Should a computer require learning or just be an appliance

[ElPolloDiabl]

Should a computer be a scientific machine that requires some learning and tinkering or should it be a dumbed down appliance that operates by a easy button pushes? Or something in between?

[save2600]

I know where you're going with this. Personally, I believe both. Very much like an auto when you think about it. If you do not understand the "basics" of such a machine and how to take care of it, you'll end up ruining it. Take 'most' women and how they treat cars for example. I'm sorry, but they're quite hard on 'em! Mainstream women and PeeCee computing is another great example. MOST women I've ever known working with computers do not know a LOT of things that would help them maintain better PC health throughout the years. Like small children, I see a lot of them double-clicking when they're not supposed to (which can crash a Windoze system quite easily), removing disks from drives before the little light goes out, referring to the entire computer system as a "hard drive", accepting and downloading attachments which are more than likely viruses - all that good stuff. And yeah, if lifelong observations like this make me a "sexist pig", well... OINK?!  lmao

So... unless computing is going to be "perfected" as much as it can be (some of these latest Apple products are trying to be an appliance), then I think there should be better education about the usage of them all around. Like we had in the 70's and 80's.

A computer that behaves and is solid as an appliance - great. No reason for computing to be any more complex than it needs to be for carrying out a particular task or two. Just be sure the consumer purchasing it knows exactly what it's capable of and doesn't ask much more of it than that.

[persia]

People should be required to enter their programs using the switches on the front panels.  Using this newfangled ASCII makes them soft headed.

[Heiroglyph]

I have to go with other here.

It should be an appliance until you need to do something more advanced, then it should allow obvious ways for you to dig deeper.

Otherwise you're making it too hard on the new users and too restrictive for advanced users.

[tone007]

People should be required to enter their programs using the switches on the front panels.  Using this newfangled ASCII makes them soft headed.

I always thought the IMSAI was prettier, and the switch groupings more logical.

[ElPolloDiabl]

Bytes! lol :roflmao:
How long would it take to put in a text adventure?

[maffoo]

I think that both types of computer have their place. I have an iPod Touch which would come under the "appliance" heading, and it is much more convenient for some things than a traditional desktop PC. On the other hand, for anything more than having a quick look at things on the internet and checking e-mails, I prefer the flexibility of a full-blown PC, where I can use whatever software I want and where I can configure things to my own liking.

[mikeymike]

A computer isn't an appliance.  An appliance by definition is good for one type of task.  "Learning to use a computer" isn't one type of task.  Having said that, most appliances need instructions or guidance for first-time users.

People should expect to have to learn to use a computer, but software developers should try to make their software as intuitive to use as possible.  That is partly a case of laying out the interface in a certain fashion so that features are in expected/sensible places, also ensuring that software updating is easy, but also that the software should try to follow as many 'accepted norms' of interface design for the platform in question.

[spirantho]

I say "other" for this reason...

If popular computers like the Windows PC can be just simple button pushes, that's fine.... as long as there's an alternative that requires learning. Take just one or other and people lose out.

Having said that, of course, there's no OS yet close to being simple enough for Joe Public. Windows and MacOS both try but both are still far too complicated when something goes wrong. Plus a simple OS for everyone should be secure enough that the user can't do anything stupid like download viruses which spam the rest of us.

[Iggy]

I have to go with other here.

It should be an appliance until you need to do something more advanced, then it should allow obvious ways for you to dig deeper.

Otherwise you're making it too hard on the new users and too restrictive for advanced users.

I REALLY like this answer. I sold PCs back when they ran soley on DOS and expecting the average user to memorize multiple CLI commands really held back adoption by the general public. I remember when my firm obtained beta copies of Windows 3.0 (all earlier versions of Windows being really lame) I'd I remember thinking "Well this sucks a lot less. The average person could probably adopt this a lot easier".

I wholly agree with Heiroglyph, the system should be easy to use Like an appliance. I guess the best term is that most operations should be intuitive. That actions should seem natural and interfaces uniform.
But under this layer an OS should still have all the capablities that allow more experienced user to get everything they can out of their system.

Believe it or not, I do feel that this is being accomplished on newer OS.
Even though I have never coached her, my 73 year old mother has had no problem figuring out how to use her Windows7 based computers.
Not only has she figured out how to use her computers, but her last two purchases were on her own (a laptop and a netbook).
She completes contiuing education courses required to maintain her nursing license, pays her bills, and buy merchandise on line.

Not to underestimate her intellengce (my mother is remarkable - she still works two to three days a week in the local hospital's OR), but I don't think she would have been able to adopt to an earlier, harder to learn OS.

[Ilwrath]

To me, a computer is a tool.  And, tools need some learning and experience to be good at using them.

I really think too many people have computers that don't really want or need them.  My parents don't care about computing.  They want to be able to access a few websites, email, and do some simple photo editing.  And that is pretty much it.  An appliance for them would probably be a good thing.  I'll probably steer them in that direction on their next upgrade.  Things like netbooks, iPads, and the like are getting popular for a reason.  They're easy to use appliances.  Appliances certainly have a place in computing, and it's a rather large one.

But, for what I like doing, I still want a general-use tool.  I like tinkering and making things.  I want to be able to load whatever I want, not just an approved sub-set of applications.  I want the freedom to make the system do whatever the heck I want it to.  And I understand that to really acheive that, it's going to have to be a more complex system, so I'm good with having a computer that takes a while to learn.

So, in short, I think there's plenty of room for computers as tools, as well as computers as appliances.  It doesn't need to be an either/or thing.

[commodorejohn]

I dunno. While I lament the fact that UI design is getting more dumbed-down and fewer people are bothering to learn about how their computers actually work, I don't think that simple "appliance" computing is necessarily a bad thing. Simple software for common tasks (email, text editing, etc.) is definitely okay by me; the problem is more in the mindset of the people who don't bother to try and understand their machine.

[kedawa]

I can't stand the dumbing down of personal computers, which is exactly why I want information appliances to succeed and replace them for the average consumer.
A decade from now, personal computers will once again just be for us geeks, and everyone else can have their 'curated computing' devices, and we'll all be happy.

[Iggy]

I don't understand why so many of you think that an easy to learn interface can't be combined with a very powerful OS.

To this day, I think Ubuntu is one of the best Linux distros, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to users that are unfamiliar with Linux.

[ElPolloDiabl]

I like it when human tasks are dumbed down to: Push the button get the food reward.