Honestly, the knowledge gap can be huge, but the usability and accessibility gap is much more important in my opinion. People don’t understand why updates exist

Honestly, the knowledge gap can be huge, but the usability and accessibility gap is much more important in my opinion. People don’t understand why updates exist, they don’t understand why their 5yo computer doesn’t work as well today as it did before, and they certainly don’t understand why “the button moved”. Our computers, tablets, phones etc have become such general purpose devices it’s next to impossible for a layperson to even understand how to use them effectively, let alone how they work. So much of our society is now mediated by technology, and it pushes people who struggle with it to the fringes (and imposes a decent cost keeping tech up to date). My grandparents (pushing 90 now) can’t use any modern tech because it all does too much. They can’t remember what direction swiping reveals the hidden controls, or returns them home, or whatever it happens to be. I hope that as HNers we can remember ordinary people when we’re working on our apps or hardware or whatever. One day it might be you struggling to make a payment because you can’t work the computer.