The truth about computers

Believe it or not, while I was at Microsoft, I actually learned a lot about people (or rather, customers).

Ready?

* Every person has innate skills.
* Every person also has innate blindspots or things s/he is bad at.
* When someone is innately good at something, s/he has a difficult time figuring out why someone else doesn't just "get it."
* There are some people, let's call them smart people, who, even when they don't innately understand something, will take initiative to learn to do something they feel is important.
* There are some people, let's call them stupid people, who think that if they don't immediately understand something, then that "thing" (program, book, crossword puzzle, movie, etc.) is "dumb," or "wrong."
* When you produce something to be used by millions and millions of people, there are bound to be people who don't understand it and/or who can't figure out how to use it correctly.
* There is bound to be a portion of this population that is stupid.

First of all, let me say the thing that I wanted desperately to say when I was at MS. SOME PEOPLE ARE STUPID.

Now, for the rest of the population, here's the thing. There is not one worthwhile thing in our lives that we don't have to learn to do. Reading, writing, eating good food, drinking good wine, smoking a fine cigar, turning on the TV, sex, relationships, playing poker, doing the laundry, driving a car, mowing the lawn: these are all things which require one to LEARN how to do them.

Why, then, I ask you, are there so many people who otherwise do not appear to be stupid people who walk up to a computer and want it to do everything they are thinking without them having to learn anything?

Why, why, why?

And, the crime of it is that so much time and an energy is wasted catering to these people who just plain refuse to learn or who are afraid to learn. I simply cannot tell you how many meetings I had, usability studies I sat through, revisions we made - all trying to cater to the lowest common denominator.

A fellow program manager actually said to me once of the "next" operating system (the one that never shipped)should be "as easy to operate as a toaster." A TOASTER??? Good God. A toaster, for one thing, cannot allow one to write a Blog :-) (or balance a checkbook, or send email to a friend, or buy books on the Internet, or look up a recipe for Chicken Provencal, etc.).

This does not mean, of course, that things cannot be easier, or more logical, or better. But, as someone who for most of my life has just "gotten it," I've always had a hard time understanding all the anxiety, angst, strum and drang, that people go through trying to figure out computers. Jesus people - they're just big dumb machines that are awaiting instruction from you so they can do as they're told.

So, here's the truth about computers (by computers I mean a personal computer that has various software packages):

Computers are tools with which you can accomplish things faster, better, and smarter than you could manually; they can also provide entertainment and communication. Period. They are not evil beings that are trying to hurt you. They are not impossibly hard to use.

And here's the truth about you:

If you don't want to use them, then don't. It is not the rest of the world's problem or responsibility to make things easier for you. It is your responsibility to decide to learn. You may learn differently than other people. You may have different expectations than other people. That does not make you right and them wrong - it just makes you different.

OK, I feel better now. I think.