Just thought I’d share something I thought was pretty interesting. I have a mother in law who is… well let’s just say she’s a stereotypical older mom who doesn’t own a computer, just an iPad. During the pandemic, she started getting into Nintendo games and bought herself a Switch. Fast forward a few years later and she’s interested in getting a Steam Deck, since one of her “mom groups” told her about some pandemic inspired games, similar to Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing that are only available on Steam.
When it comes down to it, she doesn’t care about her computer, she just wants to play computer games in a way that’s easy and accessible for her. We’ll be getting her a Steam Deck for her birthday, which in my opinion is just super neat. Even PC gaming is becoming extremely accessible, and it’s a fantastic time to be a gamer.
You’re probably too young to remember when computers were a huge pia to use. Your MIL probably knows more about PCs than you do if she worked in an office in the 80s and 90s.
It is odd being in the gen X and millenial cohorts and being two generations trapped between ones that either had little to no experience with computers or have only used smart tech that simplified everything down.
I’m 18, so also Gen Z I guess. But growing up all I did was try to bypass WiFi and device time limits & content filters. Later I got more into programming (due to mental health I’ve been letting that slip unfortunately), and currently I’m looking to study AI and CompSci.
And I constantly wonder why other people aren’t as interested in this stuff. And are completely helpless in troubleshooting. I kind of want to buy a PC for my siblings to get them interested too, but I don’t have high hopes of it working…
I don’t know if I was trying to make a point here but I’ll post anyways, enjoy
There’s always going to be people interested on computing more so than their average cohort, if there weren’t boomers into it we wouldn’t have got anywhere with the tech to begin with.
However simply owning a computer between the 70s to 2010 odd meant you had to do a lot more problem solving and fiddling that lead to a better understanding of how stuff worked across the generation as a whole in comparison. Whether it was learning to use BASIC on your micro computer or having to mess about with drivers in Win 98.
The exception rather than the rule. I’ve seen several articles claiming your lot don’t know that computers have a file system. Ie they use the search function to find their files and don’t pay attention to where things are saved. Ie the computer is a large bucket full of my shit and the only way to access it is by telling the computer to rummage through it.
wow, that sounds terrible
It’s fine for me. I just got hired as a “programmer” despite having extremely basic python skills and ability to use Linux. I’m quite happy to be “settled for”.
Nice ! congrats
Yeah it’s disappointing… It really makes me wish more people were even slightly interested. Else how will the field continue developing?
With the risk of being tagged as a car analogy, its similar to the experience with internal combustion engine cars, shifted by two generations. My parents (boomers) and the Silent gen often knew cars backwards and forwards because it was the only way to get them to work reliably, not unlike computers of the (60s) 70s and 80s. Those older were pretty resistant/baffled, and those after tend to just see them as appliances - being regularly ridiculed by boomers for things like not knowing how to change the transmission fluid (no longer necessary in many CVTs), drive a stick shift (rare on modern US vehicles), or brake “properly” (aka pumping brakes, which in an ABS enabled system is not recommended).
Yeah, I guess this has always been an issue with tech though the ages, computers are just my point of reference.
“lifetime” fluid doesn’t mean what you think it does. It means the lifetime of the transmission, which will fail if you don’t change the fluid at some point.
Any time a manufacturer has said that it has turned out to be b.s. and someone figures out that some off the shelf fluid works better than the stuff they put in at the factory.
lifetime fluid usually means “lifetime of the warranty” There are incredible high tech oils now that can easily last 100k mi in their intended use but they don’t work forever.
while we are on this topic the Detroit recommended oil change interval for the semi I drove was 85k miles, so basically slightly more than anually. Completely blew my mind, though in between oil changes they also took samples and tested them which is a big part of what makes that possible otherwise you’d change it at 35k to be safe. also the things took 5 gallons of motor oil, so a smaller proportion of the oil is being pummeled by the crankshaft bearings and piston seals, at least that’s how it was explained to me.
Remembers fondly back to my first PC which was a Tandy Sensation and had a custom UI on top of Windows 3.1 because Windows 3.1 was so infuriating,
Ah WinMate; how I loved thee.