The gadgets they are a-changin’… After passing on my Treo smartphone to Ray Deonandan earlier this month, I said goodbye to another dear friend this past weekend — the trusty iBook that’s been with me on all my worldly excursions since I first visited Japan in 2001.
While moving her files — some of which were definitely corrupted — over from an original Bondi Blue iMac, my iBook’s new owner made an interesting remark:
“Technology is not advanced enough for me.”
There’s a lot of everyday folks out there who undoubtedly feel the same way; the problem with that is this: These people expect their machines to work the same way they do, even though everyone’s work habits are completely different. Yeah sure, maybe one day artificial intelligence will be so advanced that an operating system can become completely intuitive with each individual user — until then, would it kill ya to learn some basic computer using skills?
Those who don’t invariably end up in a vicious cycle; because they don’t know what they’re doing they mess up their machines, and then blame their actions on the beige (or Bondi Blue) box in front of them. I call these people computer killers, and think they should only be allowed access to Internet Cafés.
Here’s hoping that my iBook doesn’t become another statistic…
Andrew Currie 
2 responses to “Computer Killer”
I’ve come to the conclusion that my computer is alive. It’s a P.C. and it does things I can’t explain at all, but more importantly it lets me know how it’s feeling towards me. Right now we aren’t really getting along, but sometimes it’s like a great Improv set, we work as one. Other times, particularly when I reload my operating system, it’s like we’re new friends that may or may not get along. I consider myself computer savvy and I take great care with all of my gear, but sometimes things happen that I just can’t explain.
So for all those out in the world that are “computer killers” I say don’t think of a computer as an insane complex of parts and wires. Think of it as a friend to be, you may get along, but they’re will be days you want to ditch it for other friends only because it’s whining too much about how you never really hang out even though you spent the whole week helping him through a tough time when no one else would even give him the time of day. I mean come on I need my space, I need other friends with different interest I need… I think I may have thought this out a little too much, sorry.
AC:
I tend to see my Mac not so much in terms of hardware, which is usually quite stable unless you have shag carpet or collect really big magnets, but rather in terms of the OS and programs really being delicately balanced stack of accidents just waiting to happen –kind of like people!
Ed