On 13/10/2018 06.26, nospam wrote:
In article , Eric Stevens
wrote:

I know people that do not know how to copy files to/from an usb
stick.

one need not know how to do that for backups to occur.

Ah? And how will that person do the backup? The backup has to go
somewhere. Or are you doing the backup to same disk?

automatic backups, without the user having to do anything special.

Yes yes yes. But you are not saying where are those automatic backups
stored.

either the cloud or an external hard drive. all the user needs to do is
enable backups, which is trivial.

They don't know what an external hard drive is, don't have one, and need
hours of training on how to use it. Similarly with the cloud, but even
worse because their internet is slow, and wifi is also slow.

there is no training. plug it in, click a button. done.

My sister has used Apple computers for many many years. I sent her a
batch of photographs (JPG) on a USB stick and despite seeking help
from her neighbours she never managed to view the photographs. In the
beginning she had not the faintest idea of what to do with the USB
stick. I am sure she is not alone.

that has nothing to do with backups, the topic under discussion.

Of course it has!

You have to store the backup somewhere!


however, it does further the point that people incorrectly assume
computers are hard to use, which requires technical skills and
extensive training.

On the contrary. It proves that there are people that need training to
do what we consider simple things.


you should also have known that your own sister would not know what to
do with a usb stick. why even send her one in the first place?

No, because we can not know that till we try. And we have difficulties
getting down to their level - as proved by you not understanding.


the easiest solution would have been to use photo sharing, then the
photos would have appeared on her devices without her needing to do
anything special, including an apple tv if she has one.

That also needs training. *Any* new thing needs training with these kind
of people, because computer are not at all intuitive. Computer are easy
once you manage beyond the curve, but till you do, it is climbing a
steep mountain.

If you live in a circle of people that manage well with computers, you
can hardly understand the problems they people that don't have.

Ah, and tablets are just as hard, I have to explain each application tap
by tap, and they take notes in paper.

Photo sharing, you say. Well, I explained Google plus and the Photo app
to some people. Now G+ is being killed, and I have to find a new method
for us. And explain it to them.


another option would have been to email or text the photos, or upload
them to a photo sharing site and then send her the links. it's not as
simple or as elegant, but it would have worked.

It also needs more work on our side. And maybe we do not want to upload
to a sharing site.

I can not send my 20 MB photos (each) on email, except one photo per
email, or first I have to convert them to a smaller size, which is an
effort on my side, and then they will not print that well as compared to
sending the original in a stick.

--
Cheers, Carlos.