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My new Lexus came with 700 page user manual.
..And that was separate from the 250 page guide to the Navigation System.
I must admit the safety alerts are wonderful and adaptive cruise control feels like it drives itself, which I guess it is.
But recently I panicked when a yellow warning light went on while driving.
So I pulled over, scoured the Big Book, and discovered that it wanted an oil change#$%!
I'm lucky I know how to start and stop the vehicle.
I have to make this point. When I have purchased a $40k+ Lexus for my corporate fleet, I made sure that the Lexus dealership had someone spend an hour or two going through all of the controls with the executive so that they did not have that experience. If they did not do that, shame on them.
Part of the Lexus promise is that you have an excellent experience with their product. Egads, it is not like dealing with a GM or a Ford dealership where you'll be lucky if the car is even prepped when you pick it up.
Un-intuitive or just poor design? I am amazed at the poor ergonomics and design of most devices, software and apps. Try to hand your cellphone to someone or to change hands on your own phone. There is no where to touch the phone without changing something. There is a touch screen and the edges have additional control buttons.
I am flabbergasted at the design of my most recent semi-pro DSLR camera. Canon has been making cameras for years and the new camera is full of unnecessary stuff but lacks essentials that were on my old camera. The details are too esoteric to explain here but every photographer must just shake their head in disbelief.
A couple of years ago I needed a small laptop to take on an extended vacation. I could only find them with Windows 8. Microsoft has thousands and thousands of employees and a long history and virtual monopoly in designing computer operating systems. No doubt about it, Windows 8 was a disaster that Microsoft had to replace as soon as possible. How could they be that incompetent?
Yep that is me ^^ camera and all. Every paragraph . I went to a chromebook , it's sort of hard to get used to but it's fine.
I can do whatever I want on my phone but I do not because i need peace. I have ridden the tech wave the whole way and I am worn out . I use my phone to talk , text ,use the map , watch you tube and listen to music . NO Social media or email is on it by my choice and I use no other apps even though there are many on it . Like you said there is just too much unnecessary stuff on everything. I am 55.
I find functions in the new smart phones un-intuitive to me. Believe it or not, I used have website usability as part of my work duties, so I thought I'm somewhat tech savvy.
Makes me think of the times when we laugh at our grandparents for not knowing how the remote control works.
Am I getting there myself? I'm (only?) 50.
Ooops! Too late! You got there and it passed you by! LOL
From the very start of computer technology too many developers produced interfaces focusing on the technical function rather than the user point of view.
That is the point!
Microsoft, etc. do not consider the end user at all.
Back to the original question: does all this unintuitive feeling about technology mean we are getting old? I don't think so. From what I have seen most of us old timers are better with technology than younger people. The idea of the grandkids visiting to help the old folks use email and such seems to be an out of date notion. It seems we have struggled through learning to program old fashioned VCRs and home entertainment systems designed by committee and computers, cellphones and who knows how many other devices and pieces of software. We have more understanding and success than kids who only know the technology we now have.
you folks that feel that smart phones are getting away from you should check out one of those new smart speakers like "Google Home" and "Amazon Lexa"
I had a chance to play with one this weekend and I think it represents a new paradigm in hands free tech for the home. Unfortunately, you do need to use a smart phone app to configure it but once that's out of the way you just talk to it and ask it questions. I found it fairly amazing as far as new tech goes and fairly simple to use.
I'm going to buy one very shortly.
Imagine telling google you put something in a special hiding place and asking it to remind you where you put it. Even more amazing ask it a question and see what the answer is. I asked "how much does canada weigh?" and it came back with an answer.
My Son likes to ask it to play songs and it just starts playing. Very cool.
I will no longer buy clock radios that my cat can power the alarm on, but I can’t immediately figure out how to turn off.
I am utterly baffled at the extreme complexity of so many clock radios sold today. Some of them are so poorly designed, I couldn’t even figure out how to set the correct time, never mind actually using the alarm. Who designs these things? Have they ever tried actually USING their product?
Un-intuitive or just poor design? I am amazed at the poor ergonomics and design of most devices, software and apps. Try to hand your cellphone to someone or to change hands on your own phone. There is no where to touch the phone without changing something. There is a touch screen and the edges have additional control buttons.
I am flabbergasted at the design of my most recent semi-pro DSLR camera. Canon has been making cameras for years and the new camera is full of unnecessary stuff but lacks essentials that were on my old camera. The details are too esoteric to explain here but every photographer must just shake their head in disbelief.
A couple of years ago I needed a small laptop to take on an extended vacation. I could only find them with Windows 8. Microsoft has thousands and thousands of employees and a long history and virtual monopoly in designing computer operating systems. No doubt about it, Windows 8 was a disaster that Microsoft had to replace as soon as possible. How could they be that incompetent?
I agree about the cellphone issues. I keep mine in the side of my purse in a slot, and trying take it out in a hurry, or to put the dang thing back in there is just about impossible without activating the screen or hitting some button on the side. I can't count how many times I've turned down the ringer and don't hear phone calls.
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