From the dawning of computers, it was only the computer "geeks" who could communicate among themselves excluding the rest of the world. It became a closed society that only computer geeks could reside within. To this day, it is still a closed society.
Computer language was the sole province of those who could speak and understand computers. Computers for the first 20? years didn't get the attention of the general public until places like Microsoft and Apple made computers user-friendly. True, computers are wonderful things and most can use and profit from them, but how many people actually know what happens inside that black box with all the cables sticking out of it? The same can be said for smart phones. People of the present generation take to computers and smart phones like ducks to water. It's the older generation (like me) that has a hard time trying to keep up with progress.
My kids and grand kids can run circles around me (my wife included) when it comes to computers and smart phones. In fact, we have to go to them to fix issues with their use. Computers and smart phones remain a mystery to me despite my attempt at self-learning. I haven't found any books that can explain to me how they work, their nomenclature. I don't understand "3G or 4G", blue tooth, server, internet provider, WiFi, etc, etc. I work with Autocad© at home and I can pretty much find my way around, but it took me a long time with the aid of books like Autocad for Dummies and Windows XP for Dummies to become a little bit more comfortable with them. For example, I bought an item called a WiFi adapter. It came in a box along with a CD; no explanation as to what to do with it, other than to say "plug it into a USB port and insert the CD". I don't know what a WiFi adapter is supposed to do. Does it extend the range of the signal to another device? or does it receive a signal?
Any device you buy tells you where to put it, but never describes how and what it does; at least not to someone who is computer challenged. I have similar problems with smart phones. I have one and it has all sorts of applications on it. When I bought it, at the insistence of my kids to join the modern world, the store where I bought it didn't (or maybe couldn't) explain what a smart phone does, except to say "how did you live so long without one".
I have many issues with computers and smart phones and don't expect anyone to be able to help me understand, but if anyone could recommend a good source of knowledge, I would appreciate it greatly. Maybe there are more books from the "Dummy" series that are available. I'm writing this thread now because I just signed up with Norton antivirus and now I have lost my E-mail, my browser? (Firefox) and other functions I have gotten used to over the years. I still run Windows XP and am thinking of upgrading, but I am afraid that my Autocad© won't work with a new system and if I will lose my files. So far, these computer/communications providers haven't addressed these issues, at least so I can understand. When I ask a question, the answer is always some other words that I don't understand. They seem to assume everyone understands this technology. I wonder if it is too late for me to catch up.
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