement or a refund. So manufacturers have to protect themselves from these people, by locking the device down so you can't mess it up. It's not to stop us from tinkering with it. It's to stop the consumers from breaking their stuff "accidentally".