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submitted 1 year ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

Judge in US v. Google trial didn’t know if Firefox is a browser or search engine::Google accused DOJ of aiming to force people to use “inferior” search products.

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[-] hesusingthespiritbomb@lemmy.world 201 points 1 year ago

So we have two options:

  1. A 52 year old federal judge is somehow tech illiterate in a way that would imply they have absolutely no idea about the fundamentals of modern technology.

  2. A federal judge is asking a large number of extremely basic questions to get their answers on official records so that the cases parameters are clearly defined. He is taking extra care because there's not a lot of direct precedent on these issues.

I'm heavily leaning towards number 2 here. The internet likes to pretend everyone over the age of 40 has no idea how a computer works. The year is 2023. A middle-aged person today was fairly young when computers started to be incorporated into all aspects of society and is well versed in computer literacy. In some ways they are actually much more tech literate than the younger generations. It's almost certain that he knows the difference between Firefox and Google.

[-] bufordt@sh.itjust.works 48 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I'm a 53 year old IT person, and I'm leaning towards 1. The level of technology incompetence in the general public is astounding. My wife only knows "Have you tried turning it off and back on again?" And that pretty much makes her a member of the help desk at her job.

[-] ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de 21 points 1 year ago

My mom uses a computer at her job but confuses the terms computer, internet, browser and email on a regular basis. I wonder what would happen if I restarted the internet as she tells me to sometimes. I could install Linux and she wouldn't tell.

Still better than her father, who had her operate a casette player for him when she was 2.

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 12 points 1 year ago

I always cringe in horror as both my parents still double click links on the internet.

[-] ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de 5 points 1 year ago

Mine are not that old but they absolutely need access to assistance every day. Mom cannot turn the computer off if anything other than “Shutdown” was previously chosen in that awful Windows dialog. Dad fell for a basic “unclaimed delivery” phishing email even though he found it in the Spam folder that has an explicit warning. Fortunately, his gut told him something was fishy and he told me right away, and we suspended his card before it was abused.

[-] vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 year ago

What's wrong with double click?

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 5 points 1 year ago
[-] vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 year ago

I still don't understand. IIRC, it's click once to select, click twice to open. Why should hyperlinks be different?

Or maybe you mean machine gun clicking until the page loads, that's, eh, wrong, yes.

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 6 points 1 year ago

Links only need single clicks. Always have.

Icons on the desktop, or files in a listview need a double click to open, because single clicking just selects them.

[-] uis@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Icons on the desktop, or files in a listview need a double click to open

Unless you are using something with modern UI, in that case even folders are single click to open.

[-] Bread@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

I think it is the idea of clicking some random link on the internet and not the act of double clicking itself. It caught me for a second too.

[-] richieadler@lemmy.myserv.one 1 points 1 year ago

Boy, do I understand the cringe.

I always described these users as "unable to distinguish between an icon an a button". Modern Windows UIs don't make it easier, though.

[-] uis@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

I could install Linux and she wouldn't tell.

Works with grandparents. They don't even suspect they have Gentoo on their computer.

[-] Dozzi92@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

The law is nuanced out the ass. I sit through depositions every day, and terms of art are a plague, and you can say something, but it can be interpreted differently because in such and such a field it's a term of art, etc. That's my hope.

I am fully on board with we need more judges, we need younger judges. But I don't think that's because they're incapable of learning. In fact, I think there's be value to someone going in blind, being given all the facts, and making their determination that way. It just sucks that something we value so highly can be determined based on the presentation of counsel.

[-] tony@lemmy.hoyle.me.uk 4 points 1 year ago

It's always amazed me of the learning gap.. we learned how to get stuff working by hacking config.sys and our peers can it seems barely spell computer.

It's even worse as people get younger, even though it shouldn't be. How computers work should be in peoples DNA by now, but they still think you've deleted IE if you hide the icon..

[-] uis@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

My wife only knows "Have you tried turning it off and back on again?" And that pretty much makes her a member of the help desk at her job.

Next step: "Is it even powered?"

To be Dennis Ritchie was born in 40-ies. He would be 80 y.o. if he didn't die in 2013. And he is most literate person on this planet.

[-] richieadler@lemmy.myserv.one 1 points 1 year ago

Agreed. If it has a positive effect as in 2, I'm all for it, but trusting that a non-technical user really know what's going on with his computer is a serious gamble.

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this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2023
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