...and now a message from the REST of the human race...

[hal]

Most of us here are geeks of some sort or another and some of the conversations here tend to forget that we are just a subset of humankind. People that don't "get" technology aren't stupid, they're just different.

With that in mind, I really enjoyed this CNN article, In defense of my stupidphone

snip:
When my laptop died a few years ago, I ventured into my first Apple store. I left twice, once near tears, scared off by hipsters speaking in code. But I bucked up and returned weeks later to buy a MacBook Pro.

People swore it would change my attitude about technology. They said it was intuitive, a good thing since I don't read instruction manuals. I bought it because it was pretty.

Three years in, I still don't love the thing. In fact, for much of this time, I kind of hated it -- in part because I found the screen so hard to see. Imagine my surprise and gratitude when a colleague recently walked by, reached over and tapped some button a bunch of times, and the whole thing brightened before my eyes.

[blooz]

I know someone like that.

[Grumpyguy]

actually, what do you call someone who:

-didn't read the manual
-didn't play around with the controls to experiment
-didn't ask a geeky friend for help
-who didn't go back to the Apple Store for help
-who didn't go to Apple Support and ask a question or search the FAQ section

I call it symptom of our society, where people are so spoiled that they need to be led by the hand. They never try for themselves....

This isn't a case of the tech being too difficult....

[hal]

blooz wrote:
I know someone like that.

hell, don't we all?

My extended family is loaded with very bright people that are lost with technology.

[freeradical]

I carried pagers for years because it was required...my electronic leash...

That's how I feel about cell phones too...

[Blankity Blank]

hal wrote:
[quote=blooz]
I know someone like that.

hell, don't we all?

My extended family is loaded with very bright people that are lost with technology. The thing is, what that snippet describes is not 'lost with technology', that's being lazy.

If you're having a problem with anything and don't read the instructions or ask anyone for help, you just sulk and decide you 'hate' whatever it is, you may not be stupid, but you're acting stupid.

[ztirffritz]

I used to tell my boss that I will try to teach someone about technology twice. If they ask me to teach them the third time, or need me to teach them the same thing a third time they're on their own. I don't have time for stupid people. The company provides them with a tool. They provide me to help them utilize the tool. If they're too stupid to realize that their career depends upon utilizing said tool then they don't need to continue working for us. If you work in an office environment and you think that you can get by not knowing how a computer works then you're a lost cause.

[rgG]

If you don't at least read the instruction manual, it is your own fault if you don't know how to use the device.

[Speedy]

Cheap shot at most of us on the forum.

rgG wrote:
If you don't at least read the instruction manual, it is your own fault if you don't know how to use the device.

[lafinfil]

Instruction manual is just some other guys opinion