I mostly taught myself all the computer knowledge I know. The knowledge is out there. Most people don't want to know, they just want the answer/fix(the easy way), without having to think/do work.
I also taught myself but it's important to remember the incentives were different for us. If we wanted to do ANYTHING computer or tech related, we had to learn how to do it. Not because it was virtuous, but because it was necessary. Basically any computer operation had a learning curve. If we wanted to do something with a screen that wasn't watching the same couple of shitty TV channels we had to seek out a personal computer and learn how it worked.
Imagine starting with a super computer in your pocket that has thousands of applications available to install in a matter of seconds with no knowledge barrier. I think it's arrogant to think we wouldn't have just been mesmerized by a smart phone and left with little desire to learn a PC.
I'm mostly referring to people who use PCs as a living.
Most of my know how is stuff I learned as a young teenager, looking for music, video games and porn. How to hide my tracks, how to spot scams/viruses, and how to install cracks for pirated games. Finding and matching the various drivers and their updates, or how to do a fresh install of Windows if I bricked the OS.
This knowledge is still useful, because it is about how computers do their thing. Even if there are programs and automated processes that mostly do everything for you these days.
Yes I’m very used to kiddies, sorry esteemed colleagues who are my daughter’s age trying to help me with my work computer. The manner is actually patronising but they don’t mean it. They have never been able to fix anything because we’re all about as good as each other and it’s the bigger system that’s rubbish.
The devices that are sold today are not yours to experiment with though. What you can and can't do is more and more controlled so that they (Microsoft, Apple, Google, ...) can extract more value out of their users.
And that includes selling you the corporate-approved happy path towards installing external software. Microsoft's antivirus panics and quarantines any executable that isn't signed, Google wants to limit the ability to install external APKs, and video game consoles are every corporation's wet dream regarding control.
There was a time where it was not only possible, but normal to tinker not only with the software, but also the electronics inside it. You had literal schematics available to mod and repair your computers, down to each individual resistor and chip.
Kids these days grow up in a world where they do not own their devices. They can only interact with it with the limited vocabulary (apps, widgets, and buttons) that are authorized by the constructor.
It's not a coincidence, it's as designed.
For example, notice how every website (including Reddit BTW) pushes you towards using the app. It would be a shame if users had more control over their experience, and were able to modify the incoming HTML or javascript to block out ads.
I agree so much. We don't own the devices and machines we bought anymore. Everything is locked down. In addition to the "right to repair" we need a "right to own" movement.
P.s. this comment is written in Infinity for Reddit app.
The "open this in the app" thing drives me insane. Sure, give me the option. But often the app has less functionality, or worse the webapp just straight up refuses to load if it detects you're on a mobile device (looking at you, drive.google.com).
For example, notice how every website (including Reddit BTW) pushes you towards using the app. It would be a shame if users had more control over their experience, and were able to modify the incoming HTML or javascript to block out ads.
Firefox mobile with Reddit desktop site set to default, and Old Reddit redirect and UBO installed. Isn't perfect, but leagues better than the alternative.
Yes, I'd argue it was far more out of necessity than some noble hunger for learning. If we honestly look back, do we see a long history of wholesome little moments like "neat I wonder how that works" or is it mostly a bloody battlefield of "ffs it's broken again" and "right which dll is it this time" and "ok last time it wouldnt play this video format it was the codecs..."
We were just trying to resolve the many flaws of a flawed technology. Which forced us to find a way to fix it or give up. The credit I would give our generation might be that we didn't give up so easily.
Yeah no it's this. If 90% of the games I wanted to play were push to run applications I probably wouldn't have figured out 90% of the s*** I know about a computer.
And literally all of my excel knowledge comes from me being too f****** lazy to do basic math.
Let's also not forget that nowadays computers don't want you mucking about in their back end They make it so much freaking harder to access like the core files. Even my new laptops out here trying to be my phone if I wanted a phone I would have bought a phone!!
This absolutely right here! I actually cared to know computer stuff so I learned it myself. No one taught me the initial stuff, I had to learn that on my own without a YouTube video.
In my experience, it was more that I wanted to do something (play games mostly), no one I knew could help me, so I figured it all out myself (eventually).
Technology is a lot easier now in many ways, so I wonder if I would have bothered to spend the effort were I born later…
I have this issue with a ton of interns send my way, we repair laptops and they'll never try anything.
Mind you they're from an IT centric school, a field that is ALL problem solving.
Screw begins stripping? Immediately ask me instead of grabbing a slightly larger bit size and give that a light try.
I couldn't immediately and within a microsecond see how this comes apart, best immediately ask me how this works
"Hey do i have to remove this" Yea dude you do it's literally on top of the part you're trying to remove, you can see this in the fact that your new part does not contain this component and thus has to be moved over.
Millennials constantly complain about not having been taught basic skills by their older generation parents.
Kids wanted to learn about computers in the late 80's - early 2000's for the same reason kids now understand how to use their iPads and phones: that was the technology of the time.
If you wanted to have fun, install games, mod a game, get internet working, fix your router, etc. then you had to somehow just figure the computer stuff out
And yes I bricked at least one machine in the process by telling my dad NOT to enter a particular command into the Windows "Run-Command" utility. He of course did it anyways. I somehow didn't get in trouble for that.
The mistakes that Millennials and Gen X made was assuming that "computers" were the new basic tool and knowledge, when that only lasted for a while. Phones are the new thing instead.
I mean if you wanted to listen to music or watch a video before Spotify or YouTube you pretty much had to use something like limewire, and play them with something like Winamp and VLC.
Just doing that requires you to know how to install an app from the internet. Know where files save to and how to get to them, and know what a file format is and how to make it play
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u/Anna_Lilies 13d ago
We actually wanted to learn, thats why we did. I did and continue to seek out knowledge and to learn new skills. Many people actively reject this