Eek! A Newbie!

1999, 4^th January. Started new job at Computer Graphics College. Task: develop course to give beginner computer users a better chance to become familiar with computer systems before embarking on advanced courses of study.

That was part of my job description when I began work with a new employer this year. As always, the ubiquitous "Helpdesk" label followed me around like a dog begging food from it's master. I thought, coming into this, that it couldn't be too hard. I knew my stuff, I'm a good teacher, I know Mac and Windows back to front in several production disciplines. How hard could it be?

When you ask yourself that last question, no matter how glibly; worry.

Worry like hell.

I've taken an enormous amount of time listening to my students, coming to terms with the psyche of the newbie computer user, and it's weirder than we could have ever thought possible. I wrote this course early in January, understanding that my own thought processes when dealing with computers were undoubtably going to be of a somewhat higher order, that I was going to have to "lower the bar" of tech-speak to get the message across.

What I didn't realise was how much I've changed since I first sat down in front of a computer as a newbie. You see, it's not them that's the problem, it's us. When we try to help out new users, we don't explain what it is they're doing, we just tell them the process and they're expected to learn it by rote. We've got to do better at it or we'll be as bad as Windows tech guys. When you sit down and try to think like a newbie, you begin to realise what a daunting prospect learning all this stuff can be. Even on a Mac. Especially on a Mac.

"What?!?" , I hear you cry, "'Especially on a Mac'? But they're the pinnacle of computer evolution in terms of ease of use, and elegance of user interface!"

"That's true!" I riposte, "But have you ever tried to explain the complexity of the desktop metaphor to a new user? That dragging a file to the desktop from a removable disk doesn't actually move it from the disk?"

"YES!"

"Ahh, but did you succeed?"

"Well, erm, sort of. Maybe. Well, probably not."

"And what about memory management? Virtual memory, assigning memory to applications? Why all that RAM stuff is important?"

By that time, I've usually made my point. The thing about the Mac user interface is not that it's incredibly easier to learn than Windows for a first time user --- it's a just a little more forgiving, and a little better designed. OK, a lot better designed. But it's not the interface itself that determines how we learn it, but the tech people who support us.

Most people who come into my course have had some experience with computers before, admittedly not a great deal, for the most part. Of course, 90% of the time it's Windows, which brings me to my next point. It appears that despite the whining from the über-pc freaks, the newbie Wintel end user has less control over their OS than a Mac user. It's true that those high end geek-like people get more gooey over a command line than most people do over their valentine because they feel they have control over their system. They deride the Mac experience as infantile because they can't find the command line, but the average Wintel new user couldn't configure their computer to save their life. They're schooled to accept crashes and inconsistency as part of the "normal" computer using experience. In business if anything goes wrong with their machine they're supposed to back away fifteen feet and not breathe until the tech guys arrive. The tech guys, on arrival will say, "Hmm, that's interesting," restart the computer, and all is back to it's usual jarring normality. The end user as a consequence rarely learns any more than navigating to the programs they use, and since all applications are automatically installed on the Start Menu, they usually don't even have to learn basic navigation skills around disc drives. In fact, the whole industry wide implementation of Windows has perpetuated the culture of ignorance that exists when "ordinary" people use computers.

On the other hand, the Mac OS veritably invites you to play with it. It's easy to back up, it's easy to configure, it tells you when it wants more RAM, you can turn Virtual Memory off. The Extension Manager is one of the most elegant system configuration tools I've ever seem. Further, it's really quite essential to get to know the OS, because the applications that run on the Mac OS are inextricably bound to the interface as a cohesive whole. Which is why keyboard shortcuts are so important to the Mac power user --- they're the same everywhere, in every app.

But all this is daunting to the new user. They're not used to having choice, they're not used to knowledge of this flexibility. When I teach, I tell my students to play, to experiment, to mess things up if necessary because it's easy to fix if you get in trouble. I don't want course notes parroted back to me, I want my students to understand their OS, so it's not this mysterious, often malevolent entity they're not supposed to touch. I want it to become a tool that quickly becomes so familiar that the process of using it does not impede the creative flow, but one that enhances it as using it becomes more and more instinct and less conscious thought. Because if you're thinking about how to use the tool, you're not creating with it.

All of us at some stage will be called in to battle, to teach relatives, friends and hangers' on something about the computers we use. Remember that as potential or new Mac users, they deserve to know how this thing works. "Do what I say, and don't ask questions" might be best for Windows, but not on this platform, not while I'm teaching it.

And remember this also --- be patient, they're new here.

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Kelsey Brookes works at the Computer Graphics College as a lecturer in sound and introductory computing for the net. He is also a trained opera singer, writes contempory music and performs as a singer and keyboard player in a band called Drill. Kelsey is 24, lives in Sydney, Australia and has moved far too many times to be considered even remotely grounded in the real world.

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February 09, 2010