Google's Android is Eating Apple's Lunch

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by holymadness

So did I. I don't go around calling people who don't know that idiots and blaming the stagnant economy on them.

Actually I called the person who was trying to open a spreadsheet with Word an idiot. (And I blame the stagnant economy on politicians.)

[5thWiggle]

Originally Posted by kennyc

And that's exactly the point. New tools require new learning. Simple.

If you want to do your job whether it's a being a carpenter, a taxi driver, or a secretary you must learn to use the tools available to accomplish the job.

In this age of increasingly rapid change one cannot expect to learn one way of doing something and expect it to last a lifetime. We live in a time of change. Embrace it.

I embrace change, in fact I embrace Chaos. It's one of the benefits of being evil.

Now I'm wondering if I can make a sculpture from the now bent and useless saws I have in my possession. I'll title it "Embracing Change" and sell this piece of "Art" for enough funds to recoup my losses...

[pl001]

Originally Posted by 5thWiggle

True, but they did know their tools. Now they have to re-learn them and fight against learned behavior.

A western saw cuts on the push stroke, and has a handle perpendicular to the blade. A Dozuki cuts on the pull stroke, has a much thinner blade and a handle parallel the the blade. Both do the same job, but you've changed the interface. Do that abruptly and now the person not only has to learn the again, but also fight against ingrained behavior.

(And no, don't ask me how many dozukis I've bent. Suffice to say it was too many, and I'm not even a carpenter...)

I agree 100% with this.

Most people who use Excel, for example, are just doing very basic tasks that often aren't even really spreadsheets at all. Excel just serves as the easiest way to organize the data they are working with. I use it on an almost daily basis for quotes and general documentation. That doesn't mean I need to be an expert on it to use it efficiently for my purposes.

And what some people forget is that new isn't always better. It's often different just for the sake of being different. There are a lot of aspects of Windows 7, let alone Windows 8, that are like that. Microsoft's ribbon interface is another example that I absolutely loathed because it didn't offer me any advantage in what I do and seems to clutter what used to be a simple menu system.

I'm in IT as well but that doesn't mean I'm an expert in everything related. I'm an expert in a specific area of a specific field. I embrace change. it's absolutely necessary. But what was once fun and interesting when I was young has often become a hinderence in getting things accomplished now that I'm older. Training time means less time doing.

Now, that said, I certainly have plenty of examples of supporting people who don't know how to do their job and could go on for days talking about it. But I also have idiotic moments now and then, just like everybody else in the world.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by 5thWiggle

I embrace change, in fact I embrace Chaos. It's one of the benefits of being evil.

Now I'm wondering if I can make a sculpture from the now bent and useless saws I have in my possession. I'll title it "Embracing Change" and sell this piece of "Art" for enough funds to recoup my losses...

Perfect!

Go for it!

Try Ebay or FineArtAmerica.

[pl001]

Originally Posted by kennyc

And since this thread has veered off in this direction I'll take this opportunity to say -- this is exactly why Apple limits its options to few and simple and attempts to control things -- in order to limit need to train users etc. If there is only one way, one app to do something, it simplifies support across the board.

It simplifies support, yes. But their proprietary hardware locks you into a single manufacturer and severely limits your flexibility. Generally speaking, businesses usually don't find that to be a good tradeoff.

I don't expect Apple to keep those market share numbers in businesses for this reason. Windows 8 appears to offer far more, assuming they can deliver what has been promised.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by pl001

It simplifies support, yes. But their proprietary hardware locks you into a single manufacturer and severely limits your flexibility. Generally speaking, businesses usually don't find that to be a good tradeoff.

I don't expect Apple to keep those market share numbers in businesses for this reason. Windows 8 appears to offer far more, assuming they can deliver what has been promised.

Oh I agree completely. I despise Apple's business practices. I was just stating the reasoning behind the one-button mouse.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by pl001

Most people who use Excel, for example, are just doing very basic tasks that often aren't even really spreadsheets at all. Excel just serves as the easiest way to organize the data they are working with.

I generally find that for people outside of the IT department, Excel is almost the only tool they ever use, for any problem, regardless of how well suited it is. They've learned a tool, and know how to use it, so apply it to any situation they encounter.
Computers are things that make email, "the internet" and Excel work.
Then we merged with a company that had the same attitude, but with Notes.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

I generally find that for people outside of the IT department, Excel is almost the only tool they ever use, for any problem, regardless of how well suited it is. They've learned a tool, and know how to use it, so apply it to any situation they encounter.
Computers are things that make email, "the internet" and Excel work.
Then we merged with a company that had the same attitude, but with Notes.

Yeah, there was this 'artist' posting his work on another forum -- done in PowerPoint.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Oh I agree completely. I despise Apple's business practices. I was just stating the reasoning behind the one-button mouse.

Fair enough.
Now, if you please, explain the reasoning for the hockey-puck mouse.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

I generally find that for people outside of the IT department, Excel is almost the only tool they ever use, for any problem, regardless of how well suited it is.

There was a time when people did their word processing inside Lotus 1-2-3. They even hunted for special macros to let them add wordpad-level features.
When querried, the vast majority explained that learning Lotus was hard enough; they didn't have the time or stomach for learning wordperfect, too.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Fair enough.
Now, if you please, explain the reasoning for the hockey-puck mouse.

Huh? Jobs chose the one-button mouse because it was "simpler"

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Fair enough.
Now, if you please, explain the reasoning for the hockey-puck mouse.

Symmetry?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Huh? Jobs chose the one-button mouse because it was "simpler"

Right. And the hockey puck mouse because...?

Hint:

http://www.macworld.com/article/1138...tproducts.html

Perhaps no Apple product has been as reviled as the infamous “hockey puck” mouse, which shipped with the original iMac in 1998 and lasted for two years. Its small size made it awkward to grasp, and its round shape made it tricky to orient. The only people who liked it were the folks who made third-party mice and USB-to-ADB adapters that enabled the use of older mice.

In this context "tricky" = "well-nigh impossible".

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Right. And the hockey puck mouse because...?

Hint:

http://www.macworld.com/article/1138...tproducts.html



In this context "tricky" = "well-nigh impossible".

Oh, yeah, that thing, I wasn't even sure what you were talking about, I'd forgotten about that li'l nugget.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by kennyc

No one said anything about becoming a computer expert. What I said was one must learn to use the tools necessary to do their job. Simple concept.

They did learn to use the tools necessary, but then Microsoft decided to change/move/improve the tools. Once that happens you have to spend precious time your's & tech support or a coworker to find the damn tools again so that you can use them.

I love pc's and love learning new things about them, but I was pretty lost at first when I got MS Office 2010 after having used MS office 97 at home and maybe 2003 at work.

At home I have all the time in the world to play around with a new program at work, I need to be productive not wasting precious time looking for something that they decided to move from where I'm used to it being.