Monday, February 27, 2012

Why. Do. They. Do. This.

I am not a computer geek. Never was.

I used to be a more functional computer user than I now am. Had to be - work depended on it. Loading new software didn't used to strain my ability. But now it's mostly just gibberish. So I run old versions into the ground, sans parachute, then try to get some more savvy friend to pry me out of the wreckage.

Unfortunately there isn't anybody like that around. So I'm on my own. My old version of Firefox finally got to where it was causing too much trouble, and so I downloaded the new one.

This took a while. Oh, downloading was easy: One click. But what do I do now? I used to be able to figure these things out, and after a cup of coffee I finally got it. Oh! I have to extract the files! Okay, now where's the one that makes it go? How do I get it on the desktop? Ah! Success!

Finally.

And then! Then! I find out that Firefox does the same thing to me that Linux did, a couple of years ago: They switch all the controls around, just to screw with me. So "run" now means "cancel," and vice versa. "Open in New Tab" is now where "Open in New Window" used to be.

Why? Is it just a perverse sense of humor? Aargh!

4 comments:

Judy said...

WHY? Because programmer are not taught KISS any more! And they have forgot who the customer is and isn't each other setting in a conference room brain storming ideas!

Anonymous said...

Also, Joel -- When you have one of the more user-friendly Linux distros (as I know you do), there's a better way to download and install applications. You actually don't have to download, unzip, extract, etc. most common programs.

Glad you hashed your way through all the problems. But next time, ask the person who installed your OS & they'll tell you the easy way.

Well, the easiER way, anyhow ...

Anonymous said...

Well, I guess removing that horrible word verification thing didn't solve the whole problem. Looks as if my last comment went into spam.

Mayberry said...

Too many "IT professionals" trying to justify their existence by fucking up perfectly good things...