The slow death of the power user.
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The slow death of the power user.
"This isn’t an accident. This is the result of two decades of deliberate, calculated effort by the largest technology companies on earth to turn users into consumers, instruments into appliances, and technical literacy into a niche hobby for weirdos. They succeeded beyond their wildest expectations"
@koen_hufkens in the old days, the word "power user" referred to those who had user interface (but not internals) knowledge, and that was already part of the problem, because these people were dependent on a particular ecosystem and their skills weren't transferable.
Creating these "power users" was the goal of anyone wanting to create a lock-in effect.
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@OrionKidder @koen_hufkens not just in technology either; pharmaceuticals, for example are still made with plant extracts but people see the common plants that heal us as weeds to be exterminated. And have you tried to source spare parts for broken electricals recently? It’s cheaper to just buy a new one - you don’t need a screwdriver any more; just an Amazon account.
The solution? Make, repair, support people to keep skills alive.
@natz_b @OrionKidder @koen_hufkens Where possible, grow your own food (and share surpluses.)
One of the most radical acts.
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@OrionKidder @koen_hufkens It's not *just* deskilling to increase dependence. Pancake mix USED to have just three ingredients. Now it has at least 7, some of which add bulk, prevent caking, and act as preservatives because of the need to package and ship it to you. So not only do you lose skills, you get a deliberately worse product with a higher profit margin for them.
Ed: Which, I forgot to add, creates a differentiated product which is amenable to marketing, increasing demand and profits.
@wyatt_h_knott @OrionKidder @koen_hufkens See also bread. It's a faff making your own which is why we had neighborhood bakeries that made great bread daily. Now we get supermarket bread made hundreds of miles away laden with preservatives to withstand long distance transport, have a long shelf life in store and still seem 'fresh' several days after purchase.
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The slow death of the power user.
"This isn’t an accident. This is the result of two decades of deliberate, calculated effort by the largest technology companies on earth to turn users into consumers, instruments into appliances, and technical literacy into a niche hobby for weirdos. They succeeded beyond their wildest expectations"
@koen_hufkens A decade ago I was a local councillor with an idea for a tourist app for our town. A local university had a scheme to pair small businesses or public services with computer students so they got some real -life experience. Our student made a demo app that used Google maps but the uni had an out of date licence for development work so the app wouldn't work properly on newer phones. I suggested he use OSM. He was horrified, open source wasn't on the curriculum.
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@OrionKidder @koen_hufkens It's not *just* deskilling to increase dependence. Pancake mix USED to have just three ingredients. Now it has at least 7, some of which add bulk, prevent caking, and act as preservatives because of the need to package and ship it to you. So not only do you lose skills, you get a deliberately worse product with a higher profit margin for them.
Ed: Which, I forgot to add, creates a differentiated product which is amenable to marketing, increasing demand and profits.
@wyatt_h_knott @OrionKidder @koen_hufkens
What crazy-ass pancake recipes are y'all making? Pancakes have milk, eggs, melted butter, baking powder, flour, salt and sugar.
Also, I agree with your point but let's up our pancake game, friends. They are a gift to humanity. Let's show some respect!
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@wyatt_h_knott @OrionKidder @koen_hufkens
What crazy-ass pancake recipes are y'all making? Pancakes have milk, eggs, melted butter, baking powder, flour, salt and sugar.
Also, I agree with your point but let's up our pancake game, friends. They are a gift to humanity. Let's show some respect!
@johnzajac Have you looked at the ingredients list on a box of pancake mix lately?
Also, pancakes are just a vehicle for syrup. SYRUP is the gift to humanity.
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@johnzajac Have you looked at the ingredients list on a box of pancake mix lately?
Also, pancakes are just a vehicle for syrup. SYRUP is the gift to humanity.
@wyatt_h_knott @OrionKidder @koen_hufkens
No because I always make my pancakes from scratch because I do not hate myself
"Vehicle for syrup" was my nickname in college
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@wyatt_h_knott @OrionKidder @koen_hufkens
No because I always make my pancakes from scratch because I do not hate myself
"Vehicle for syrup" was my nickname in college
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@koen_hufkens We can't all be "power users" in everything we use. I'm 100% OK with instant usability. If someone wants to just use a computer without knowing how it works that's no different from me wanting to just use clothes without knowing about weaving and stitching. Yes, that means that I'm dependent on Big Sewing. I'm OK with that. I don't want to be a self-sufficient peasant who can do everything he needs to survive but can't go to the opera.
@DrHyde @koen_hufkens Fast fashion (aka "Big Sewing") is a big problem that hurts the people working in it and our environment. It's hard to recognize something has value if you don't know how it was made.
You don't have to knowing everything about textile production or weave your own clothes... I do so because I enjoy it.
I still strongly believe we'd be better off if everyone knew how to sew a button back on or fix a small hole.
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@koen_hufkens I saw a neat hiring trick once: an ISP had hidden the instructions on finding the job application in DNS TXT records. Without modest DNS and a few other networking skills you didn't get to even apply.
I might have to resort to that if the "power user" situation is as bad as the article suggests. I guess I just don't hang out with the wrong people...
@TallSimon @koen_hufkens I did that at a previous job. Put a job ad into the website html and console log
Can't remember if someone applied through it, though
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The slow death of the power user.
"This isn’t an accident. This is the result of two decades of deliberate, calculated effort by the largest technology companies on earth to turn users into consumers, instruments into appliances, and technical literacy into a niche hobby for weirdos. They succeeded beyond their wildest expectations"
@koen_hufkens I appreciate that this article correctly identifies the (main) villain - Apple, and the iPhone.
But I'm a little annoyed at the claim that no one saw it at the time. I did. I saw the iPhone and I was appalled and disgusted at all the perfectly intelligent people who bought into it and were excited at rushing into the closed garden.
I knew what it would mean at what it would lead to. Not because I was a prescient genius but because I already knew it from video game consoles.
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@koen_hufkens I appreciate that this article correctly identifies the (main) villain - Apple, and the iPhone.
But I'm a little annoyed at the claim that no one saw it at the time. I did. I saw the iPhone and I was appalled and disgusted at all the perfectly intelligent people who bought into it and were excited at rushing into the closed garden.
I knew what it would mean at what it would lead to. Not because I was a prescient genius but because I already knew it from video game consoles.
@koen_hufkens Nintendo succeeded with the NES in producing a humongous closed garden revenue stream, and the entire IT industry was salivating at the prospects of somehow doing the same thing themselves.
All the feature phones and PDAs and Newton garbage and such were closed gardens, but they all sucked because of lack of software and no one really figured out how to make it rake in profits at the desired scale.
Until Apple fanboys lost their minds at the iPod.
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@koen_hufkens Nintendo succeeded with the NES in producing a humongous closed garden revenue stream, and the entire IT industry was salivating at the prospects of somehow doing the same thing themselves.
All the feature phones and PDAs and Newton garbage and such were closed gardens, but they all sucked because of lack of software and no one really figured out how to make it rake in profits at the desired scale.
Until Apple fanboys lost their minds at the iPod.
@koen_hufkens The iPod finally cracked the nut of something super profitable (while also being an iron fisted closed garden).
Its success paved stepping stones to the iPhone, and I could only look on in horrified amazement that people were actually buying into this garbage.
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@OrionKidder @koen_hufkens fun fact, if you mix it yourself you can put as much vanilla as you want in it :DDD
@ireneista @OrionKidder @koen_hufkens
That's where it starts. "Oh, just a little vanilla", you tell yourself. But you can't stop. You need more. MORE. Eventually vanilla becomes normal. Bland. You need the harder stuff. Before you know it you're adding... cinnamon.
