Adam Kalsey on Firefox
After reading Adam Kalsey's post about why he doesn't recommend Firefox, I can tell he really understands the general computer-using population.
After working in ISP tech support at Corecomm, I really have to think like the average computer user to properly do my job. Within the first minute of a support call, not only do you learn what the issue the customer is having, but at the same time you are learning the experience level of the customer. This is important since this is how you know how to explain to these customers how to fix their issue over the phone. There is a large difference in the experience level of computer users, but the average user just knows enough to get to the certain thing they want to do.
This is so true, it's actually very sad. Some calls, it can be a bit tricky to figure out what browser and mail client a customer is using. If you ask how they view webpages, the response is "I click on the Internet", or "I open that thing and Yahoo comes up".
But, what does this really have to do with anything? Most people are just so accustomed to doing things a certain way, they don't understand there is another way to do things. Many people have been using the Internet regularly for five years or more, and many of these same people have never changed the way they do things this whole time. For many people, this means Internet Explorer is "The Internet". But, I also deal with a lot of customers who still use Netscape version 4.7x. Why is this? Back in the late '90's, Corecomm and some of the other smaller ISP's it bought up would send out CD's to customers that would install Netscape as the default browser. These people are either still using those same computers, or they just used the same CD to set everything back up on their new computers and have never changed a single thing. For these people, Netscape is "The Internet".
So, how are these people going to switch over to a new browser? For these people, that means a 'new Internet'. One might think that those people could just be discounted and ignored, but not only do they make up a good number of people using the Internet, but they are also the ones with the least knowledge about how to stay safe and could use the features offered in alternate browsers such as Firefox.
So, would I recommend Firefox? Actually, I have on a couple of occasions. There are a few things to consider. It isn't a finished product. And it isn't quite ready for the nontechnically inclined. But, sometimes customers will call and inquire about alternate browsers. You can tell if they understand the differences and if someone is familiar with computers and software, Firefox is a fairly good piece of software. Of course I prefer to use Opera, Firefox is a good stepping stone away from IE. It's just not quite as polished in some aspects as Internet Explorer when it comes to new users and does quite have everything it takes to become "The Internet".
After working in ISP tech support at Corecomm, I really have to think like the average computer user to properly do my job. Within the first minute of a support call, not only do you learn what the issue the customer is having, but at the same time you are learning the experience level of the customer. This is important since this is how you know how to explain to these customers how to fix their issue over the phone. There is a large difference in the experience level of computer users, but the average user just knows enough to get to the certain thing they want to do.
Most Web users don't know what a browser is. That blue E they click on the desktop isn't a browser, it's "The Internet." Or maybe it's "Yahoo" if that's what their home page is set to.
This is so true, it's actually very sad. Some calls, it can be a bit tricky to figure out what browser and mail client a customer is using. If you ask how they view webpages, the response is "I click on the Internet", or "I open that thing and Yahoo comes up".
But, what does this really have to do with anything? Most people are just so accustomed to doing things a certain way, they don't understand there is another way to do things. Many people have been using the Internet regularly for five years or more, and many of these same people have never changed the way they do things this whole time. For many people, this means Internet Explorer is "The Internet". But, I also deal with a lot of customers who still use Netscape version 4.7x. Why is this? Back in the late '90's, Corecomm and some of the other smaller ISP's it bought up would send out CD's to customers that would install Netscape as the default browser. These people are either still using those same computers, or they just used the same CD to set everything back up on their new computers and have never changed a single thing. For these people, Netscape is "The Internet".
So, how are these people going to switch over to a new browser? For these people, that means a 'new Internet'. One might think that those people could just be discounted and ignored, but not only do they make up a good number of people using the Internet, but they are also the ones with the least knowledge about how to stay safe and could use the features offered in alternate browsers such as Firefox.
So, would I recommend Firefox? Actually, I have on a couple of occasions. There are a few things to consider. It isn't a finished product. And it isn't quite ready for the nontechnically inclined. But, sometimes customers will call and inquire about alternate browsers. You can tell if they understand the differences and if someone is familiar with computers and software, Firefox is a fairly good piece of software. Of course I prefer to use Opera, Firefox is a good stepping stone away from IE. It's just not quite as polished in some aspects as Internet Explorer when it comes to new users and does quite have everything it takes to become "The Internet".