I've long heard back and forth arguments about the complexity, usability,
customizability, and features of computers and computing devices.
A recent example being critical response to the new Mac Pro. It's expensive and
can be optioned for huge amounts of resources. People are asking "Who's that
for?" What's interesting is that for the past 15 years other people had been
asking where an updated "real" Mac Pro was.
Similar opposing arguments have existing in computing for decades. Windows vs
*NIX, GUI vs command line, and more recently, cloud vs self-hosted. Proponents
of each side argue that theirs is the correct option.
The problem, of course, is that both sides are right and that it's really
difficult for people to consider perspectives that are different from their own.
Computing was historically a difficult task. You had to study it and be skilled
at programming to get any use out of a computer. As computing evolved, the
people who knew how to use a computer built systems and tools that worked for
them.
Fast forward to cheap transistors and microchips, there was suddenly a viable
market for selling computers to everyone else. Most of the customers of these
systems were not computer literate. It may have been the first time they used a
computer at all. But computers were still fairly crude and simple. An owner
often had to learn quite a bit about their new computer in order to use it
effectively. I'd say this spawned the next generation of computer programmers
who cut their teeth on BASIC and assembly on simple 8 bit home computers.
Skip ahead once more to today. Computers are cheap and ubiquitous. They are in
every pocket, control most user functions of a car, and are a required tool for
most professions. But these users are different. They didn't have to learn how
their computer worked in order to do anything useful with it. They never had to
type a game in from a magazine before they could play it. They haven't had to
modify assembly code to make a program work for their computer because it was
written for one with different hardware.
Today's computer users are used to computers as an appliance. Take it out of
the box, turn it on, and it's doing what it does. Cell phones are the most
stark example of this. Most are still general purpose devices with which a user
can install applications and customize settings but nothing to the level of the
past. You can't easily change the operating system, you can't swap out or
expand the hardware, and it's not designed to even allow you to install software
that isn't in the approved store.
The older or more experienced computer user feels let down by these appliances
because they have the knowledge, experience, and desire to have full control
over the system. Of course, the companies are going to sell to the most
profitable market. Most people aren't knowledgeable about computers and don't
want to be. They want a tool that does it's job with as little of their effort
needed as possible.
The user duality applies to the other topics, too. Windows is aimed at a
typical user, while Unix systems stayed focused on more advanced users. A GUI
offers discoverability to those who don't know what to do, while the command
line offers efficiency to those who do. Cloud computing offloads system
management onto someone else, while self-hosting retains control.
Computers aren't the only things that went from specialist roots to appliance-
like tool for the masses. Cars were initially very complicated, had numerous
steps just to start them, and required continuous maintenance which often needed
to be done by the owner. Now they only require a tune up after 100,000 miles,
include all maintenance for several years, and almost completely drive
themselves. Or, when was the last time you had to burn logs down to a nice bed
of coals before you could cook dinner in your kitchen? You can speed it up if
you pump the bellows. Care to beat your clothes against a rock in the river to
wash them?
Tools becoming refined and simplified into an appliance is the natural course of
progress. Is it an improvement? For the masses, yes. And for businesses who
want to sell the most units possible. There are too many complicated things in
life to have to learn and perform the low level details of all of them all the
time. At the same time, some things some people learned out of necessity or
enjoyment and prefer to continue having that level of access and control.
So far, computing still has a place for advanced users as well as less
knowledgeable ones. Both types of users are valid. Before complaining that a
computing device isn't like X, think about who it's probably for. Not all of
them have to be made for you. Buy and use the tools that suit your needs and
abilities.
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I do think that the support for knowledgeable computer users is dwindling. It
will become more of a niche market. Smartphones already started off as an
appliance. I think partially due to their heritage as a phone, the time they
came to market, and the need for cooperation with cellular networks. There are
at least a few alternative operating systems for some phones but it's nothing
like the level of access with a desktop computer. Gaming has mostly moved to
consoles which are essentially appliance- like PCs. I would expect the walls on
the walled gardens to get higher and thicker for both phones and computers to
where you cannot install anything that is not approved and cannot change
anything of the underlying system that isn't explicitly exposed to you.
Being more of a "power user" of certain things, I have to keep reminding myself
that I am the odd one in the market and that the mainstream user isn't "wrong".
But I already mostly avoid buying devices I can't have full access to. I want a
computer I have to operate and a car I have to drive, but a washing machine that
agitates and spins my clothes for me.
