In Tech Land, we have a concept called "Intuitive", which means that the user should be able to figure out how to accomplish computer actions through reason and deduction. It's also called an "Ideal", but of course reality is quite another state of being.
This morning I wanted to put some photos onto my iPhone from my home computers' desktop. For most Mac actions, our tools, devices, and interfaces employ a sophisticated, tight type of coding called "Drag and Drop". You see where you would like your items to be, you click on the item (either individually or as folders), and you drag them there.
It mimics the same type of hand and eye coordination humans have developed through evolution. Now that PC usage (which stands for "personal computing") has spread to the masses through lower end devices like Dells and cheap overseas laptops, you get what you pay for: less zeros and ones, the codified language that mitigates every action you take on a computer.
That's why cheap computers and software are more prone to hacking. Believe me, I am no acolyte to either camp nor paid endorser: I'm simply an artist who uses the system and tools designed for my type of work, which makes me a Mac user. And I know the difference between the types of devices. They are coming closer together every day, but sometimes I still fall right into the gap that separates the masses from the expert.
So, when I went to drag some photos from my desktop to my iPhone and I could not perform such a simple action, I knew "fuckery" was involved. I launched iTunes, explored all the sub menus, and I still could not intuit the action. That means my creative thinking stops, I stop what I am doing, and I now have to problem-solve like an IT support person, only without the Indian accent and time zone delays.
For an expert, heavy user like myself, non-intuitive actions signify two things: 1) that these tools have been watered down for the masses, and 2) that PC thinking is required, none of which I encounter daily. You see, the more intensive the coding, the higher the concentration of zeros and ones, the more complicated the interfaces and tools are, which means when stuff shits the bed, the tougher a problem it is to solve. The tighter the coding, the more time and money was invested in research and development.
As a Mac user, I don't mind servicing easy tech problems because I use those portions of my brain frequently, but you do not. I then do what any lay person does—I "googled" a query looking for a solution. This is a relatively easy problem to for me solve, and find the answer I did, in the form of a simple instructional video produced and narrated by a techie. As a publishing pro, I have the crushing weight of deadlines on me constantly while looking at a clock, frequently with people standing by my shoulder breathing their hot breath on the back of my neck. Sound scary? The last non-creative I involved in my work flow had trouble sleeping and experienced heart palpitations. Welcome to our world.
To my sheer delight, I found a PC user online who hit the same roadblock, producing a stream of invectives against Apple computing that made my heart sing. Of course, he's wrong—its actually the dumbness of involving a larger group of less educated people into what was once a rare type of computing that is now a coding and way of computing between devices that's outsourced overseas and slapped together to the keep up with demand of mass production, but I loved the spirit of his angst.
"Why can't I just do this now when I want to?" It's so childish, so basic to human nature that it always snaps reality into perspective for me. For those of you who think we will become enslaved to machines like some crazily paranoid SciFi novel, be rest assured: it's still as dumb as your fucking neighbor and co-worker, you just have to dig a little deeper to find it.
Now I have those photos back on my iPhone where they belong (I took snap shots of the sign that shows the working hours for my local branch of the Brooklyn Public Library) and now I have the Power of Grayskull back in my hands, plus this gem of a screen shot to share. Enjoy and revel in the awesome pleasure of raging against stupid machines.
