Opinion: Power users, are we a dying breed?

by Mike Rigsby | Wednesday 28 September 2011

They say they're an enthusiast, power user, geek, but what does it mean? Mike Rigsby explains what the term "power user" means to him.

The other day I downloaded the free Windows Developer Preview. Technically it’s not Windows 8. It is a preview for developers so they can start designing software for Microsoft’s new Metro Interface.

Ah, Metro. It’s simple. It’s easy to use immediately. Nice big tiles for one click access to software instead of a Start menu that makes it look essentially like a children’s toy.

When software is closed it basically only has two screens, the Metro interface page and a neutered and nearly useless Desktop page. When software is open, it’s full screen. A user can’t have more than one application open and in front of them at a time to get confused by.

When you click the Start button all it does is flip back and forth between the Metro page and the Desktop page. There are nearly no obvious options for customisation or any complicated menus to confuse users.

I kind of hate it. I’m a Windows guy, a Power User.

What the hell is a "Power User"?

I consider myself a "Power User" and I consider myself a dying breed. I blogged about this on the AuTechHeads site recently - here, I'm going to expand a little on what I wrote, and give you my take on what it is to be a Power User.

A Power User to me is a user of anything, not just computers, who loves the devices they're using. A Power User wants to tell a device what they want. They do not want a device that gives them what the device manufacturer thinks they want.

A Power User is someone who wants to truly know how to use the devices they love. They want to know how it works. They want to know how to push their devices to their limits.

They want the feeling of satisfaction that comes from knowing that they've 'earned' the performance from their device. They took a complex piece of technology and they bent it to their will.

A Power User craves the challenge of actually learning how to do something. A Power User wants variety in their devices.

Power Users are the Masters of their technology.

Pushing boundaries

"Average Joe on the Street" doesn't care how their devices work, just so long as they work. They want their devices to do whatever they do automatically, without any real thought or effort on their part.

This is not how a Power User thinks. A Power User wants to push the boundaries. They want to be able to identify every component inside a computer on sight and be able to disassemble and reassemble it with their eyes closed.

A Power User wants to be able to ‘jailbreak’ their Android phone and flash any custom ROM they want onto it.

A Power User wants to put in some effort to get their devices to work. Putting some effort into getting what you want out of a device means you've mastered the device. It's yours.

If you have a device that "just works”, which does everything it's supposed to do without any knowledge or effort on your part, it isn't 'yours'. You're only getting the functionality that the device manufacturer wants you to have. You're just paying them for the right to tell you what they think you want.

Sadly, the "Power User" is the minority of consumers. The average consumer wants to walk out of a store and immediately have full functionality from their device without doing anything to get it. The average consumer doesn't care that they can look at any 5 different tablets of the top selling manufacturer "in the wild" and not be able to tell them apart.

The average consumer hears the excuse of "you're holding it wrong" when their phone drops reception and they accept it.

A Power User knows that excuse is total crap. A Power User knows that it's actually due to bad design, poor quality control and lack of testing that's causing their phone to drop calls.

The average consumer wants to be spoon fed their technology. They're sheep with the attention span of a goldfish.

The average consumer buys a device, not on 'its specs', not on its versatility, not on the fact that it's upgradeable. No, the average consumer buys a device because their favorite celebrity has one. They buy a device because all their friends have one.

The average consumers are Followers. They buy what popular opinion tells them to buy. Sadly, they buy a lot. They support the manufacturing industry. So much so that manufacturers have no choice but to cater to what they want.

If a manufacturer wants their device to be successful they have to design it to appeal to the mass majority of consumers.

Eventually the process of designing Advanced Options, Customisable Menus and Upgradeable Hardware will all be considered excess overhead, because those features only appeal to the Power User, or the minority of customers.

The future

I foresee a future where devices won't even be made with Options. Options are complicated. Options take too much effort to figure out and that's not what the average consumer wants. "Average Joe on the Street" is the majority customer and "the customer is always right."

I foresee a future where The Power User is dead.

I see people use Spell Checker for even the most basic writing because they can’t be bothered to figure out how to spell correctly. I see people buy alarm clocks that are set automatically from internal GPS because they don’t want to bother learning how to set it themselves.

Mankind achieved our place by using our brains and then we've designed technology that lets us stop using them. To me, this is not progress.

I use my brain. I don’t shy away from knowledge. I do not want technology that makes already simple tasks even simpler. I'm a Power User and I will be till the day I die.

Now get the hell off my lawn!

Mike Rigsby is a network administrator and PC troubleshooter based in Portland, Oregon, who's both a Microsoft fan, Android user and a self confessed support geek. Mike is also a member of the AuTechHeads community, a free Australian-based group for technology professionals from all backgrounds and industries.

Do you agree or disagree with Mike's opinions? What does being a power user mean to you? Add your comments below.

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Reggie 29 September 2011	Oh I get it, Power User = someone with a very high opinion of themselves. Comment made about the PC & Tech Authority article: Opinion: Power users, are we a dying breed?? They say they're an enthusiast, power user, geek, but what does it mean? Mike Rigsby explains what the term "power user" means to him. What do you think? Join the discussion.
geller 29 September 2011	It's a very different mindset. I know a few people for whom IT is a hobby. That's a totally different way of thinking than thinking about it as a tool to get a job done. I think there's an element of fascination and curiosity.
j876 29 September 2011	Fantastic article and so true in many respects. That is why Apple iOS, Mac OS and even Windows now is getting dumbed down more and more by the minute and more features and config options are getting locked down so users can't touch it. It is the same with hardware now. On some gear you cannot even change a battery or RAM because they are soldered in or they make it very difficult to access easily (most tablets like the Acer Iconia and the phones like the iPhone try and pry out the battery without tools). As the user interface gets more and more simple the less computer literate people get and the more their brains switch off when they use computers and technology. Look at all the people who get scammed every day and have their WiFi networks leeched off. I do not agree that the power user is dead. You know why? Because when the (have a guess what) hits the fan with the average consumers tech they seek out a power user to fix it and tech support companies and the local computer stores are making big bucks for doing very little because the user cannot be bothered to read the manual and have a play with their tech. Its just laziness and apathy plain and simple. Edited by J876: 29/9/2011 01:12:46 PM Edited by J876: 29/9/2011 01:13:30 PM
philip101 29 September 2011	Great article!
DJ... 29 September 2011	This isn't an article about a power "user" but a power "tinkerer", someone who wants to get into the innards and understand how it works rather than use it. Such people either stick with the old T Model Ford and never move on, because it was the best car ever built and you really had to know just how to set the spark so it ran smoothly. Or, these are the people who design the latest Formula 1 Ferrari - all new technology that no-one else understands. But most people use a car, many become expert drivers who don't care about how the engine develops its power, they just know how to use it to maximise their performance as a driver. A taxi driver who is able to minimise time and maximise fuel economy is a more useful 'user' of a car than the mechanic who tweaked the car to run smoothly. Same with computer users. Someone who knows how to use the tool most efficiently to get their work done is more useful than the guy who fixed it. This is why Tech Support Guys get paid so poorly. They may know how to get the best out of the computer given enough time but they don't actually make money with the computer. Personally, I'm a tweaker - it's more fun, but I can understand why 'users' want something simple to use. :-)
mikerigsby 30 September 2011	Humbled and deeply appreciative of the comments. Reggie, I couldn't disagree more. I am the single worst enemy I will ever have. I think very poorly of myself actually. My idea of a Power User is someone who not only uses their technology but at least has some idea of how it works. Or at the very least cares to get the most from the device that they can. I do say a lot about a Power Users knowing every component to a PC and maybe that's not accurate. I just hate seeing the manufacturer's designing devices that you have to return to a shop to even change a battery and I hate the fact that consumers as a majority just accept that. There are tons of exceptions to that and anyone who'd even read my article is immediately an exception. I just wish more 'users' would take some pride in their knowledge and not just accept everything. It's getting to the point where there's no such thing as "high tech". I don't think the Power User is dead, YET. I'm just afraid that in a few decades they will be, because devices will be made simpler and simpler. There won't be anything to repair, optimize, upgrade, etc because the technology will have long been catered to the people who don't want those options and it will have been designed out.
woogaman 30 September 2011	G'Day,I like this article.A power user is some one who gets their hands dirty."I like to see how this machine works"? I have been like this before the pc was a house hold name.In other words what ever I get my hands on I modify it too my specks.We had 4x4 utes & Blue Heelers before they came a fashion statement.I mod my motor bikes.I mod my home.I mod my cars.I had reversing camera's before they were standard in hatch backs.I have been recycling before there was money in it.I build pcb's for my own use. What is the use of software if the hardware is not working too it's full potential?I built the outside network on the property too connect up the satellite terminal(transceiver)for the children too do their homework & not be behind the 8 ball.I built all the laptops from parts bought over the net for all my kids & myself.I'm not scared of flashing an eprom chip.All late model Tvs,Set top boxes,Dvd players all have firmware/software that can be upgraded if you know what your on about.Mobile transceivers were just the start of the revolution that we have today.Slow scan tv from Amateur Radio Operators? All this preceded the fax & all tone generated communications that people take for-granted. Mike you & I know when the resources run low,the people that can turn their hands too what their minds desire will rise too the occasion.What will they do next to find the metals & plastics that fuel the sheep of the economy.Start digging up old tips to reclaim all that has been wasted??This is only the tip of the ice berg.China will eventually run out of resources in the end.What then?Another note.How can anybody take techie's serious when their grammar is lacking,including the editor.I have,& NEVER will start a sentence with a "And".It sounds like the little school boy up front of the class trying to tell a story & all that comes out of his mouth at the beginning of every sentence is "UMM"!I blame screen writers & subtitles for that rubbish.So here is a power user. regards Dan ;-)
mikerigsby 30 September 2011	Woogaman/Dan, Thank you for the comments. I do indeed think that there will always be people who keep their technical skills sharp and will always be available to 'save the day' when things go to hell. I just find it sad that those people have to fight to maintain that ability because the industry is catering to people who don't care anymore. It seems like society, at least in this regard, is moving backwards. As far as the grammar goes, remember, I'm a Yank. Hah. Unfortunately, we don't speak English in the US, we speak American. A sad bastardization of English from years of misuse. Even my spell-checker insists on replacing a 'z' in words like 'bastardisation'. My loose use of grammar is intentional, as a matter of just being relaxed in my articles, versus from ignorance, as I have a fairly solid grasp of proper grammar.
woogaman 30 September 2011	Mike don't get me wrong matey,about the grammar.It was a dig at pc Authority in general,not you.Your article is one of the best I have seen so far.When I see bad writing in articles & pics that are not even associated with the articles. I say to myself what does this clown know? They can't even write about it properly.I am also one of those people who have 5 different english dictionary's.Spell check is just a silly lazy program that stuffs up most of the time. Also I my Father had a model T Ford diff for a winch on his trawler.They were supposed to have all brass gearing inside the casing.I still have it.I might pull it apart one day to have a look see. Cheers Dan
mikerigsby 30 September 2011	Dan, no worries there. One of these days I'll make it 'down under' to meet the friends I have over at autechheads.com and we'll meet up and have a beer. This article is the first 'official' article I've ever written and I seriously am staggered by the excellent feedback. Both positive and negative comments are greatly appreciated.
rubaiyat 30 September 2011	woogaman Sorry but must ask. You are aware of the differences between to, too, and two? your, you're? etc…and what what each of those means? At least you are consistent, not just randomly rotating them. I won't go into the other obsessions of the compulsive sub-editor, such as use of prepositions such as an and, not splitting words like household and iceberg, and using punctuation to render text readable. There are power users in many aspects, we all have our expertise, some in usage. Mine is limited in fiddling with the guts of computers, I used to do much more of that when it made financial sense, but have always turned my attention to what the assembled computer produces. Something that personally distresses me everyday as I browse the Net. We have become hole diggers for the Chinese, people who now shame us in enterprise, and determination to achieve the education that we neglect and take for granted. We are on the road to the future of the industrious, cannibalistic Morlocks and preyed upon, vacuous Eloi. I note how much people are obsessed with building machines that they really are unfit to operate. Pythagoras famously said, give me a lever long enough and I will move the world. The computer is in my view the lever that will move the universe, but too many seem to view it as the crutch to prop up their decreasing interest in education and knowledge. This is leading not just to physical obesity but mental obesity as well. I have remarked frequently in these forums on people I know who obsess over Hi-Fi theatre set-ups but when you talk to them about music or cinema or anything else that may be played on it, show a confused, non-comprehension and puzzled disinterest. What has the content to do with the beauty of the medium? The product of the technology and its content are irrelevant. Which is why it is mangled, neglected and abused by "power users". Who can deny a man the joys of his bulldozer as he does wheelies through the garden that was the original project.
woogaman 30 September 2011	Yes Mike I have just been over to the site you mentioned & was reading your article there.I'll say this for myself.I have not used win8 & the UI does not do nothing for me except? Think of M$ & an App store & that's where everything seems to be headed. Thats why I chose the samsung wave over the galaxy.I do not like android & their app's.My ph has been faultless & running bada 1.0 & I will load a free version of 1.2 just in case things go pear shape on the ph's OS.So it does go down to how people use their tech.They either love it or hate it.
mikerigsby 30 September 2011	Woogaman, I like Android and I don't mind an App Market type method of getting software. However, the plan for Windows 8 is that an App Market will be the ONLY way of getting software. The current Developers Preview isn't completely the way it will be when it is released to market but the intention is to not allow 'side loading' as it's called. In other words, installing in the usual manner. If you want a program, you will have to buy it through the Microsoft App Store. Which, frankly, sucks.
jman231994 30 September 2011	I'm not sure if anyone else has said this....But I have to :P I FIGHT FOR THE POWER USERS!!!!! hehe
jman231994 30 September 2011	OH and its an awesome article...We need to band together and have a Power Using isnt Dead meeting like razer did for gaming haha
ory_zm 30 September 2011	I agree and disagree... I agree that the power user features are becoming scarcer and scarcer, and I openly blame apple's closed ecosystem for that (they did it with the OSX and then improved with iOS). However for me (as a power user - or at least I think of myself as one), power using (if there is such a thing) is almost always a hobby. That means that I love doing it and I love the possibilities, but sometime (allot of the time) I just want stuff to work out of the box. That's not such a bad thing is it? My SGS II is a great example IMO. Works great out of the box, but if you are into tinkering (XDA et al) the possibilities are almost endless. Unfortunately most technology is not like that, and it is either "easy out of the box no options" (iTunes) or "crazily complicated but you can do anything with it" (Foobar). Because the majority of people goes with easy (and why not, we are the nuts the spend countless hours trying to get stuff to work), that is what becomes more and more the norm - not sure that's a bad thing! I don't want to be having to fix all my mates sh^& tech gadgets everytime I come over for a drink... My 2c.
mikerigsby 1 October 2011	ory_zm, totally with you there. I do want devices to be fully functional and easy to use out of the box. However, I do also want Advanced functionality and options available if I want to use them. I just hope manufacturers don't start completely eliminating the ability to use Advanced options for users who do want them.
DJ... 1 October 2011	So what is a "power user"? I feel that Mike is trying to justify some ancient definition of 'power user', one that suits someone who is not willing to move on. I built my first personal computer in 1979, a 6809 processor on an S100 motherboard. Installed all the chips and then saved up for a back plane and a 64kB (yes kilo) memory card that I populated with 56kB of static memory. Designed and built a floppy disk controller that was wire-wrapped onto a general purpose S100 card using discrete ICs. Installed Flex and OS9 and could boot into either. I even built the case from aluminium frames and sheets. Now those were the days when you could really get down to each nut & bolt and we were POWER USERS. Not like today when you buy a completely finished board. No wire-wrapping needed. :-) But I've moved on - I now use a Mac because I'm a power USER of this particular tool and I'm sure there are power USERS of Windows and Linux boxes too. We power users though use the computer as a tool and not an end in itself and don't care that it is a closed system because it opens a whole new world. If we want to build something we still can, but it's no point in trying to 'build down' from an exiting box - 'build up' from component parts and boards.
mikerigsby 1 October 2011	DJ... bows I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy! :-) Now that is setting a bar to meet for a tinkerer. I'm completely accepting the need to "move on". I'm just not sure I see technological trends "moving FORWARD". Using your own personal choice of computer you mention, can you honestly tell me that a manufacturer that designs laptops and cellphones that a user cannot even change their own battery and quite often can't upgrade the memory because it's soldered onto the board a good example of still allowing advanced user experiences? I've already mentioned that anyone who would even read this article are exceptions to my, possibly fatalistic, views of technology right now. I do, however, personally know someone who bought a Macbook purely because she thought it was cool. It was a status symbol. All of her friends had one and they pressured her into getting it. She couldn't even connect it to a wireless signal without a phone support call. I've worked for a contract high tech manufacturer here in the US for 11 years. We've built circuit boards for companies like Intel, HP, Motorola, Cray, many others over the years so I have a fairly decent view of the advancement in technology and it is indeed staggering. I just hate seeing devices designed to appeal to the 'simple' user because eventually that's all there will be left. I support users who, when asked to reboot their PC, turn their Monitor off and back on. This is who tech designers are catering to. I want nothing more than to have Power Users like you and the rest of the readers, who have humbled me by reading my little rant here, prove me wrong.
mikerigsby 1 October 2011	DJ... bows I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy! :-) Now that is setting a bar to meet for a tinkerer. I'm completely accepting the need to "move on". I'm just not sure I see technological trends "moving FORWARD". Using your own personal choice of computer you mention, can you honestly tell me that a manufacturer that designs laptops and cellphones that a user cannot even change their own battery and quite often can't upgrade the memory because it's soldered onto the board a good example of still allowing advanced user experiences? I've already mentioned that anyone who would even read this article are exceptions to my, possibly fatalistic, views of technology right now. I do, however, personally know someone who bought a Macbook purely because she thought it was cool. It was a status symbol. All of her friends had one and they pressured her into getting it. She couldn't even connect it to a wireless signal without a phone support call. I've worked for a contract high tech manufacturer here in the US for 11 years. We've built circuit boards for companies like Intel, HP, Motorola, Cray, many others over the years so I have a fairly decent view of the advancement in technology and it is indeed staggering. I just hate seeing devices designed to appeal to the 'simple' user because eventually that's all there will be left. I support users who, when asked to reboot their PC, turn their Monitor off and back on. This is who tech designers are catering to. I want nothing more than to have Power Users like you and the rest of the readers, who have humbled me by reading my little rant here, prove me wrong.
Slatts 1 October 2011	mikerigsby wrote: I support users who, when asked to reboot their PC, turn their Monitor off and back on. This is who tech designers are catering to. Oh? Is there another way? :p And I tidied up that double post for you Mike.
rubaiyat 2 October 2011	I was uncertain myself as to what constitutes a "Power User" until now. Far be it for me to generalise about PC users, I'll just step aside and let them demonstrate for me. PC Power Users apparently double post, and remonstrate with a journalist's writing, using even more egregious solecisms than the original article.
mikerigsby 2 October 2011	rubaiyat, For one, I'm no journalist. I'm just an IT Geek who enjoys stirring people to think about topics and engage in conversation. As for the "egregious solecisms", I believe I mentioned earlier that I prefer to simply talk, like a normal person instead of a pretentious gasbag with an excessive vocabulary. I'll leave that to real journalists and the occasional forum contributor. Oh, and the double post was a legitimate website glitch as I only pressed Add Comment once. Funny how every forum conversation is filled primarily with decent people engaging in good conversation yet there always has to be at least one person who makes pointless, snarky comments.
rubaiyat 2 October 2011	The sad thing is watching the woogamen of this world telling it like it is. Quote: G'Day,I like this article.A power user is some one who gets their hands dirty."I like to see how this machine works"? I have been like this before the pc was a house hold name.In other words what ever I get my hands on I modify it too my specks.We had 4x4 utes & Blue Heelers before they came a fashion statement.I mod my motor bikes.I mod my home.I mod my cars.I had reversing camera's before they were standard in hatch backs.I have been recycling before there was money in it.I build pcb's for my own use. What is the use of software if the hardware is not working too it's full potential?I built the outside network on the property too connect up the satellite terminal(transceiver)for the children too do their homework & not be behind the 8 ball.I built all the laptops from parts bought over the net for all my kids & myself.I'm not scared of flashing an eprom chip.All late model Tvs,Set top boxes,Dvd players all have firmware/software that can be upgraded if you know what your on about.Mobile transceivers were just the start of the revolution that we have today.Slow scan tv from Amateur Radio Operators? All this preceded the fax & all tone generated communications that people take for-granted. Mike you & I know when the resources run low,the people that can turn their hands too what their minds desire will rise too the occasion.What will they do next to find the metals & plastics that fuel the sheep of the economy.Start digging up old tips to reclaim all that has been wasted??This is only the tip of the ice berg.China will eventually run out of resources in the end.What then?Another note.How can anybody take techie's serious when their grammar is lacking,including the editor.I have,& NEVER will start a sentence with a "And".It sounds like the little school boy up front of the class trying to tell a story & all that comes out of his mouth at the beginning of every sentence is "UMM"!I blame screen writers & subtitles for that rubbish.So here is a power user. regards Dan ;-) I'm used to the inept spelling, bad grammar and lack of knowledge that is taken as the "norm" now. What got me to post was his criticism of the author. An antipodean Dan Quayle. As you have pointed out, if you know better, better to shut up. Knowing better does not go down well with "Power Users. Everybody knows that!
mikerigsby 2 October 2011	rubaiyat, I prefer to just be a bit more accepting of people than that. Think the best of people and treat everyone with respect until they prove they deserve otherwise. One never knows who we're truly talking to on the internet. Situations like education, native language, or local dialects, slang, etc are completely unknown when you're dealing with someone who is nothing more than type font on a screen. People are more than their outward ability in typing and grammar. I've known plenty of people who were extraordinary artists, mechanics, landscapers, etc but were very poor spellers or communicators. That didn't make them in any way less of a human being, or lessen the skills and knowledge they have in their professions.
rubaiyat 2 October 2011	Like I said I wouldn't have said anything, its pointless these days, if woogaman didn't pontificate from a position of ignorance. I give a lot of latitude for the many non-English speakers, such as Americans, on the net. Also I have time for the elderly, children and the bewildered. Frankly you really can't say anything about ignorance, obesity, or nutters because that is virtually everybody. In America it is everybody. If Abbott really wants to have a go about waste I suggest he starts with education. Even though he would be just another woogaman himself, it would be interesting to knoiw where did all the money go and for what? I do support for a particular software package and get lots of academics, MBAs and other professionals trying to fix stuff-ups in their documents. My eyes practically roll out of their sockets at the state of their work. The worst bit is knowing that the people it is going to are equally as unaware of how bad it is.
mikerigsby 2 October 2011	Well, it's not necessarily everyone in America. I know, considering I live there. :) Just try to use your, obviously advanced, education to help others who don't share that benefit, versus casting judgement. This article comments string has rather spiraled off into a very unusual direction.
rubaiyat 2 October 2011	Mike I have a lot of dealings with Americans. The state of your education frankly frightens me. I'd say that is the number 1 reason you are in the position you are today. But given the state of America's education most there don't know it.
mikerigsby 2 October 2011	Oh, not disagreeing at all, unfortunately. I just said not 'everyone' here fits so neatly into that stereotype.
rubaiyat 2 October 2011	I agree. I have met some amazingly clever Americans, some with actual knowledge that an outside world exists. I feel for them as I do for all persecuted minorities.
mikerigsby 2 October 2011	Heh, I'll delude myself into including myself into that group. If you are interested in furthering our conversations you can feel free to look me up on Twitter. Same name as here.
amcmo 2 October 2011	Rubaiyat - I have to disagree slightly this time - 'some of my best friends are Americans'. Most of my background is in semiconductors and electronics and all of the people I worked with and friends I made there are very intelligent people. (even if some do drive around with pistols in the glove box and ask you to pass to them while they're driving - REAL STORY! - he was talking to a friend on his 'cel' and needed the exact model number). I was brought up on farms with firearms as a part of life, but that scared the crap out of me! Back to the point, like any society, there are smart and dumb. The US education system is seriously screwed if you're not in a wealthy region, however we shouldn't be too smug, ours is headed in the same direction. I won't blame Abbot, however I will blame every state and federal politician in the past 20 years regardless of party. They're trying to drag our next generation down to their level of woefully limited intelligence. Some of our staff can build a PC eyes shut and have it running any OS within a very short time. Others need their hands holding minute by minute. Our greatest POWER USER would not have a clue (calls the whole box the hard drive), but she runs rings around any of our tech heads when it comes to use of top end applications. Knows all the hidden 'switches', every keyboard shortcut by heart. All depends how you define a power user I guess. Edited by amcmo: 2/10/2011 04:49:52 PM
blockcentre 2 October 2011	rubaiyat wrote: Frankly you really can't say anything about ignorance, obesity, or nutters because that is virtually everybody. In America it is everybody. Sorry rubaiyat, that's just an offensive generalisation. Try to keep them in check.
mikerigsby 3 October 2011	Regardless of the definition of "Power User", "Tinkerer", etc, I think the idea that I was trying to point out is that it feels to me like technology is getting dumber and dumber. Catering to consumers that want things that aren't even that difficult, such as typing, even more simplified with features like auto-correct. I just hope manufacturers don't decide that consumers like that are the driving force of their new devices.
peterhau 3 October 2011	mike, i think you have missed the point. the technology is getting smarter and smarter. Unfortunately, this means that the average user can get by with basic point and click skills, no thinking required. A Power User, on the other hand, may decide that the operating environment is so "easy" that they leave the platform completely, seeking out new challenges on other operating systems, where they can tweak, fiddle, adapt (insert option here) the system to hum along as they feel it should. The operators seem to be dumber and dumber - or, at least, that is what the manufacturers would have us believe. How many people, when buying a new computer, want to know the speeds and feeds? Power users do. They understand what they need to make the computer run faster, they know off by heart the sysreqs that the operating system has. Most consumers don't know / care, as they want it to surf the net, play games, maybe a bit of email and document writing. They are who answers the surveys that most of us ignore. This is what is stinging us. We have let the companies listen to the consumers, which leaves us power users out of the loop, complaining about software that treats us as idiots.
DJ... 4 October 2011	Mike, et al, Perhaps the point of being a "Power User" is being missed here because we are looking to deeply into current technology. I started out using a slide rule (look it up in Wikipedia) and a book of log tables. We were Power Users and could slide the Rule to a really quick result. And then came along these new fangled things called "Electronic Calculator". Gee, could we ever get a more accurate answer so much quicker then. But Calculators were for 'dummies' who didn't know how to use a slide rule. "Real Power Users" used a slide rule! You see the parallel with what Mike has been saying about PCs being dumbed down? Having an electronic calculator opened up a whole new world of usages and real Power Users moved on the using calculators and getting far more things done at a faster rate.... until this damn thing called a "Personal Computer" came along. Somehow, users of these devices are now known as "dumb users". It must be a generational thing. :-) Real POWER USERS still use slide rules!!
amcmo 4 October 2011	Get the slide rule - I still have one in in the drawer, can't seem to throw it out. Used to be able to do calcs on it at super speed. I do think that the term Power User is being miss used here. To me a power user is someone who knows how to get the most out of their PC and it's apps, keyboard shortcuts, little known app switches etc, not necessarily someone who can get in the guts and tinker. Someone who can open the box, tweak settings, get more speed out of it is a tech-head not necessarily a power user. I've seen enough of them struggle when trying to use everyday business apps and waste more time getting work done. Yes they can play a mean game of Doom or whatever the current fad is, however try getting them to reformat a 70 page catalog in inDesign or Quark and they sit there looking lost. Even a simple multipage Excel workbook with lookups has them in the corner talking to themselves. Extreme example, I know there are tech-heads who are also power users.
rubaiyat 4 October 2011	I'm with amcmo on this one. It seems that a lot of people seem to think the hardware/software is the part that needs the tweaking. I got into a heavy bar room debate, when I was working in North Sydney in advertising, with a PC toting designer. We went through all the usual Mac vs PC pros and cons. I kept repeating that the Mac was a beautifully smooth tool that basically gets out of your way when you are working. He kept going over his obsessions of price and 'speed' which I thought were largely irrelevant to us who were driving the machine, most basic computers these days keep up with the user. Eventually out of frustration I made my usual observation about the appearance of the work. I get to see so much of it, and there is a certain PC look to what comes off PCs. Heaven knows why, they run the same software most times. I think it is the self selecting users. Those who care more about design buy Macs because they are nice designs and those who care more about hardware and (supposedly) saving money buy PCs. So having a few beers in us we headed around to his studio so he could show off how great his work was. Turned out his studio did mostly promo material and CDs etc for rock bands, with plenty of display material lying around. A quick look and I observed just about everything you possibly could stuff up, plus some. Typos, spelling errors by the bucketload, appalling color and print out, overuse of software features, too-tiny text overlaid on complex backgrounds with no regard for screening/trapping problems. Politely I didn't say anything as he lead me to his workstation to show me what he could do. Well it started with him not being able to boot up, and ended up with him under the table pulling out and reseating cards and cables. After an hour when I really had to get back to (paying) work, he was still under there assuring me that it was nothing really. I hope that he isn't still under his desk "making his computer run faster". Between then and now I'd say I'd have pumped out many times as much work as he seemed to manage. Work where quality was the objective, not shaving cents to waste dollars.
mikerigsby 4 October 2011	Mac vs. PC is definitely an argument I, at least try to, avoid for the most part since that's way too heated of an argument. Blinded fanboy'ism on both sides makes that an argument that no one ever wins. I'm including myself in that description as I wouldn't take a Mac if someone gave me one. However, I still feel both PCs and Macs are good at what they do and work well for those who want the capabilities they offer. I also totally get the idea of comparing a slide-rule to a calculator. However, in my train of thought from the perspective of this article I would consider them both "Power User" tools. Both of them do something that people have a tough time doing for themselves. Taking that analogy further in the direction I'm talking about would be if you took an advanced calculator, built in a digital camera, and designed a device that solved advanced math problems simply by taking a photo of it. Instead of my saying technology is getting dumber and dumber, which wasn't really a good statement on my part, it would be better if I said technology that makes users dumber and dumber is what I fear happening. Auto-correct/Auto-complete, because users are too lazy to learn to spell, Text-to-Speech/Speech-to-Text being used by people who don't have any special accessibility requirements because they're too lazy to read or write, people walking down the street talking on their Bluetooth headset because they're too lazy to hold their phone. Technology is supposed to 'Help' us perform tasks, not 'Replace' us. Thankfully this is an opinion piece but it has definitely stirred up some interesting conversation.
rubaiyat 5 October 2011	Curious that you "wouldn't take a Mac if someone gave me one." If someone were to offer me a PC I'd definitely take it and play with it. But then I am curious. I know that I won't know if I don't look. I have commented many times here on the dumbing down of devices and what it is doing to the people who use them. Particularly all the spelling aids and grammar checkers. If you give a healthy man a crutch or an electric cart you turn him into a cripple. The aids are having the opposite effect intended, something that was always obvious except there was a buck to be made selling you the promise of better writing, not the reality of semi-illiteracy. America is far further down the road than we are, although we are chasing hard. It seems to me an obsession in the USA for 'labor saving gadgets' as an unquestionably "good thing", with an unnoticed consequence that they are literally killing people. Typically when the consequences of bad ideas finally sink in, the solution must be "more of the same". The whole point is not an ultimate purpose, but the sale. Even better if one sale leads to another, from product to product, to health and mental problems that need products to fix them. Trashy food pumped up with sugars, salt, chillies, chemicals, whatever to disguise just how bad they are, which lead to medical conditions that are sold pharmaceutical solutions, that fail, requiring extensive medical care profitably lingering past the point of unconsciousness, then to the ultimate sale, the ludicrously expensive funeral to cap off the American dream of consuming as much as possible and lasting as long as possible doing it to the maximum benefit of the all holy corporations that really run the state. "The destination is not the reward, it is the shopping along the way." Shopping in a deeply religious nation is a deeply religious thing itself. Steve Jobs in his acid dropping days stumbled onto that and fine tuned it into Apple. Like organised religion I detest the fact that the marketing force is so strong with weak minds. But boy they have made beautiful things. I have always been gobsmacked at the genius that was the Mac when I first laid eyes on the Lisa back in 1983. After close contact with Apple for many years I quickly differentiated my affections for the art, from the organisation that created it. But what an art that is! Not in the sense of elegant industrial design, which it has, but the ideas behind it and the power of fine tuned functional design. It may have a a simple clear layer on top but what depths it has, down to working purely in terminal with basic UNIX scripts if that is what you want. Fundamentally the great idea is still in there but the profitability that comes from selling it to a huge public who doesn't know and doesn't care about what is under the surface, has lead to the packaging and marketing that is more and more alienating the power users whose numbers are too small to make a significant market. Still those power users are the truly productive ones and gain from the vast market of wannabees who merely make the tools more accessible. Edited by rubaiyat: 5/10/2011 08:51:35 AM
mikerigsby 6 October 2011	Ok, I wouldn't USE a Mac if someone gave me one. I'd sell it and buy 3 fully functional PCs. While I will certainly grant that Apple builds some nice looking, shiny, and well built systems, I have seen OSX and personally have no use for it. I also refuse to join the cult of mindless zombies in the US that would sell their own mother for a rock if it had an Apple logo on it and it was endorsed by the Almighty Jobs. I can't so easily disconnect Apple's Products from Apple itself and I despise Apple the company. As such, I won't use any of their products. Call it a matter of personal honor, if not entirely rational. Keep in mind that I see things as they are here in the US so I hope no one reading this article thinks I'm casting any negative views of what it's like in Australia. One of these days I'll get down there to visit and may well not come back. Especially once I sample the local beer and bacon. :)
amcmo 6 October 2011	Mike, you just shot down any chance you would be seen as having rational thought. Up until your last post, I was prepared to give the 'benefit of the doubt'... Quote: I also refuse to join the cult of mindless zombies in the US that would sell their own mother for a rock if it had an Apple logo on it and it was endorsed by the Almighty Jobs. The vast majority of Apple users are no different from you or I (well me and other logical thinkers). With any new Apple release, yes you get to see hundreds of idiots lining up, however, with over a hundred million (possibly 200 Mil) Apple users, that's an insignificant number. I have been a PC user since the very first was released (actually I was using CP/M before DOS was available. I recently purchased my first Mac, a MacBook Air as there is as yet no PC available with that form factor at that low a price (where you get the far-fetched sell an Apple and buy 3PC's from I don't know). OSX does everything Win7 does, except quicker in most instances. For those PGM's where I must have Win, I use Parallels. I still use Win7 desktops at office and home, however I'm seriously considering.. As why anyone claiming to be a rational thinker would despise Apple as a company is beyond me. What act can you actually point to that warrants such a statement? If you wish to despise anyone, I would think M$ who have been caught forcing mfr's to use Win and other anti-competitive behaviour so many times it's not funny is a more likely bet. That prevents you from using Windows I guess, what's left? As for coming to Australia, yes we do welcome visitors, regardless of colour, creed or intelligence (or lack there-of), however residency permits are hard to get. We actually test would-be residents for intelligence and the ability to form rational opinions..... And by the way - Beer and bacon? Yes we drink lots of beer (Warning to US residents, our beer is real beer and has been known to knock yanks on their ear after two glasses), but bacon? Our national food is the PRAWN, seen on any backyard barbecue every weekend. Similar to what you call a shrimp, however what we call a shrimp is a prawn not considered large or tasty enough for local consumption. Our shrimps are usually exported to the US and other places, where they are sold as large shrimps.:lol: Edited by amcmo: 6/10/2011 10:15:50 AM
rubaiyat 6 October 2011	"...if not entirely rational." Care to sign that confession? As a Septic Tank, the 'beer and bacon" reference may be confusing us with his northern neighbors, the ...ahhh, ummm, whatsa names, used to know this, ah ...not important. Oh, ...yeah the Lumber Dumpers! That's who!
woogaman 8 October 2011	DJ... Oct 1, 2011 11:11 AM.That's where I come from I wish?? I was told when young I pulled everything apart. Now I would love too be able too put a radio together from DSE.No it can't be done now unless you know Amateurs with the schematic's & get the parts or mod today's smd's to a board to do a J O B!
woogaman 8 October 2011	You didn't read far enough. Also did you bother to read Mike's original Blog, which I had done!
woogaman 8 October 2011	Mike you have hit the nail on the head.As It goes for grammer.I was having a go at the editors that start their sentence's with "And".Here is a bastard ties attenuation of the English Dict! Any where you go! Especially in Aussy. Quite a few ceptic tanks came in as well & we all know what they are full off???
woogaman 8 October 2011	It has been a top story Mike.
mikerigsby 9 October 2011	Woogaman, Thanks, I really appreciate it. Especially considering it's the first time I've ever written 'professionally' if that word can be used on my rant. I should've kept my anti-Apple sentiment to myself. Especially considering the timing as Steve Jobs happened to pass away shortly after I made those comments. However, if you've never seen the "status symbol" mentality behind Apple devices in the US, the literally hundreds of people who stand in line for hours, sometimes days, for new phones here, you really have no idea what I'm talking about.