Behind the Screen- Command Line Interface
As technology continues to evolve, so does the required skill level of those who use it. With the recent upward shift in user-friendly applications and systems, a greater number of people are able to complete complex tasks with little to no knowledge about the actual workings of a computer. This Command Line assignment has shown me how to really navigate the inner workings of a computer system in a way that is much more precise and efficient. Using these background programs requires much more prior knowledge and code memorization, and the appearance is nowhere near as appealing as the jazzed up, picture-oriented format that has become the norm in society. The Command Line Interface assignment walked me step by step through navigating a computer’s filing system, demonstrating all of the commands needed to perform a seemingly simple task. Each task, even moving up or down a page, required a specific code to be typed in. This is tedious, but when done correctly would allow me to get exactly where I wanted to be.
While working on this assignment, I found myself becoming agitated and distracted, as looking at something so plain and wordy could not hold my attention for more than a few minutes. For the most part the commands used were straight forward, but they definitely would have taken time to memorize and adjust to. If this were the only option for navigating a computer, my guess is that the number of people who owned and used computers would be much lower, and the programs that were used would be much less in depth than what we see today. This is because there would be fewer people who would be willing to put forth the time and effort it would take to become familiar with the computer system. Especially coming from a world where every thing is so focused on being user-friendly and visually appealing, people trying to revert back to something less advanced and easy-to-use would likely struggle and potentially give up.
When it comes to the technology that people use on a daily basis, such as phones, tablets and personal computers, there is never a great deal of thought or effort put into the simple tasks that they perform. People now are attempting to do more with less effort and time, and in order to do that, everything they use has to be optimized for easy, straight-forward use. The modern thought process is: if a piece of information will not be handed over with a single click of a mouse, then it probably is not important enough to spend time on. This is a behavior that has transferred from the technical world into the real world. Humans today, especially in technologically advanced societies, want to get the most output with the least input. Finding shortcuts and easier ways of doing things is a must and at the top of every priority list. This greed and laziness has led to people accepting what technology does with little to no question as to how technology does it. It seems to be only a matter of time before there is no one left who really understands the inner workings of our technological world, and instead people settle for the pretty display screen that covers it.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1edmVZAYaDyk2TLVB5XtZpvOu4ZXLP4kdaWRdDJ4nhEU/edit?usp=sharing
