Julie R Fricke

I've always considered myself to be one of the  more informed computer users. But that's only compared to the totally ignorant. There are people like my husband O who spends most of his day on the computer and really knows how to draw out its secrets. Then there are people who are able to tell the computer what to do, i.e. program. And finally, there are people like Tobin, who can program them to do things the computers themselves didn't know they could do.

A frustration in this is that programs like livejournal like to evolve and change, thus frustrating those of us whose competence is merely temporary. Add to that the inconvenience of multiple operating systems on the computer, i.e. firefox, internet explorer, and then mac vs. pc, and you've got a range of activities that would cornfuggle even the most adept of computer wizards..

Not long ago I was complaining, and staring with consternation at my computer screen, when O came along and said, "Well, did you try this?"

He moved the cursor over to a small unlabeled box near the top of the screen. When he clicked it, it opened up a whole menu of choices of my usual favorites.

I gotta ask, why unlabeled box?

Yes, I was happy to be shown the secret, unknown key to my problem. But I was left scratching my head.

This pales when compared to a previous experience in which I determined that the answer to my confusion was to click on a microscopic icon, which then opened up a full menu of choices.

Icon you say? Yes, it was a little, tiny triangle about the size of the triangle at the bottom of the scroll-down bar.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

What's with the unlabeled, nearly-invisible clues?

I've always said that I dislike icons and much prefer the first set of icons I learned as a five year old,. You know, "A, B, C, "etc.Those I understand. They could write down instructions and I would read them.

Someday the twenty somethings who designed these things will be old farts like us and have their own problems with deciphering the computers.

Then they can try to go back to the VCR and try to label them in terms we all can understand. And put bigger print on them.

I figure that part of the problem is that they think everyone has unlimited time for randomly poking buttons until they get it figured out.

I can do that. I've tried it.

But then I forgot what I did.

Ah, old age!

OK, Maybe something transpired while I wasn't looking. How come when I put in google it now goes to "Inbox?"