Not so long ago, in a galaxy remarkably close by, there was a scientist named Pavlov who had some dogs. Pavlov fed these dogs every day at a certain time. Every time he fed the dogs, he would also ring a bell. After a while, Pavlov found that the dogs would begin to salivate when he rang the bell, regardless of whether he was feeding them at the time. This discovery was called a “conditioned” response.
Almost ninety years later, which was still almost 40 years ago, a little company called Microsoft released “Windows 1.0.” I began using a computer regularly in 1991, six years later, with a Windows operating system and continue to do so.
Since my beginning with Windows, it has always required two clicks to open a file, or a program. Yet a few months ago, I started to notice an annoying problem with my Microsoft Outlook email program – every time I opened the darn thing, it kept opening twice. I ignored it for a while, just closing the second window whenever necessary, but it was an annoying little glitch.
I’ve had a lot going on, and I can be slow about figuring out some things, but it finally dawned on me that Microsoft had upgraded its Office suite, including the Outlook program, so the user only has to click once to open a program, although the user must still click twice to open a file. If you click the file once, the file thinks you want to rename it or something.
Here's where Pavlov comes in. After almost forty years of double-clicking program icons, I am having an amazingly tough time teaching myself to single click on anything. Microsoft has classically conditioned me to the double click. I hope it doesn’t take me another forty years to become conditioned to the single click. I’m not sure I’ll live that long!
Have you noticed any new, annoying little glitches in your Microsoft products? (P.S. No gloating from MAC users!)
I was a pc person and then got a MAC that lasted 7 years. I replaced it with an HP pc - maybe it was a lemon but I said adieu to it in less than 2 years. Another PC. Okay, but not for more than its extended warranty. Frustration- and back to MAC for the past year. Still over click from habit.
ReplyDeleteI've come to the conclusion that we shouldn't stress over learning new things Microsoft (or social media) throws at us because as soon as we get used to it, they change it again.
ReplyDeleteAs with many things in life, single or double clicking depends on context. Some areas where Microsoft shows programs (Start Menu and Task Bar) require only one click to open a program. Have an icon for a program sitting on your desktop and it still requires two clicks to open. I still occasionally click items in the Start Menu twice, but at least for the Task Bar, I have retrained myself for a single click. And, like Annette, I don't waste much time worrying about those kinds of errors because next week they may be the right thing again.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how many word processing programs (and changes) I've been through. I chose not to remember. Computer people have apparently never heard the axiom "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
ReplyDeleteI'm likely in the minority here, but I love updates and innovations to platforms. I've suggested a lot of feature updates over the years, and I'm always excited when they are implemented. Once you take the time to learn what's new and how it can help, I find myself saving even more time.
ReplyDeleteMac user--not allowed to comment...LOL!
ReplyDeleteI own my own copies of Office and Outlook. Bought them years ago – which was good, because I understand that 365 is the only option now and that’s a yearly fee. A few months ago I began having to log in every two or three days or risk “your program may not function correctly and you may lose data.” It’s easy enough, but I have to wonder – what’s next. It’s clear they want the owner users gone. They’ve done something to Outlook that when I try to log in, it tells me that I’m not authorized and I have to use the business email I used when I signed up. I long ago figured out that anything Microsoft does is for the benefit of Microsoft. We are only the patsies that support them.
ReplyDelete