I'm the millennial version of a tech illiterate, I have very basic coding skills in Java and that's it
Being able to code at all already places you in the 90th percentile for tech literacy. Many people don't even know what a file is.
When I was young I actually didn't know what the BSOD was because I literally never experienced it. My first BSOD was in 2017 on Windows 8, even though I've been computing since 1998
You've never gotten a BSOD on old versions of Windows?? My personal experience is that old versions of Windows (XP, 7) were much more unstable than new versions of Windows (10, 11).
The golden age for "normie" consumer computing definitely feels like it took place in the 2000s, and ended somewhere around 2014
Why would the golden age of "normie" consumer computing have taken place in the 2000s, when there were pop-up ads that gave you malware and adware toolbars?
The 25th percentile user today has literally never interacted with a hierarchical filesystem. They do not even know what a file is. The Apple mobile ecosystem is so locked down that it's actually impossible to accidentally install malware. I say that now is the golden age of "normie" consumer computing, because tech has never been easier.
I say that for normies, tech has never been better.
We have reached the point where you can pick any laptop off the shelf and have it work out of the box with Linux. This used to not be possible!
Linux gaming has never been better, now that we have Proton. Games that used to be Windows exclusives now run perfectly on Linux. Linux is now fully viable for video gamers.
GUI tools are now so good that you can use Linux without ever touching the command line.
While Windows may have become worse, Linux has never been better.
You've never gotten a BSOD on old versions of Windows?? My personal experience is that old versions of Windows (XP, 7) were much more unstable than new versions of Windows (10, 11).
Correct. I never had BSOD and I used XP for thousands of hours in the early 2000s. Mostly runescape, halo trial, neopets, dozens of various flash game sites, etc.
I actually saw my friend have it a couple times and I remember thinking how exotic the solid blue screen looked
Why would the golden age of "normie" consumer computing have taken place in the 2000s, when there were pop-up ads that gave you malware and adware toolbars?
uhhh because you can x them out? I never got malware or adware toolbars installed on my stuff
it felt like "it just werkz" back then, and now it doesn't anymore. I don't even do anything more complex now, it's just internet surfing and some steam games. And discord. Discord also feels extremely laggy, like when you click on something it takes a full split second to switch chatrooms
The 25th percentile user today has literally never interacted with a hierarchical filesystem.
This is only true for zoomers and boomers right?
Regardless of the windows stuff it extends to phones too. Smart-ish phones from before 2012 never gave me problems, while today's smartphones brick often and even while working, sometimes feel randomly laggy in a way the old phones never did. I have no idea what's going on but it feels like the software is just so built up and strung out that it's like a house of cards impromptu stuck together with superglue
Being able to code at all already places you in the 90th percentile for tech literacy. Many people don't even know what a file is.
You've never gotten a BSOD on old versions of Windows?? My personal experience is that old versions of Windows (XP, 7) were much more unstable than new versions of Windows (10, 11).
Why would the golden age of "normie" consumer computing have taken place in the 2000s, when there were pop-up ads that gave you malware and adware toolbars?
The 25th percentile user today has literally never interacted with a hierarchical filesystem. They do not even know what a file is. The Apple mobile ecosystem is so locked down that it's actually impossible to accidentally install malware. I say that now is the golden age of "normie" consumer computing, because tech has never been easier.
I say that for normies, tech has never been better.
Also, the Linux desktop has never been better.
We have reached the point where you can pick any laptop off the shelf and have it work out of the box with Linux. This used to not be possible!
Linux gaming has never been better, now that we have Proton. Games that used to be Windows exclusives now run perfectly on Linux. Linux is now fully viable for video gamers.
GUI tools are now so good that you can use Linux without ever touching the command line.
While Windows may have become worse, Linux has never been better.
Also, laptops used to not last 14 hours on a single charge. Tech is better now.
The tech illiterate probably aren't going to be picking up linux, to be fair
No, definitely not. But Linux has progressed so far that it's now accessible to people who are terminal-shy.
Correct. I never had BSOD and I used XP for thousands of hours in the early 2000s. Mostly runescape, halo trial, neopets, dozens of various flash game sites, etc.
I actually saw my friend have it a couple times and I remember thinking how exotic the solid blue screen looked
uhhh because you can x them out? I never got malware or adware toolbars installed on my stuff it felt like "it just werkz" back then, and now it doesn't anymore. I don't even do anything more complex now, it's just internet surfing and some steam games. And discord. Discord also feels extremely laggy, like when you click on something it takes a full split second to switch chatrooms
This is only true for zoomers and boomers right?
Regardless of the windows stuff it extends to phones too. Smart-ish phones from before 2012 never gave me problems, while today's smartphones brick often and even while working, sometimes feel randomly laggy in a way the old phones never did. I have no idea what's going on but it feels like the software is just so built up and strung out that it's like a house of cards impromptu stuck together with superglue