Why my blog is different – an independent voice
There are two important reasons why this blog is different.
First of all, I have been using computers longer than almost anybody – in fact, since 1956. I hope I have learned a thing or two in all those years.
Second – and this is a crucial point – I don’t make my living from the computer industry and I have no ties to any technology companies. I don’t have to sell anything. I can say how I see it without fear of ruffling the feathers of a client or somebody important in the industry. I can be an independent voice.
I am an educator and research scientist. That means I see the computer and computing in a very different way from the typical person whose livelihood involves the computer industry. That makes this blog nearly unique. Just about all blogs that cover topics similar to this one are written by people who work in the computer world. They see things as providers of technical products and services. They have vested interests of one kind or the other. They often have connections to the giant Windows ecosystem. They have a mindset that is very different from that of consumers.
I see things as a user of technical services and products and I try to write about things from the consumer perspective. As a scientist with a technical background, I had to work at understanding how normal people look at computers and technical devices. It took me several years of volunteer teaching of SeniorNet classes before I began to understand something of what most people want from using computers and how they think about computers. But I hope I finally learned.
It’s a new year – let’s continue our mutual quest to learn about technology and to help ordinary people use it. Help me out and let me know what you want to read about, either in the comments or by using the contact form. It promises to be an exciting year.
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Comments
Vic,
I appreciate your blog a lot. I hadn’t considered the fact that you being an independent makes a lot of difference. It’s the fact that you tell things straight (so rare on the internet these days) that drew me here in the first place.
I find things like your “Monday links” entries to be pretty good, you usually have at least one or two interesting articles that I hadn’t found.
Another thing I’m always looking for is, what are hackers up to right now? What kinds of things should I be watching for and thinking about, in order to evolve how I handle security on my PCs? You cover some of that too.
I’ve built my own PCs from scratch for 20+ years, and wouldn’t buy one any other way. But for the past 10 years now, every time I build a new one it takes a bunch of research to figure out the best way to do it. I’m also an R&D engineer. So I too have a hard time understanding how the “normal” person views and thinks about computers. I appreciate your insights along those lines, because people in my family are always asking for help and I often have trouble putting things in ways they can understand.
So maybe it’s not new requests, but there’s some places where I’d say “Keep it up!”. And thanks again, too.
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I try to make your blog a daily read. Going on 60 years of age this summer. Love computers, but I don’t consider myself a super-techie. A goal of mine this year is to build my own desktop, not so much to save money, but rather to become much more familiar with how they work. Would welcome suggestions regarding good (not overly-complicated) build guides.