The Plight of the Average User

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One thing the pc industry has had a great deal of difficulty digesting, is that the "average user" is like the average car driver. He expects to get in the car, put the key in the ignition and drive the car, any car, from any manufacturer. He doesn't give a wit about how the car works and doesn't know a connecting rod from a piston from a pinion gear,etc. What's more he doesn't want to know,doesn't have time to learn and he shouldn't have to. Until the computer industry can digest this concept, we'll continue to curse and swear and get frustrated and Leo and others like him will remain employed.

I am in the IT support industry and I have found there are two types of "average users". Those that want to learn what happened/went wrong, and then those that just want you to shut up and fix the thing.
I find that by talking the user through the problem and the fix that it eventually stops the problem from happening which in turn makes the user and me happy. Unfortunately not all people want to hear about what it takes to fix the problem or to stop it from happening. There are always going to be people like this and it is something that we are just gonig to have to accept. You cant teach something to someone that is not interested.

In the CPM days I tested and fixed computers, writing assembly language code to do some of the testing.
As IBM PC's came online I maintained PC's and wrote code to run simple tasks on them.
With the advent of "point and click" I moved away from what was going on inside the computers and became a "computer user".
As with all technology, as it gets more complicated we evolve from makers to users and let someone else specialize in the tasks of making and maintaining the technology.
This has been happening since prehistoric times and will continue. Once we made our own arrow heads, cured hides, weaved baskets, etc. But it became better to allocate these tasks to people who specialized in doing them. Leaving the rest of us to purse other tasks.

This is progress.?.

Having taught quite a few of how to use Word and the Internet and email, you are absolutely right- I tried showing them how to update antivirus software, adaware, etc. It's a no-go. Everything must be in the background for the non-savvy computer user- Not 'average', but non-savvy. 'Burning' backups to a disk?- forget it!
I try to emphasize the importance of just reading the info on a window that pops up- another no-go.

Hear, hear! Right on as usual. I find myself wondering over and over how the average Joe or Jane ever manages to use a computer without a tecchie relative. Computers still aren't designed to be used by normal people. I'm sure that a lot of people who read your column are the free tech support / help desk for brothers, sisters, neighbors, cousins, friends, and the cubicle next door! Without these helpful gearheads, perhaps civilization would grind to a halt! That should be the next national holiday - "Appreciate your geek week!"

Excellent! I've been in the computer field for over 30 years, starting with HUGE (comparatively speaking) TTL-based machines. Your observances of an 'average user' are as correct today as they would have been 'back then'. Yes..things SHOULD just work..and, as you said, that is NOT how it is.

Amen!

Everyone I read since my last comment says the same thing - No Interest. I think we 'gearheads' have got to work on stimulating interest in our friends/relatives/clients. A computer is NEVER (in my lifetime-but I'm so old I owned an Apple and an Apple II) going to be a self-repairing, automatically operating device like TV. We have to work out a way to get people interested, even a little bit, in what's going on inside the software/hardware of THEIR computers. What do we do??

Boy, do I feel encouraged reading all the comments. I feel so stupid all the time. I really want to know how my computer works, but don't even know where to begin. I don't like it, but people need a home PC now, so I have to bite the bullet and LEARN. Where do I go for a comprehensive, basic forum to learn all I need to learn about my PC? Or should I take classes? I also want to say, "Thanks for all the geeks out there who donate their time, talents and resources for helping people like me!" We really should legislate a national holiday for them!

I love this article.
It has taken me 7yrs almost everyday to
learn what i know about computers.
But like leo says you need to have the basic
knowledge to get by.
This is by far the best article ive ever read
on this subject.
Straight to the point.

I've often thought that the computer industry might eventually turn into a utility, which in turn provides turn-key computer services to the public as in a portal, wherein techincal issues remain behind the scenes at the utilities headquarters, wherein experts handle the technical issues, and consumers simply "use." Much like a telephone. Buy the service. The issues are handled outside. All one should have to do is "plug" in and "go." The resources of the utility would keep up with latest technology and advancements in speed, capacity, etc.

Just a dream in my happy place. I certainly respect the knowledge and genius of those with technical minds that can figure computers out.

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