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Comment by prmoustache | Hacker News Reader

> users want with a computer without telling them 'just learn to program'

A computer is meant to be programmed by the user. That is its raison d'être from the very beginning and why it is called like that.

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Some people want computers, some people just want to use them like appliances. The bigger problem is those companies who want to control other people's computers no matter which type of person they are.

A mobile phone is meant to be used to make and receive telephone calls. That is its raison d'être from the very beginning and why it is called like that.

Do you see how stupid that sounds?

It... doesn’t? PDAs won, there are nearly no mobile phones being made anymore. The thing you call a mobile phone is a PDA with an incidental value-add of placing phone calls. (I had been wondering for some time why the UX of talking into a headset had been on the decline for the last 20 years until I encountered this idea; sadly, I don’t remember where.)

That's exactly my point?

Seems like you're using your computer wrong by posting here then. In fact, 99% of people are using their computing devices wrong all the time. The computer must be the most misused tool in the world.

With all due respect, I hope you never touch the development of any piece of software any of my relatives or friends ever has to use.

Good UX is one of the most important-yet-underserved areas in the tech industry (the topic of this site), and this sort of attitude goes beyond being smug and naive to being actively harmful. Your goal should always be to make things easier and with as little friction as necessary.

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