Public reply to author of article:
First, the article author uses the reference of 'Kids these days'. Bear with me during my overuse of this phrase, for I find its use humerus. I urge you to read it in a 'old man irish lighthouse inspector's voice'; for lolz of course.
Kids these days don't have the 'duty of ownership', to the items which I, as old folk, earned my right of passage, by doing things the hard way. Lets say throughout time society has gone through many transitions as the result to new inventions and their progression into a common possession.*. Consider the radio, only at first available to those fortunate enough to have electricity in a town with broadcast. Consider how many things the chosen specific group have in common with each other. Now consider, as technology develops and manufacturing of radios increased, the group identification resulted in the elitist telling stories of the good 'ol days. Before all these new fanglers come in with their new sponsor and new uppity music. ()*Position also may also be knowledge/ideas)
Consider the automobile.
Kids these days can't use cars? They play their radios too loud damaging their ears, draining the battery. They abuse the transmissions. They can't even use a manual shift, yet alone their turn signal correctly. I expect all drivers on the road capable of not just inflating and changing a tire; But inspect break-pads, change gear oil and transmission rings. Why I bet, these kids never knew what size socket to use on the spark plug. These new fangled kids have it all, not having to know how things work, and just using it. These kids argue back that the point of technology is to improve, and to make new creation based upon past results. These kids never understand the necessity of learning the basics and the origins.
I shall take some sample quotes out of context to prove my unfounded points. They follow in the same paragraph order. For I have a story to tell, and it probally won't get to any point in particular, except to remind you of the good old days.
‘Do you know where the proxy settings are?’ I asked, hopefully.
So tell me, when you go to buy tires, Do you know the dimensions and ratings. Perhaps you are pulling a 4 place trailer, what load ratings are needed for each of the diameters.
‘Can you tell me how to reticulate splines using a hexagonal decode system so that I can build a GUI in VisualBasic and track an IP Address.’
No but someone on CSI defiantly can.
I have said, streaming video is blocked
So wait, this lady comes and asks why her presentation wasn't working. And he claims it her fault for not knowing that his setup blocks you-tube. She had a valid question. Say I come into a mechanics shop, and tell him that my car stalls on cold days. He says of course, I just modded the onboard chip so it idles less and now can only take premiums gas. If only you would have inspected the ODBC codes using your reader, you would have known.
The truth is, kids can’t use general purpose computers, and neither can most of the adults I know. There’s a narrow range of individuals whom, at school, I consider technically savvy.
So we can say, that you are an expert?
He asks what he needs to do, and I suggest he reinstalls Windows. He looks at me blankly. He can’t use a computer.
He came to you. He recognized a problem, and come to you to fix it. So he probably has a virus. Blaming him for not having an anti-virus is pretty wrong. Seriously, this guy is an "expert" and he is saying things like 'Use an anti-virus"....
. ‘Bloody thing won’t connect to the INTERNET.’ ... .. I take the offending laptop from out of her hands, toggle the wireless switch that resides on the side, and hand it back to her.
You insensitive clod, she is old and has a hard time seeing small brail and rainbow 802.11insignia on the side of a laptop. Did that switch you use look remarkably like the ones used to eject the modular bay and battery... i bet they look similar.
On his third attempt I manage to get a glimpse of the message. I reach behind his computer and plug in the Ethernet cable. He can’t use a computer.
Have you seen the windows errror? It says nothing about a network connection and says to contract the domain administrator. The help hyperlink gives information not relevant to any problem. I bet you even set the computer up to NAG the user saying that pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL and logging in is some sort of official activity on the network and may be disciplined.
I ask her to bring in her laptop and iPhone. When she brings them in the next day I restore her phone from the backup that resides on her laptop. She has her contacts back, and her photos as well. She’s happy. She can’t use a computer.
How was she supposed to know, ahead of time, that her contacts would be backed up. I wonder if my contacts are backed up. Probably not, I guess I can't use a computer either.
His desktop is a solid wall of randomly placed Microsoft office icons.
I'm with you on this, lets make fun of this interface where we have a grid a clickable icons, this argument kinda worked during the XP days, but seriously, doesn't every new interface use this technique.
I quickly try and explain that the desktop is not a good place to store files as they’re not backed up on the server, but he doesn’t care, he just wants the internet back.
The best way into someones heart is to criticize them for things about which they did not ask.
I look at his screen. Displayed in his web-browser is what appears to be an XP dialogue box warning that his computer is infected and offering free malware scanning and removal tools. He’s on a Windows 7 machine.
So if I get a java applet warning, because it uses different button styles, I can consider it malware. Good advice. I bet you were tech available for lab. Wouldn't you want kids to inform you of potential threats? What if it starts RDP restarting his computer with countdown timers? Naa, just restart like it says to, because you are being tricked.
They even know how to use Word and PowerPoint and Excel. Ask them to reinstall an operating system and they’re lost. Ask them to upgrade their hard-drive or their RAM and they break out in a cold sweat. Ask them what https means and why it is important and they’ll look at you as if you’re speaking Klingon.
So apparently they use a computer to accomplish work. And don't use them for the sake of maintaining and understanding. Kinda like cars.
If only cars had some sort of VM (Virtual Machine) to which you could clone copies of and
crash and format without consequence.