Age and Technology

Just as a follow-on from another thread, some members of advanced years seem to cope with modern technology better than others.
I don't have much trouble with computers, but I have been involved with them for 25 years, and I stick to older stuff (XP-pro, for example)whenever I can. Menu systems on the digital cameras are not too bad, but learning to send Text messages was a continual battle with the "Predictive Text".
As a general observation from an "early 70s person", I do wish some of the people who write instruction manuals could be made to use them. There was an attitude in computer circles, that when developing a new piece of software one should write the manual first. Yes, a bit OTT, but there is more than one way to develop software, and I suspect some cameras as well are developed by different teams - and handle differently as a result. Then the manual is written by the people who developed the equipment, and don't seem to realise that they have left a lot of questions unanswered.
As an example, I want to know if my K and KA lenses will operate on my K200D. So I look for "lens compatibility" in the manual, and the words are not there. The information is there, but it is on a page headed"Notes on [23. Using Aperture Ring]". Many people of my generation will think that they know how to rotate an aperture ring, not look at the page, and then bemoan the lack of information - "Why did they leave that out".
So what do the rest of you more mature types think?
Geoff

With you 100% Doctor Jeff

My daughter is a product of Scottish Schools [ if George is reading - bear with me ] and learnt grammar and sentence construction at School and work was returned if the meaning wasn't crystal clear . She learned the hard way .

She went to London and was stunned to be turned down for jobs because she didn't have an O grade English - she had a Higher at an A band pass.

Now what does she find herself doing - re-writing manuals to ensure that they say what they are meant to say - so that Unions cannot challenge the manual and say " Well of course that's not the correct interpretation - it really says ... "

Even the 'shop floor workers ' are appreciating her work [ She is actually a Regional Operations manager ] and frequently tell her so.

She is even writing User Guides to their Software manuals for an area in which she has no responsibility , so that they are in plain clear easily understood English - and she does not dumb them down !

I really cannot understand why people do not make sure that anyone can read/understand the manual they write .

Techno, no "bearing with" required.

Scottish education has always been the envy of the world. It's why Scots were at the core of the industrial revolution, and why Glasgow became so dominant in all forms of engineering.

And, for balance, Edinburgh in medicine.

Geoff, I agree with every word. It's one of the main reasons I think good writing skills are so important. It's simply a matter of effective communication.

G

George said

Sadly no longer Pupils do not seem to be able to write according to any of the known rules now - even the Universities complain and have found that they need to run introductory classes in the English language now - and these are not for incoming students - they are for our native born Scots !!

I have never had any luck whatsoever with predictive text entry despite being in my mid 20s!

Then again I tend to use words like "mitigate" in text messages and also have a habit of writing in a similar manner to the old telegrams. I don't miss letters out but will occasionally send something like "What time pub tonight?" if there simply aren't enough characters to use words like "the" or "at".

Doctorjeff.
As a member with advancing years I do shudder when a member tells me I should be using modern technology. I do also remember that I was once young and competent with the Commodore PET computer. Ha Ha.

Now!! I cannot remember how to operate a 'senior orinentated' mobile phone.
Press the wrong button and I am confounded.

And how about using the television control thing. So many buttons. Some do work, others do not do what it says it should.

I get by on my sense of humour.

Do you think the mods would let us use a symbal under our user name to signify our vulnerability.

regards Thoramay.

You could try "Location: The wrong side of 80 years...." which is similar in concept to a young fiend on another forum who described her location as "Somewhere South of my Imagination..."

Edit: I meant a young friend of course, but considering her considerable personality young fiend will do....

I had a 14 year old with me on work experience recently, who constantly said "book", as in "Wow, that's really book". I eventually asked him wtf he was talking about, and apparently with some phones if you type "cool" in your SMS message, the autocorrect will kick in and change it to "book"!

Don't mention predictive text, still can't get that.

You could use this as your avatar:

As a slight aside - predictive text can be switched off in the menus of pretty much every phone on the market.

Predictive text - first thing I switch off when setting up a mobile - I HATE it !!

Curiously enough daughter # 1 likes it and uses it all the time

You guys should have met my Father in Law, he would get up from the sofa and walk to the mantlepiece and pick up the remote to change the TV channel, then he would put it back on the mantlepiece and go sit down.

We bought him a mobile phone, he would pick it up and mess about with it, then switch it off and put it away again

My Mother in law was also a bit of a gem, my son was showing her how to do something on her first PC (an old 486) while waiting for the program to respond he began to draw imaginary figure 8s with the cursor, only to be told to stop as he would "confuse it"

Old(er) people and technology just do not mix, I'm only 56 and getting there already

Never understood why people are so dumbfounded by predictive text.

As a concept it is simpler than "standard" texting.

We have a quite good commercial using that problem, all Dutch members would probably know it.

Here is the website for all that can read Dutch www.goeiemoggel.nl