Quote:
Originally Posted by BetterRed
Most first-world children have been armed with a laptop or similar for what, 10-20 or more years. Do they get any training in data management, I don't mean arcane topics like relational database, stacks, dictionaries, tuples etc.
I mean the basic stuff modelled on manual filing systems that Xerox and others 'invented' 50-60 years ago. That a disk drive is a storage device like a filing cabinet, that a directory is more-or-less like a folder, that a file is more-or-less like a document, that there are different types of files, just like there are invoices, reports, letters, court summons etc etc.
Why am I always having to guide the under 40s so, are others having to show them how to boil an egg or make their own avo-on-toast?
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I think it is a case of everyone is now using graphic user interfaces like Windows, iOS, and Android. I think people use "folders" instead of "directories" because is in a graphic world it is easier to picture a folder than a directory. It is part of the movement to make user interfaces look like things in the real world.
I think that most younger users have never had to actually use a command prompt. It is similar to using command keys, which I use because often it is faster than using a mouse to do actions (such as copy, cut, and paste). I suspect that most people would be lost if their mouse stopped working.
When I learned to use a computer it was in the MS-DOS days. I taught myself by having the manual handy and looking up what I needed to do what I wanted to do. I was able to do things like writing a menu system using only batch files on my own and run TSR programs (tiny programs that run in the background and can be brought forward when needed).