• Muffi@programming.dev
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    2 months ago

    I run a Makerspace and teach technology to kids. I don’t think they are getting worse, but the difference between the lowest and highest skilled is bigger than ever before.

    Those who are interested, learn so fucking fast and so thoroughly, because they have things like YouTube tutorials and Discord chat groups with like-minded nerds to teach themselves. BUT at the same time, it’s easier to just remain a consumer, and never gain any deeper knowledge.

    I think curiosity and attention are quickly becoming the most important skills by far.

  • kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    2 months ago

    My ssd is sda (with a sda1 boot partition and an encrypted root partition). I may be in Gen Z but I also have Autism, granted I didnt grow up with a lot of technology but I always squeezed every ounce out of them. When I was 13 I installed Linux, by 16 I already knew how to use a terminal (and manage the entire system with it), today I would say im relatively good at basic IT and basic network management (although im struggling greatly at installing coreboot).

    Conclusion: Gen Z/Alpha probrally wont be great at computers but there will probrally be many individuals who will be significantly more advanced at computers. I was watching YouTube and a found a video of a 15 year old installing Arch manually in less than 10 minutes on a Chromebook. So tbh I wouldn’t be worried tbh (at least about this specifically).

  • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Let’s not make the inevitable mistake of assuming what was an essential skill for one generation is going to matter fuck all for most of the next generation.

    Old people still think it’s outageous if you can write a check, read an analog clock, read/write cursive… All things that most millennials might “need” to do less than once a year.

  • mechoman444@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I’d say that technologically millennials really have it best over everyone else.

    Us millennials had to figure out the technology as it evolved into what it is today we know how bad it really was before it got really good.

    I remember back in high school around 2002 we got cable internet for the first time we had all of three megabytes download. That was tremendously fast.

    Movies were in divx format and could be dled from peer to peer networks. Morpheus, zazaa, Ares.

    Dang those were the days.

  • FinishingDutch@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I’m an 80’s kid. We had to learn everything: MS-DOS, Windows, how to install OS’s and software, serial ports, etc. Nothing was easy or convenient. You had to LEARN how and why things worked if you wanted to run games and things.

    My dad never used any of our actual PC’s. He wouldn’t know which way to hold the mouse, much less anything else. We tried to teach him, but he just couldn’t grasp any of the fundamentals.

    But with an iPad? That’s easy. It just works. He can e-mail, do Facebook, watch YouTube or other streaming…

    Point is: we made shit way too accessible and convenient. Kids never have to learn anything anymore. So they don’t. We literally had to teach interns the basics of working with a desktop; all they’ve ever used was an iPad and phone.

    It also lead to the destruction of the old web. Back in the early to late ‘90’s, you had to be a nerd to use it. To WANT to use it even. But now that it’s so easy and convenient even my completely tech illiterate dad can get online, things have turned to shit. We never should’ve made it this convenient.

    • Muffi@programming.dev
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      2 months ago

      Trying my best in the Makerspace for kids I help run. They actually love it!

      I get discarded ThinkPads from local companies, and the only way to make them useful is to slap some Linux on there, and then basic stuff like Blender, PrusaSlicer and Godot. It’s been a huge success, especially when we do a Capture-the-Flag tournament, where they have to hide and seek memes using SSH. The feeling of being “a real hacker” seems to be very motivational for the youngsters.

  • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    I’ve worked in IT for most of my career. I’ve seen some shit. I’m on the older side of “millennial”. Not old enough to be on the cusp, but almost immediate after. I have had computers as a part of my life since I was young enough to remember, starting with a 286/386 that my dad used at home.

    One thing I’ve noticed is that most companies shit doesn’t stink. What I mean by that is that all of them, to some extent, hide, cover up, or otherwise deny that their product has any issues whatsoever. I did a lot of VMware training back in the day, there were good reasons for that, but I won’t get into it … anyways, all of their training was about how it’s supposed to work. There’s zero material about what to do when it doesn’t work like it is supposed to… Even “troubleshooting” courses are designed to help you fix the configuration of the system using only methods sanctioned by the company, because any fault or flaw in their product must be because you aren’t using it right, or you simply don’t know how.

    I’ve known so many millennials, especially in the tech space, that had to fix their own problems because the product, and the company that made it, believes that their shit doesn’t stink. There’s nothing wrong with their product, you either don’t know how to use it, or you aren’t using it correctly,

    Meanwhile, here in reality, all their shit sucks to all fuck, and their product is little more than hour garbage.

    Yay?

  • bluewing@lemm.ee
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    2 months ago

    I used to teach math in the local school. The kids had a great interest in 3D printing because I had a few fun items in my classroom that I had 3D printed. I decided to spend a couple of weeks teaching a bit of CAD through having the kids spend it designing a personalized key chain to print.

    It took me 3 days of class time to teach them how to use a mouse…They couldn’t grasp the idea that a touch screen and CAD don’t go together, you need that mouse to make it work. It quickly became apparent that things quickly became difficult for them if it doesn’t have a touch screen.

    And while some classes are always a bit better than others, there was always a noticeable number of them that struggled with using a mouse.

    • lost_screwdriver@thelemmy.club
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      2 months ago

      To be fair: I switched to Linux 6 years ago. I’m using a tiling windowmanager, a lot of custom scripts, a different keyboardlayout with six instead of two layers (great for writing greek math, and other symbols) and an enthusiastic emacs user. I know the my System in and out. As a CS end math student, I know a fair bit about a Computer. But when A sit in front of an ordinary windows PC, I am a little bit upset. I stumble a lot of times over the thought: “You don’t have a keyboard shortcut for this! You have to use the Mouse, to switch Windows or you have to click yourself trough a menu to change this setting. There are no man pages you can search with regex” I hate it!

      • atx_aquarian@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Generally, you’re totally on point, but I just wanted to drill into that mention about hotkeys for switching windows. You mean something other than alt+tab, ctrl+tab, and in some applications shift+brackets?

      • wabasso@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        Some of the legacy keyboard shortcuts still survive to this day.

        I live by Windows+R for the run dialogue.

        If you populate %userprofile% with shortcuts named after keywords to your commonly used apps (eg fire.lnk for Firefox) then you can just slap Windows+R, type fire, Enter.

        • zqps@sh.itjust.works
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          2 months ago

          Win+X is also great. Especially since the Start Menu doesn’t allow for quick shutdown commands since Win 8.

      • ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        I use Arch (btw) because it’s easy, simple, and beginner friendly

        Absolutely lost in Windows, nothing ever works, and the documentation isn’t layer out well. Support is just sfc /scannow

      • AdrianTheFrog@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        It’s because Windows has to save its keyboard combinations for the important things, like opening a new LinkedIn tab.

      • zqps@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        I think that’s being a bit unfair to Windows. Some of its keyboard shortcuts are stupid, but it does have them. When it doesn’t, the problem is the application.

      • bluewing@lemm.ee
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        2 months ago

        “an enthusiastic emacs user” Well, there’s your problem! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the poke)

        To be serious, Windows and that mouse are just tools-- same as any Linux distro is. A means to an end. Nothing more. There is nothing to be miffed about when you need to use that tool. Be proficient with all your tools. And when you need to use a tool, don’t be concerned about comparing it to the other tools. It diminishes you skills with that tool and and offers no gain to the solution.

        • emeralddawn45@discuss.tchncs.de
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          2 months ago

          But being stuck using windows when its not the right tool for the job is like having to use a pickaxe when you could be using q jackhammer, only the idiots in procurement don’t like power tools.

          • bluewing@lemm.ee
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            2 months ago

            Perhaps. But despite using Windows, you got the job done, right? Life is all about using the tools do have, rather than the ones you wished you had.

            • emeralddawn45@discuss.tchncs.de
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              2 months ago

              I mean i guess you must be pretty competent with an abacus then in case you ever get stuck somewhere where they wont let you ise a calculator? Your argument that people should spend time becoming proficient with inferior tools just because they are tools doesn’t really hold up. If something gets the job done better and more efficiently it makes the other tools obsolete. Thats the nature of technology.

              • bluewing@lemm.ee
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                2 months ago

                I haven’t used an abacus in a very long time, but I haven’t forgotten how to use one. I still have a slide rule that I can still use if I have to, (I come from a time before pocket calculators). I used to race the the younger kids in my classroom to see who could do simple math problems faster-- me and the slide rule or them and a calculator. And my rule in class was that there were no calculators. Well, using fingers was acceptable. Because I wanted you to get your hands dirty playing with the numbers. If you wanted a calculator for a test, I would offer you a slide rule.

                As a working adult, you must be proficient will the tools your occupation has. And not just the tools you wish you have. If you are running servers in a Windows based environment, it doesn’t do you any good to wish for Linux based servers. And you better be good with both Windows and Linux if the environment is mixed. And a professional doesn’t complain about their tools, they just use the ones they have to accomplish the job at hand. Of course, if you have the money and power to do the choosing and purchasing of the tools you prefer and want, then by all means buy them. But I doubt that’s the case for you.

    • blind3rdeye@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      I haven’t run into the problem of people not being able to use a mouse - but I’ve found that very few young people are able to tell if something is saved on their own computer or being accessed over the internet. Saving or downloading files is not something they are familiar with. (Which I suppose is because a lot of modern software makes cloud stuff so silky smooth that people don’t notice it.)

    • Rawdogthatexe@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      I sort of feel that way. I don’t think I’m losing skill so much as not wanting to spend more than 3 minutes thinking about a problem.