the viewpoint of a single newbie

[Jonathan Hutchins]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeremy Fowler" <jfowler at westrope.com>

> Windows spoon feeds these people and it makes them
> lazy and they get into this mindset that all things in life
> should be easy. Life is NOT easy and to get anything of
> quality out of life you have to work for it.

Not that this is an invalid philosophy, but it doesn't really apply to
computers.  I work for a Health Care company, and the people here do NOT
need to develop more than basic computer skills - running the programs and
keeping track of where they save their files.  They don't need to learn the
background required to understand installation and configuration issues.

What they do need is to take the issues seriously enough to hire a
professional speciallist who does know these things (that would be me).
Unfortunately, one of the things Microsoft has done (whether deliberately or
not) is to promote the image that if you have Microsoft, you don't need no
stinkin' geeks to run your computer.

Way too many people think that because they're engineers, or because they're
The Boss, they know everything they need to configure and maintain not only
their network workstations but the "server" as well. (The server turns out
to be another W96 workstation that's been set up in a closet with shared
drives.)  Then when something goes wrong, they call in a pro and are
dismayed to hear that they need to completely re-design the network and
contract a professional manager for it.

Even without Microsoft, the popularity of the "home computer" would continue
to make this problem worse.  What used to be the pride of the dedicated
amatuer is now on Mom's kitchen counter and in every playroom.  Yeah,
they're supposed to evolve into disposable appliances with no user
serviceable parts in order to keep the idjits from creating their own
problems, but as long as they can install their own software they're going
to be able to do it badly.  (Game cartridges may be the answer here, and the
future "home computer" may very well be a PS2, not a PS/2 for this very
reason.)