Kids who grew up with Google

[Frank Angel]

As Mike B. rightly said, before the Windows graphical interface, there was no little picture of a folder to help create that metaphor for users; they were just called Files, Directories and Subdirectories. In fact, I resisted calling them anything other than that for the longest time. In fact, i resisted the nomenclature Windows insisted on: "My Computer," and "My Documents," and "My Pictures," because for me they sounded like something designed for third graders. So happened I was given the task of managing our staff network of about 25 workstation computers and as such needed to configure each PC with all of our needed software icons on the desktop and links to our server directories. I thought using the "My" this and that was wholly in appropriate in a business environment so they were all changed -- My Computer to the Room number and a two digit identifier, "My" taken off all the other childishly named directories. Occasionally some staffers who were using Windows at home insisted on putting MY in front of eveything. Ok. So be it.

I think is it mostly the case that we tend to feel most comfortable with what we know. i used to open up the hood of my first car, a 1975 Toyota Corolla and knew and could fix almost anything in there myself. Now I open the hood of my Honda Civic and my eyes glaze over and then I just shut the hood and call AAA. As the technology gets more and more complicated, it requires more and more specialization and we get father and father away from understanding how the things actually work. Once you needed to understand BASIC go do wordprocessing. Then along came WordPerfect and the software did all that for you; you just needed know a few basic key combinations to cut and paste and some other functions. Same with designing webpages -- you needed to understand HTML. Then software came along and it became as easy as using a word processor.

I read some long forgotten SciFi book about a guy who was transported back in time to a century earlier. Of course he had knowledge of all the advances in science that his century older counterparts had no knowledge of. It got me thinking how awesome that would be, but as I fantasized about it a bit, I realized there is a big fly in that ointment -- you don't only have to know ABOUT the existence of the inventions of your time...you need to know how they were made and functioned and more importantly, how the technology of each evolved to your present time. I mean, I know about plastics but about the only thing I know about their composition it is that they are made from oil. Well in 1821, what good would THAT do me? I am drinking a soda right now from a straw, but aside from telling my 1820 counterpart, hey you know you can drink liquid easily from a hollow tube, would I know how to make one? Point is, we are a product of our times and its technology and most people are content with just using the technology but not necessarily understanding it on every level. Why do I need to understand a directory and subdirectory structure where my file is loicated if all I need to do is use Search and the computer will find it lickety-split?

[Bobby Henderson]

It's a problem, though in some ways less of a problem than I once feared it would be. Word 2019 can still open documents created with version 2 (the first version I used, in the early 1990s), though you have to change some security settings to let it. This is why, however, I try to keep files that I know I'm going to want to keep long term in formats that will likely be long-term reliable (e.g. PDF/A) and created using widespread standards.

The issue varies from one application to the next. The biggest threat for any proprietary file format is the company making the host application going extinct in one of various ways. There are many kinds of dead file formats, dead applications and even dead operating systems (along with dead computing companies).

I've joked that if someone wanted to do a 4K quality restoration of Jurassic Park they would probably have to re-create all of the CGI work from scratch. Silicon Graphics and its IRIX OS have been extinct for many years, as have the Softimage and Alias Power Animator applications used to do a lot of the work.

In my own personal use case, I don't understand why Corel has done some of the really odd things it has done with removing file open/import support for old CDR version files. Adobe Illustrator is a similar vector drawing application, and Corel's primary foe. The current version of Illustrator (v25.4.1) can open AI and EPS files made in the very first version from the late 1980's. It can save AI files back as far as version 3 (1990). Obviously certain features and effects will break when saving down so many versions. But the capability is there. Adobe's PDF format is growing more accepted as a universal standard. But various application-dependent idiosyncrasies can be baked into PDF files by host applications. Adobe's own applications, such as Illustrator and InDesign are guilty of that. You can view the PDFs in any PDF reader, but you'll need Illustrator or InDesign to actually edit the files.

Some years ago I attended a college graduation for one of my relatives. These events have various speakers giving speeches. In one of them the speaker bragged how technology was going to make it possible to stick some files on a disc and put it into a time capsule. Someone could open the capsule hundreds of years later and get a much more accurate idea of our world today rather than if we put some printed information into the capsule. Even then I was laughing under my breath at the sheer ridiculousness of the idea. Digital data can be pretty fragile and have a surprising level of impermanence.

As Mike B. rightly said, before the Windows graphical interface, there was no little picture of a folder to help create that metaphor for users; they were just called Files, Directories and Subdirectories. In fact, I resisted calling them anything other than that for the longest time. In fact, i resisted the nomenclature Windows insisted on: "My Computer," and "My Documents," and "My Pictures," because for me they sounded like something designed for third graders.

The first computers I used (such as a Radio Shack TRS-80, a 1st gen IBM-PC or an Apple II at school and a Compaq Deskpro at home) involved typing instructions at a command line prompt. Yeah, back then files were stored in Directories and Sub-Directories. I think it was the classic MacOS in the mid 1980's that brought about re-naming Directories as Folders as well as using images of folders. I didn't mind the change. I also vastly prefer using a Graphical User Interface to control a computer operating system rather than working from a command line.

I really dislike the dumbing down that has happened with file management in various operating systems.

The most common problem problem is how Microsoft Windows defaults to using the My Documents and other "My" folders. It's very easy for someone to make their own folders and sub-folders, whether they do it in Windows File Explorer or even in a File Open/Save dialog box. Nope. So many people will let countless gigabytes worth of data build up in that default My Documents folder. To go along with that, I've seen so many PCs where the "desktop" on the computer monitor is absolutely polluted with shortcuts for applications and files. Or the damned files will be stored in the Desktop sub-directory! It's nuts.

The MacOS tries to hide a lot of things from the user on the front end, but the Finder is still easily available for anyone who cares to do real grown-up file management and keep their stuff organized.

The iPadOS has a very rudimentary file manager app. You can't see much of an iPad's inner workings from there, but it will let you browse files in cloud based volumes (iCloud, Dropbox, etc). A USB port expansion dongle will let an iPad browse files on flash-based memory sticks or even external hard drives. In June Apple added support to iPadOS to read NTFS-formatted volumes, which is nice since many external hard drives are pre-formatted in that FAT format. The downside is the access is read-only. An iPad can't save files to a NTFS volume.

One big reason why I prefer Android phones to iOS is I can attach an Android phone to a computer and use Windows File Explorer to see all the files and folders on the phone as well as move files to and from the phone. I can't do that so easy with an iPhone or iPad.

[Mike Blakesley]

Typing Class was undoubtedly the most useful class that I took in school. I use the skills I learned there every single day of my life.

I was the only boy in Typing Class.

I would put typing near the top of importance for things I learned in high school, too. I use it pretty much all day, every day, unless I'm reading something, watching something or selling something.

In our school "Typing" was a required class in 9th grade. I had already mastered the "hunt and peck" style of typing but it was pretty liberating to be able to type with both hands. I liked that class so much that I hoped for a "Typing 2" class in 10th grade, but the closest thing they had was "Office Practice," so I took that. There were four of the prettiest girls in the school, + me, in that class and that was it. Needless to say, it was my favorite class that year.

[Leo Enticknap]

I read some long forgotten SciFi book about a guy who was transported back in time to a century earlier. Of course he had knowledge of all the advances in science that his century older counterparts had no knowledge of. It got me thinking how awesome that would be, but as I fantasized about it a bit, I realized there is a big fly in that ointment -- you don't only have to know ABOUT the existence of the inventions of your time...you need to know how they were made and functioned and more importantly, how the technology of each evolved to your present time.

And if you're interested in now obsolete, historical technologies, evolution up to the point at which they entered mainstream use. Vitaphone may seem primitive now, almost a century later, but compare it to the acoustic systems that preceded it...

[Randy Stankey]

People don't need to be experts in order to use technology but they do need to have some basic understanding of things.

You don't need to be an automotive engineer to drive a car but you ought to know that an engine has pistons, spark plugs and a transmission, etc. You should know the basic concepts of how the engine works... Gasoline vapor gets ignited by the spark plugs and pushes the pistons which are connected to the transmission which sends power to the wheels.

Neither do you need to be an electronics engineer to use a computer but you should know that a computer takes input from the user, processes data through a CPU, sends the result to an output or display device and stores long-term information on some sort of storage medium like a disk drive.

The problem is that there are too many people who don't know the basics, who seem to refuse to learn but still insist on using technology as if they did. Because of that, they become slaves to the technology instead of being its master.

There used to be a joke in nearly every computer lab when I was at school. It was an abacus inside a glass box. There was a little brass hammer on a chain, hanging down and a sign said, "In case of emergency, break glass." It was so common that you practically expected to see one in almost any computer room. Nowadays, you almost never see one and I would bet that 90% of people wouldn't even get the joke anymore.

That little abacus wasn't just some sort of geek joke for insiders. It really meant something. It symbolized the function of computers and served to remind people what they were actually doing. When it all comes down to the basics, computers are really just complicated counting machines.

When I used to teach new people how to operate movie projectors, one of the first things I would ask them is whether they have any hobbies like fixing cars or tinkering in a workshop. The point I was trying to make was that, if a person knows how to work on cars, for instance, they have most of the skills necessary to work on projectors. I wanted the person to understand that they can use what they know about one subject to help them learn about another.

Someone might not know how to change the oil in a Simplex projector but, if they know how to change the oil in a car engine, they can probably work out how to do it on a projector.

That is probably the most valuable skill, IMO, that everybody needs to have. To know the basic concepts of the technology that they are using and being able to transfer their knowledge of other things to help themselves solve problems. It seems really weird that people, today, not only don't have that basic understanding and ability to transfer knowledge, they seem to refuse to do it.

In the shop where I work, we use binocular microscopes to help make parts. I have seen people sit there, squinting through their scopes, rubbing their eyes and complaining that they have a headache. When I tell them that they need to adjust their microscope, they look at me like I've got three heads. Then, I show them how to set up the scope and they get this amazed look on their faces when they can actually see what they are working on. The person will ask me how I knew how to do that and I tell them that I've been a photographer for more than forty years. Invariably, I'll get a quizzical look, "How does knowing how to use a camera mean you can use a microscope?" Well...um...I know how to focus an image!

I might not know how to disassemble that microscope and fix every last part of it but but I know enough about similar things that I can deduce a way to fix most problems I would have, using a microscope.

If there is one skill that people need to learn, today, I would be that. The problem is that most people seem to flatly refuse to learn.

It's that very same person who I showed how to focus a microscope who always pesters me to focus it for them, again. When I tell them that I will show them three times then, after that, they are on their own, that's when I become the bad guy!

I've got my own job to do and I can't be dropping everything just to focus a damned microscope when the other person ought to know how to do it themselves.

If somebody doesn't want to learn, fuck 'em!

[Frank Cox]

computerdown.jpg

[Scott Norwood]

The whole "typing class" demographic must have varied signifcantly by school district.

Both of my parents (now in their 70s) are good typists for different reasons. At my father's high school, the smart students took typing, since they would be going on to college and would need to be able to type their papers. At my mother's high school, only the girls took typing, since secretarial work was the sort of job that would be readily available to women in the mid-1960s. In the latter case, much time was apparently spent on things like how to format a letter, how to address an envelope, etc.

In my own adolescence, the schools made a sort of half-hearted attempt to teach everyone how to type, just as computers were becoming common in the late '80s. I ended up teaching myself with an old typing instructional book. I'm pretty good on manual typewriters, electric typewriters, and computers, each of which requires slightly different skills.

[Harold Hallikainen]

In high school, I took driver's education and typing in summer school. Immediately put typing to work on my Teletype model 15 ( https://w6iwi.org/rtty/ ).

[Randy Stankey]

Same here. Everybody in my high school had to take a Shop class, Driver's Ed, Typing and Home Economics. Boys and girls.

They had a special shop class for the girls where they basically learned to saw wood and hammer nails, etc. There was a special Home Economics for boys where they basically learned how to cook bacon and eggs, etc. The Driving and Typing classes were co-ed and everybody learned the same thing.

In typing, we had to learn to type without looking at the keyboard. The teacher's name was Thelma Mumford. She looked and acted the part, just as you would expect. Yes, she DID walk up behind us and knock us on the knuckles with a ruler if she caught us peeking.

As part of Driver's Ed, everybody had to be able to identify the important parts of the car's engine. We had to show the teacher that we knew how to check the oil and tire pressure. Everybody in the class also had to be able to change a tire, too...boys and girls. That was the required class but there was an optional Driver's Training class if your parents signed off and I remember there being a lab fee of about $50.00 but the teacher had power to waive the lab fee if the student couldn't pay. I think there were some forms to fill out for that but my parents just paid. (The $50.00 fee helped the cost of gas, maintenance and insurance on the car.)

For Driver's Training, we basically just ran errands to the bank and grocery store for the teacher. I remember one trip where we drove to a repair shop in order to pick up a lawn mower that the teacher had taken in to get worked on. What the heck? Isn't that a good way for students to get experience driving? The kids learn how to drive, maneuver through parking lots to park the car, load and unload goods from the car. The teacher gets his chores done. Everybody wins! Right?

I think that classes like this, in school, are super important and I think it's a big disservice that schools are cutting programs like this in the name of "Expense" and "Liability."

Kids aren't getting the practical life experience that they need in order to cope with the trials they will face in our ever-increasing society of technology.

[Leo Enticknap]

That's a major difference between the American and British/European approach to driver training: in the latter, it's not done in the public school system at all, but usually through a mix of professional lessons paid for the hour, and supervision by family members. I guess the reasoning behind it is that in most of the USA (excepting a small number of mega metros that have a large scale mass transit infrastructure), driving is such an essential life skill that it has to be taught in school along with all the others. There was (and presumably, still is) a significant urban/rural divide in the UK: I grew up in an inner London 'burb, and didn't learn to drive until I moved away and had to, aged 21 (which was typical): but my cousins in more rural areas started to learn on the day they were legally able to (their seventeenth birthdays).

I went to a boys only high school that didn't do home economics at all (not sure if this is still the case, but in 1980s Britain, single sex high schools were common), but in middle school, everyone did the same home economics and shop classes. My only real memory of the latter was being inspired by a recent history class about the French Revolution to build a scale model of a guillotine, with a box cutter for the blade (at the teacher's suggestion!) and a Lego man for Robespierre. Any kid who tried to do that now would be shut down by a myriad of health and safety regs, I'd guess.

[Scott Norwood]

I took driving classes from a private organization over the summer (my school did not offer them). It was 30 hours of classroom instruction and 10 hours of practical driving instruction. It was OK, but it would have been good if there had been some practical discussion of car maintenance (how to change a tire, etc.) and more hands-on driving time. Most of the actual how-to-drive learning came from driving with my parents.

In my state (Mass.), learners' permits (can only drive with a licensed driver in front seat) are/were issued as early as age 16, and full licenses are/were issued as early as age 16 1/2. I believe that the requirements are slightly stricter now. The former required a written test of rules of the road, while the latter required an actual driving test with a state cop in the front seat to direct and evaluate driving ability. The bar for passing was pretty low, actually.

[Bobby Henderson]

With the mix of schools I attended (via being a military brat) I saw a lot of differences in curriculum. But back in the early and mid 1980's most schools required kids to take shop class and home economics (along with courses in music, art and foreign languages). I find it pretty sad that many public schools have eliminated those kinds of courses. Some of the shop classes in schools I attended were pretty intense. In 8th grade (in Syracuse, NY) we were doing all sorts of electrical wiring (light sockets, power outlets) and wood work. My high school shop teacher in Quantico, VA lived up to the stereotype by cutting off one of his fingers in class. He was demonstrating how to safely use a band saw.

I learned Drivers Ed in Quantico, VA. Our teacher, Coach Leonard, was also the football coach. Our driving routes were interesting. He'd have us driving through training areas of the Marine Corps base and FBI Academy. It's pretty rural stuff. As we got better the routes would get into more challenging, built-up areas like Dale City and Woodbridge. I think we got on I-95 the first time driving. 30+ years later all that area is built-up like crazy. The Coach would usually have 2 or 3 students in the car, taking turns driving. One funny incident: this girl was driving and we came up to an intersection next to the Marine Corps base exchange. There was a flashing red signal. So we stopped. And we sat there. Coach Leonard wasn't saying anything, just looking around at the scenery. Coach looks at the girl and asks, "what do you think?" The girl was a bit dumbfounded by the question and said, "I'm waiting for the light to turn green." We started laughing in the back said, screaming, "let us out!"

It's not difficult to get a driver's license in the US. Not like it can be in Europe. I saw a documentary awhile back showing what German citizens have to go through to get a driver's license. God help the poor politician who dares try to suggest we do that here. A bunch of Americans would be revolting. But the fact remains America has a LOT of terrible drivers and a LOT of needless deaths and injuries happening on the highways.

[Randy Stankey]

My high school shop teacher in Quantico, VA lived up to the stereotype by cutting off one of his fingers in class. He was demonstrating how to safely use a band saw.

Aah! An impromptu lesson in shop first aid! Bonus points for that teacher!

My shop teacher was missing fingers but he didn't do it in class. However, if he caught you doing something unsafe, he'd hold up his hand to display the stump of his severed finger and say, "Keep it up and people will be calling you 'Lefty' for the rest of your life!"

[Frank Cox]

Our shop teacher's most-used line was "Don't bleed on my saw!"

In terms of courses that you probably wouldn't be allowed to conduct today, we had a required course in safe handling of firearms. The teacher brought a stack of various rifles and shotguns to school and we had to demonstrate things like how to safely load and unload them, how to set the safety, how to determine if the gun was loaded, how to carry it safely. I remember everyone having to carry a rifle and crawl over a table to simulate climbing over a fence.

Today a teacher carrying a box of shotguns into a school would probably get arrested before he got past the parking lot.

We had driver training in school as well but the instructor disappeared about halfway through the course. The whisper was that he had got a bit too friendly with some of the girl students and someone quietly informed him that he would be happier somewhere else far away.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I guess the Google-Generation must have had an awful day yesterday when Facebook's prefixes vanished from the global BGP tables for more than 5 hours. I really hoped someone had done a permanent "rm -rf /" on all their database servers and in pure panic someone else decided to simply pull the plug on it... But it turned out to be a rather unspectacular routing misconfiguration...