So recently I got a new alarm clock. Normally one really doesn’t point out this kind of purchase BUT this one sets itself! I have no idea how it works hence the magical part. I assume is some kind of radio signal that changes it, anyway I was amazed. And it really came in handy when the massive lightning storm knocked out the power, power goes off, comes back on and like magic my clock knows the time. No more flashing 12:00.
Will Wright recently wrote an article for wired called Dream Machines. Basically talking about how society has this negative opinion on games and doesn’t really talk at all about the positives. Here’s a quote:
Society, however, notices only the negative. Most people on the far side of the generational divide - elders - look at games and see a list of ills (they’re violent, addictive, childish, worthless). Some of these labels may be deserved. But the positive aspects of gaming - creativity, community, self-esteem, problem-solving - are somehow less visible to nongamers.
I think part of this stems from the fact that watching someone play a game is a different experience than actually holding the controller and playing it yourself. Vastly different. Imagine that all you knew about movies was gleaned through observing the audience in a theater - but that you had never watched a film. You would conclude that movies induce lethargy and junk-food binges. That may be true, but you’re missing the big picture.
A side note - I was watching Law and Order over the weekend and they had one where this person killed someone over a video game or got the idea from a video game and usually (all the time) I agree with the cops, but this time it seemed stupid. They instead went after the game creators, and made those game creators seems like uncaring assholes with no morals. Only one person said something like “I don’t think a video game can drive someone to kill”, but its almost like they ignored him and continued on. I never did watch the end of it however so maybe everyone decided to just play Mario 3 and forget about it. Anyway back on topic…
Earlier in the article he says the children use a basic form of the scientific method to play games, they don’t read the manual instead they hit a button or move a joystick to see what happens. And from this simple trial and error method they learn how to play the game.
I never really thought about it that way but its also exactly how users use complex websites. They click on links to see what happens. Where I work I created this php interface for our customers, this was way back when I was first learning php so its kind of messy. And inside their login area are some instructions, really really long instructions. I will venture to be about 90% of our customers never even clicked on the instructions to see what everything does. Why? Well they don’t want to be bothered with it. They’d rather just muddle through and be content (or not content) with that.
Now comparing games and some login interface might be a bit of a stretch, but it seems like its human nature to use things by trail and error. When your a kid your mom always (mine anyway) tell you the stove is hot, yet I would still touch it. Why? It’s not like I enjoy burns. And I’m sure our customers don’t like to get frustrated by a system that isn’t totally straight forward, but they won’t read the instructions either.
Found this on digg. It’s a funny article that I think all tech people can relate to.
A gentle warning to young or up-and-coming IT professionals: keep your professional identity a secret! Guard your privacy like a superhero, because before you can say “what do you mean reboot?”, you’ll be the neighborhood troubleshooter, constantly on call to save the day.
It’s true! It’s bad enough being the family troubleshooter but take my boss for example. His neighbors know he has an internet startup and he brings in about a computer a week. We all draw straws then make the intern do it. The straws is for drinking later… anyway, before the intern I was the spyware remover / computer recovery person. I did house calls! Why because I like my job and this was for one of the partners.
The worst part is when you can’t fix it. They look at you like you just slept with their sister and caught you selling the sex tape on ebay for a buck. “What do you mean you can’t fix it?”. Look just because I drive a car doesn’t make me a mechanic. I USE a computer, I didn’t invent them or even help create your particular box. Honest!
Here’s another good quote from the article. Its worse for this guy, he’s not even a windows person. So explaining that to people is even worse. Computer != Windows.
It astounds me how few consumers seem to realize that Microsoft is not the only game in town. Moreover, it astounds me that it is, for all practical purposes, impossible to tell most consumers that there is another game. As a sports discussion, it would go something like this:
“Did you watch the Raiders game?”
“No, I don’t follow football ——”
“What do you think of the new quarterback?”
“Really, football’s not my thing. I don’t know.”
“I thought that you said that you’re a sports fan?”
“No, I said that I watched tennis.”
“Right, so what did you think of the penalty called in the Raiders game?”
“I watch tennis.”
“Why would they call a penalty like that?”
I’ve read my fair share of stupid computer things in the past, but this one makes me laugh more than the rest. It seems this “hacker” wanted to get back at this guy because he dropped from this channel… yeah… (more…)
