Comments on: Openness and secrecy http://www.p2pnet.net/story/24984 p2pnet.net - reader powered Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:11:09 -0300 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Reader's Write http://www.p2pnet.net/story/24984/comment-page-1#comment-978793 Reader's Write Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:13:24 +0000 http://www.p2pnet.net/?p=24984#comment-978793 Another violation of that woman's privacy... Another violation of that woman’s privacy…

]]> By: Fausty | torrentfreedom.net http://www.p2pnet.net/story/24984/comment-page-1#comment-978790 Fausty | torrentfreedom.net Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:38:55 +0000 http://www.p2pnet.net/?p=24984#comment-978790 One approach to this issue that is a bit less "blame the user" focused is for us geeks to create viable security applications that don't require a degree in computer science to install and operate. Just as we don't expect someone getting in their car to by groceries at the local store to "understand" all the details of internal combustion engines - put key in ignition, turn key, push gas pedal is basically enough - we shouldn't expect people to understand the guts of machinespeak just to get their tech to operate without leaking sensitive data. With all due respect to PGP, install a trial version of their "consumer" applications and you will see what I mean. Dozens of menus, hundreds of choices, tokens and keys and on and on and on. I AM a geek and that software is intimidating to me - did I configure it right? Compare that to a customer interface that's so efficient we barely even notice we're "interfacing" with something: the google search box. Type in words, hit 'enter.' Until "security software" is as customer-focused and elegant as google's searchbox - and until we as geeks let go of our "we're so cool because only we understand the convoluted applications we create - it will largely go unused by the 95% of tech customers who have no desire at all to learn how tech works. They just want it to WORK, with minimum drama and learning curve. One approach to this issue that is a bit less “blame the user” focused is for us geeks to create viable security applications that don’t require a degree in computer science to install and operate. Just as we don’t expect someone getting in their car to by groceries at the local store to “understand” all the details of internal combustion engines – put key in ignition, turn key, push gas pedal is basically enough – we shouldn’t expect people to understand the guts of machinespeak just to get their tech to operate without leaking sensitive data.

With all due respect to PGP, install a trial version of their “consumer” applications and you will see what I mean. Dozens of menus, hundreds of choices, tokens and keys and on and on and on. I AM a geek and that software is intimidating to me – did I configure it right? Compare that to a customer interface that’s so efficient we barely even notice we’re “interfacing” with something: the google search box. Type in words, hit ‘enter.’

Until “security software” is as customer-focused and elegant as google’s searchbox – and until we as geeks let go of our “we’re so cool because only we understand the convoluted applications we create – it will largely go unused by the 95% of tech customers who have no desire at all to learn how tech works. They just want it to WORK, with minimum drama and learning curve.

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