google,nyc,times square,voxpops,browser,search engine,chrome,IE,firefox,safari What is a browser?
posted by maatc
5 months ago • 1831 viewstags: google, nyc, times square, voxpops, browser, search engine, chrome, IE, firefox, safari
Some interesting opinions there.
What would you have said?
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Damn, I had this idea NY was supposed to be one of the most tech-savvy among the big US urban centers. Damn.
The vast majority of computer users are completely clueless.
[edit] and Google's editing, natch
Lots of people drive cars, but not many could give you a good explanation of the difference between a carburetor and fuel injection. Still, they know enough to operate it, and that's fine for most.
Some of us may cringe when we hear people using terms like "hard drive" and "memory" interchangeably, but that isn't a difference I'd expect everyone to know.
I would've said "um...does it has gigabytes on it?"
Not surprising at all. Too many people use technology without understanding it. Just in the last two weeks I have had 3 people call me to help them disinfect their computer because a pop-up advertisement told them they had an infection... one of them even downloaded a virus by following that pop-up's instructions.
The vast majority of computer users are completely clueless.
I'm the 1,000,000th visitor? Click 'here' to claim my prize?!
If Google wants to push Chrome they could stick a big prominent link on the site. Why don't they?
Gets rid of the smug "you're here to support me, so get moving, IT slave" attitude some of the more obnoxious people have very quickly.
I can't decide if people are stupid or I'm a nerd.
People are stupid and you are a nerd.
I build web sites...and I don't care if they know what a browser is as long as they don't touch internet explorer. If they know that IE is bad then they can be ignorant about browser vs. search engine all they like.
Second, the selection was not random; the interviewer may well have selected the people based on some criteria (consciously or not).
But it's almost certainly true that most people don't differentiate the terms very well, as it's not necessary for the use of their computers. They simply learn methods for doing particular tasks that they are interested in.
What is a WEB browser?
Of course you can browse your local files with a browser so "web browser" might in fact be too limiting a description.
Also, ask people if they know the difference between Internet Explorer and Google and they could probably tell you. Most people don't use the term "browser", they just say IE or Firefox or whatever.
Sure it would be nice if people were intimately familiar with the tools they use, but it's just not necessary for most. And their ignorance earned me a good living for nearly five years.
Not surprising at all. Too many people use technology without understanding it. Just in the last two weeks I have had 3 people call me to help them disinfect their computer because a pop-up advertisement told them they had an infection... one of them even downloaded a virus by following that pop-up's instructions.
The vast majority of computer users are completely clueless.
yeah i worked as a tech support (2nd level) for 2 huge companies. basically, i think its a profound apathy. most people just don't care about why or how a computer works - they just want it to do what they expect it to do and get angry when it doesn't.
Hate, hate, hate videos that are obviously edited to weed out people who know what they are talking about.
You must absolutely hate anything by Sacha Baron Cohen or Michael Moore.
He also probably introduced himself like, "Hi there, my name is ----, I'm from Google, the largest internet search provider in the world, a bandwidth-chewing monster of epic proportions, devouring ALL that stand in its way! ...Do you know what a browser is?"
Some of the very select group of interviewed people shown here did know the difference, they just didn't know the keywords "browser" and "search engine". And that doesn't make them stupid.
What? Nobody here use Opera?
Opera for teh win. (unless the page was written for IE)
I can't decide if people are stupid or I'm a nerd.
The answer is "yes"
What? Nobody here use Opera?
Opera always causes problems for our web developers. And 9 times out of ten we don't care. In fact, I'd say IE6 is a bigger concern than Opera due to the amount of users it still has.
If Google wants to push Chrome they could stick a big prominent link on the site. Why don't they?
Because they would get sued to hell and back. As you may recall Microsoft got into the anti-trust case because it bundled IE with Windows.
>> ^Deano:
If Google wants to push Chrome they could stick a big prominent link on the site. Why don't they?
Because they would get sued to hell and back. As you may recall Microsoft got into the anti-trust case because it bundled IE with Windows.
I doubt that. Unlike Windows Google is a free service, and they can put whatever link they want on their site.
I think it is rather because Google never ever screws with its homepage design. (Except the logo for special occasions)
&I think it is rather because Google never ever screws with its homepage design. (Except the logo for special occasions)
Oh come on don't be so naive. Look at the opposition Google faces from record companies for Youtube, and the printing press for Google News.
Google is great and all but it's becoming entirely too ubiquitous.
People drive cars/boats/planes without knowing all the technical jargon used by experts. They cook food without knowing all the cooking terminology, do their hair without knowing the technical phrases known to hair dressers and use the computer without being intimately aware of the phraseology.
Some of the very select group of interviewed people shown here did know the difference, they just didn't know the keywords "browser" and "search engine". And that doesn't make them stupid.
I have to disagree. People can drive their cars without knowing what a carburetor does, but if they don't know the difference between the gear shifter and the emergency brake then they are fucked. People don't need to know how to code a webpage, but they need to know the difference between a browser and a search engine.
That said, this video is obviously edited to remove the intelligent answers. It just shows that there are some people out there who are hopelessly clueless.
>> ^Deano:
If Google wants to push Chrome they could stick a big prominent link on the site. Why don't they?
Because they would get sued to hell and back. As you may recall Microsoft got into the anti-trust case because it bundled IE with Windows.
Not sure I agree with that. Microsoft's anti-competitive practices are rooted in owning the operating system. But Google promoting their browser software doesn't seem like it would land them in court. If it did I'd love to hear the legal arguments particularly as they have a tiny share of the browser market.
>> ^Skeeve:
Not surprising at all. Too many people use technology without understanding it. Just in the last two weeks I have had 3 people call me to help them disinfect their computer because a pop-up advertisement told them they had an infection... one of them even downloaded a virus by following that pop-up's instructions.
The vast majority of computer users are completely clueless.
yeah i worked as a tech support (2nd level) for 2 huge companies. basically, i think its a profound apathy. most people just don't care about why or how a computer works - they just want it to do what they expect it to do and get angry when it doesn't.
I'm sure we know many people who fit that profile and your last point is so true.
I have a mate like that and while people like him enjoy the web and find it useful they get frustrated so quickly.
It's still early days for the web and I imagine the future web in 5-10 years will be the one their kind will actually embrace and understand - in the sense that alot of complexity will be encapsulated and obscured for them, not to mention they'll receive lots of virtual hand-holding.
Where *are* those autonomous AI agents anyway?