What Is A Browser?

[konqueror7]

i just want to share this video about google employees asking people in NY what is a browser,,,=)

link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4MwTvtyrUQ&feature=player_embedded)

[joey-elijah]

I cringed so hard at this earlier. I feel so lucky to be so geeky sometimes because being *that* unaware of something as simple as a browser would be just... Arrgh!

It does highlight some very important issues for both browser makers, Google and, i think, the linux community: If people aren't able to tell the difference between a browser and a search engine hell knows what they'd think an operating system is!

In fact there were some glorious quotes on a tech help forum i used to use where in order to help people you'd have to ask what OS they use and you'd get all manner of bizarre and naive answers such as "office 2000", "dell" or "google"...

[hayden92]

It just goes to show how the best kind of computer advertising works, you don't quote technical details, you just demonstrate it and make sure it looks fancy.

[billgoldberg]

This doesn't surprise me at all.

Nobody even mentioned a file browser.

[wipeout140]

The real fact is, people don't care what OS they use - Windows , Linux etc..., as long as it works without them doing anything

Perfect example my sister had a computer with XP installed for uni but after 3 years she wanted a laptop so sold my laptop to her - December 2007 with Ubuntu 7.10 and explained a few things and differences but for the year she had it, the calls and requests where reduced as it worked as easy as XP for her.

However i know there is no real average user but most people who are not computer minded, don't care as long as it works

[Sealbhach]

People have been so brainwashed into thinking computers are much too difficult to understand and they shouldn't even try. You even mention computers and people go "uh, oh, I don't know anything".

.

[konqueror7]

just surprised me, even if you said 'internet browser' as a whole, they wouldn't know the difference...

yeah, most people don't even know what an OS is, and they are missing a lot of good things,,,

[konqueror7]

People have been so brainwashed into thinking computers are much too difficult to understand and they shouldn't even try. You even mention computers and people go "uh, oh, I don't know anything".

.

and brainwashed that people who like computers are automatically geeks or nerds..:D

[wipeout140]

and brainwashed that people who like computers are automatically geeks or nerds..:D


People have been so brainwashed into thinking computers are much too difficult to understand and they shouldn't even try. You even mention computers and people go "uh, oh, I don't know anything".

.

Your right,i was doing some training for person yesterday and they though knowing how to use web browsers features easily such as using tabs in IE, Firefox was a bit nerdy

Another example yesterday, the person told me they (the computer shop) had installed Microsoft Office, i loaded XP up and it was Open Office when i told them it was Open Office not Microsoft Office they said could they still do letters.

[darthmob]

I wonder what the answers would have been in a non english-speaking country as they most likely would not have known the meaning of the word browse. I guess that more people would have said IE or Firefox.

[froggyswamp]

i just want to share this video about google employees asking people in NY what is a browser,,,=)

link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4MwTvtyrUQ&feature=player_embedded)

This highlights so well why people stay with IE.
If people knew more then M$ was doomed in all areas except perhaps XBox.

[wipeout140]

I wonder what the answers would have been in a non english-speaking country as they most likely would not have known the meaning of the word browse. I guess that more people would have said IE or Firefox.

Same questions but done in Rotterdam, Holland


After watching Google's original "What is a Browser?" video during one of our lectures this morning, we decided to put our city to the test. We headed out in to Rotterdam with the same questions as the original interview.

shot, chopped and subbed by students of the Rotterdam Institute for Communications, Media and IT in 8 hours

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEt0N3xu0Do

[lovinglinux]

OMG.

What is really interesting to me is that these interviews were conducted in the financial capital of one of the most developed countries in the world, where computer and Internet access is widespread. The US holds 40% of the IP addresses worldwide and more than 5 IPs per capita.

Now I understand why people use Internet Explorer, why is so hard to increase the Linux user base and why is so easy to spread viruses, hoaxes, fud or other types of computer crap and why it is so easy to brainwash people.

[konqueror7]

Same questions but done in Rotterdam, Holland



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEt0N3xu0Do

nice addition, though can't understand a thing...:D

these kinds of videos somehow show, which people are curios about things and those who are just content with the thing they have...

look at what MS did, supplying all PCs and laptops with pre-installed applications and OSs, and what? people just stuck on it...

somehow i feel that the linux community are also responsible, if a distro such as ubuntu or anything else that would be available to users, market share for OS wouldn't be as it is now...though i still think that most computer business will still chose windows over linux since it adds additional profit...

[konqueror7]

OMG.

What is really interesting to me is that these interviews were conducted in the financial capital of one of the most developed countries in the world, where computer and Internet access is widespread. The US holds 40% of the IP addresses worldwide and more than 5 IPs per capita.

Now I understand why people use Internet Explorer, why is so hard to increase the Linux user base and why is so easy to spread viruses, hoaxes, fud or other types of computer crap and why it is so easy to brainwash people.

yeah, you expect things great from the US when from your other countries. i think only 1 did answer correctly (the bearded guy)...:D

[Greg]

A browser... isn't that the giant turtle with spikes on its back that fights Mario?

[wipeout140]

nice addition, though can't understand a thing...:D

these kinds of videos somehow show, which people are curios about things and those who are just content with the thing they have...

look at what MS did, supplying all PCs and laptops with pre-installed applications and OSs, and what? people just stuck on it...

somehow i feel that the linux community are also responsible, if a distro such as ubuntu or anything else that would be available to users, market share for OS wouldn't be as it is now...though i still think that most computer business will still chose windows over linux since it adds additional profit...

You could of enabled sub titles like it did after few seconds of the video because my dutch is pretty poor aswell :D. The arrow pointing upwards and selecting CC then your language e.g. English. Then you can read the sub titles on what people said

[darthmob]

Same questions but done in Rotterdam, Holland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEt0N3xu0Dook, they are equally clueless. :D


yeah, you expect things great from the US when from your other countries.to be honest, no. prejudices are seldom positive and the US is no exception. at least that's what I think.

[lovinglinux]

yeah, you expect things great from the US when from your other countries. i think only 1 did answer correctly (the bearded guy)...:D

Yep. I live in a country under development (Brazil), where education and per capita income are terrible. I guess if you ask which browser they use here some people will say Orkut (http://www.orkut.com/).

There was a TV show here where the interviewers asked several general knowledge questions to see what people would answer. It was scary. I thought it was expected in a country with huge educational issues, until I saw the same type of show made in the US and it was as bad as here. Go figure.

[konqueror7]

ok, they are equally clueless. :D

to be honest, no. prejudices are seldom positive and the US is no exception. at least that's what I think.

i'm from the philippines and germany,,,germany is already the 'US' in europe, but when it comes to international popularity here in my country, every foreigner they see is called 'kano' or american, they expect great things from the US, our president was a so called 'kiss ***' of G.W. Bush, the good life is in the US, and so on and so forth...

[wipeout140]

ok, they are equally clueless. :D

I can tell you now, you can do the same questions in all countries e.g UK, France and you will find people who will say the exact same answers.

"I use Google"
"The Big Blue E"
"i use yahoo"

Etc....

Because you will always find somebody stupider then the next person

[chucky chuckaluck]

i think it's great that the average person, who really couldn't care any less about computers (the majority of people), can get on the internet, probably find most of what they need/want, without having to know anything about anything else (like how to edit their /etc/rc.conf file). well done, microsoft and apple.

[konqueror7]

I can tell you now, you can do the same questions in all countries e.g UK, France and you will find people who will say the excat same answers.

"I use Google"
"The Big Blue E"
"i use yahoo"

Etc....

Because you will always find somebody stupider then the next person

harsh words, but true:D

[Bodsda]

A browser... isn't that the giant turtle with spikes on its back that fights Mario?

No, thats Bowser.

[Harpie Queen]

I saw the title of this forum and cringed.

[Chame_Wizard]

And to thinks that "windows is superior" people are smart.:popcorn:

[wipeout140]

i think it's great that the average person, who really couldn't care any less about computers (the majority of people), can get on the internet, probably find most of what they need/want, without having to know anything about anything else (like how to edit their /etc/rc.conf file). well done, microsoft and apple.

I think it is good anybody can use the computer but when have you had to edit the rc.conf file in Linux, i been using Linux since 2006 - "Ubuntu 6.10". I have never needed to edit the rc.conf file, however if i was using a distribution like Linux from scratch or possible Arch Linux, i don't know. But the average person would not be using that distribution anyway, if they used Linux it would possible be Ubuntu or OpenSuse and they would not need to edit the file

[chucky chuckaluck]

Because you will always find somebody stupider then the next person

some may be stupid, but most of those people don't care. are you as knowledgable in all aspects of your life, or just the ones you care about? do you work on your own car, build your own homes, grow your own food, make your own clothes, study enough medical practices to maintain your own health, etc.?

[beercz]

Does is really matter?

[wipeout140]

some may be stupid, but most of those people don't care. are you as knowledgable in all aspects of your life, or just the ones you care about? do you work on your own car, build your own homes, grow your own food, make your own clothes, study enough medical practices to maintain your own health, etc.?

Fair point, all people are different and care about different things and that is why we as Human race are very interesting.

answers to your examples.



I personally don't own a car, so i can't work on one if i don't own one
Small DIY yes, but full houses no
I help at home with growing basic vegetables
I am not big in to fashion so i normally just buy clothes i find comfortable and on the cheaper side :p
Luckily we have the NHS i can go there if i have any problems


Does is really matter?

No but it is interesting to see other peoples viewpoint on different things

[SLEEPER_V]

Honestly, I think the computer geek community is too insular. We sit here with knowledge that is commonplace to us and converse with others who are pulling from the same knowledge pool and condemn others who cant name something that is 'simple' to us. The fact is that most people consider computers as tools to do a job, no more no less. Living here in the South US, not knowing how to field dress a deer is considered weird.

[chucky chuckaluck]

but when have you had to edit the rc.conf file in Linux

i use arch, but only because i want to. i can't be bothered to investigate anything i don't want to, even if it were in my better interest to do so. why? because not having to waste precious daydreaming time on a bunch of tl/dr documentation is more important to me. i'm guessing a lot of these people are similar, answering the question only because they thought they might be on some local news broadcast.




* I personally don't own a car, so i can't work on one if i don't own one
* Small DIY yes, but full houses no
* I help at home with growing basic vegetables
* I am not big in to fashion so i normally just buy clothes i find comfortable and on the cheaper side
* Luckily we have the NHS i can go there if i have any problems

newb!!! :popcorn:

[lovinglinux]

Honestly, I think the computer geek community is too insular. We sit here with knowledge that is commonplace to us and converse with others who are pulling from the same knowledge pool and condemn others who cant name something that is 'simple' to us. The fact is that most people consider computers as tools to do a job, no more no less. Living here in the South US, not knowing how to field dress a deer is considered weird.

If I live in an area where deers are common, then would be weird if I didn't know how to field dress them (whatever that means). But those people are from New York. They are surrounded by computers everywhere and they use them on a regular basis.


some may be stupid, but most of those people don't care. are you as knowledgable in all aspects of your life, or just the ones you care about? do you work on your own car, build your own homes, grow your own food, make your own clothes, study enough medical practices to maintain your own health, etc.?

I'm not knowledgeable about all aspects of my life. For example I don't know how to fix a car and I consider myself a mechanics illiterate. But I have a general knowledge about it's general parts and functions.

Not knowing what is a browser is like driving a car without knowing what is the drive wheel. I don't have to understand how a drive wheel mechanics work or how a Internet browsers works, but not knowing what they are is stupid in my opinion too. Ask the same people if they know what is a car battery and what it does? They probably doesn't know about the chemical reactions on the battery, but they know it is responsible for the energy necessary to turn on the car.

[bruno9779]

As a tech support, when i ask: "what OS do you use?" the most 2 common answers are:

1 Duh?
2 Microsoft, "which one? XP, Vista?" You are the tech, you should tell me

From 3rd position down, answers are more normal...

[chucky chuckaluck]

Not knowing what is a browser is like driving a car without knowing what is the drive wheel. I don't have to understand how a drive wheel mechanics work or how a Internet browsers works, but not knowing what they are is stupid in my opinion too. Ask the same people if they know what is a car battery and what it does? They probably doesn't know about the chemical reactions on the battery, but they know it is responsible for the energy necessary to turn on the car.

they'd be stupid if they tried to figure out what a browser is, but didn't have the mental capacity to do so, were knowing what a browser is the only measure of intelligence. at this point, the more likely explanation is that they don't know because they don't care enough to find out, and i would guess that it never occurred to most of them to even wonder what a browser is until this guy asked them the question.



2 Microsoft, "which one? XP, Vista?" You are the tech, you should tell me

translation: "you're the software janitor. you clean up the mess. i have money to make."

[JillSwift]

Browser: Someone who comes in to your store, looks at all your stuff, but doesn't buy anything.

Search engine: What your mechanic does when you tell him "It's making a squeaking noise."

Pretty simple stuff. :P

[capnthommo]

Browser: Someone who comes in to your store, looks at all your stuff, but doesn't buy anything.

Search engine: What your mechanic does when you tell him "It's making a squeaking noise."

hee, hee! i actually did snort with laughter at that one. thanks, you've made my afternoon.

and reference further above
Bowser: i always thought a bowser was a trailer with a large tank on it for storing water or diesel on, for example, a construction site
cheers
nigel

[SLEEPER_V]

If I live in an area where deers are common, then would be weird if I didn't know how to field dress them (whatever that means). But those people are from New York. They are surrounded by computers everywhere and they use them on a regular basis.
Its not like we are isolated here, lol. Most people here use computers on a regular basis, but you missed my point. Computers are tools to most people. They want them to work, and if they dont they take it to a guy to get it fixed. My parents spent 50 bucks recently getting a virus taken off their computer. I could have done it for nothing, but they didnt even think about it.

[lisati]

This comment at YouTube says it all:
I want to punch those idiots. a BROWSER IS NOT A SEARCH ENGINE.

[lovinglinux]

Its not like we are isolated here, lol. Most people here use computers on a regular basis, but you missed my point. Computers are tools to most people. They want them to work, and if they dont they take it to a guy to get it fixed. My parents spent 50 bucks recently getting a virus taken off their computer. I could have done it for nothing, but they didnt even think about it.

English is not my native language and I'm not familiar with this deer thing. So, could you explain what is it that procedure, just for the sake of my curiosity? :)

I understand that people simply don't care and just want things to work. Getting virus out requires some knowledge, but the browser is right in front of them and they need to use it to get to the Internet. Besides, the term browser is self-explanatory. Everyone uses the term "browse the Internet", so isn't it obvious that a browser is the "thing" that allows you to browse the Internet? I wonder if some people think the Internet is the browser, not a network of computers from where you download pages and files.

I use to fix my family computers, but the problem is that I don't want to just fix the problem they ask. When I put my fingers on a computer I start to modify stuff and they go crazy. I can't control myself :) There was one time that I was accused by my step-sister of screwing her computer, which I clearly didn't, but it was enough to give up trying to improve other people machines.

[Sealbhach]

I'm not knowledgeable about all aspects of my life. For example I don't know how to fix a car and I consider myself a mechanics illiterate. But I have a general knowledge about it's general parts and functions.

Not knowing what is a browser is like driving a car without knowing what is the drive wheel. I don't have to understand how a drive wheel mechanics work or how a Internet browsers works, but not knowing what they are is stupid in my opinion too.

Exactly right. People have been so brainwashed they don't believe they can aspire to even this basic superficial understanding. Very sad to see.

.

[lisati]

I'm not knowledgeable about all aspects of my life. For example I don't know how to fix a car and I consider myself a mechanics illiterate. But I have a general knowledge about it's general parts and functions.

Not knowing what is a browser is like driving a car without knowing what is the drive wheel. I don't have to understand how a drive wheel mechanics work or how a Internet browsers works, but not knowing what they are is stupid in my opinion too. Ask the same people if they know what is a car battery and what it does? They probably doesn't know about the chemical reactions on the battery, but they know it is responsible for the energy necessary to turn on the car.
Exactly......

As a tech support, when i ask: "what OS do you use?" the most 2 common answers are:

1 Duh?
2 Microsoft, "which one? XP, Vista?" You are the tech, you should tell me

From 3rd position down, answers are more normal...
There seems to be a basic lack of general computer knowledge out there. I've even had "What's Windows?" from someone who has used Windows a lot longer than I have. I was once even asked to help fix this person's computer (possibly running Win98 at the time) before I'd even managed to get a machine capable of running Windows myself (I was running some flavour of MS-DOS at the time). Another techno-blunder I've encountered is an expectation for me to miraculously save several hundred gigabytes worth of video footage on a simple 1Gb memory stick.....

[Mr. Picklesworth]

I always find it interesting how many young people don't understand it. The education system has really failed us with computers. And it's not that I think everyone should be a geek, but computer companies really take advantage of people who don't know this stuff.

Maybe I should go into teaching.

[blithen]

I fail, don't even say a thing. >_>

[overdrank]

merged :)

[starcraft.man]

This isn't all that surprising, at least not to me. I mean the Browser really is simply a transparent abstraction layer to get at webapps, search engines, websites and other such services. In a way, the less people notice the difference the better they are working.

I would of course be much happier if the average level of knowledge of computers was substantially higher. We need mandatory courses for this, it's sad we haven't done so already in Canada.

[v8YKxgHe]

These videos mean 100% nothing because we do not know how many people they talked to, do we? They could have talked to 5000 people (sure it says 50, but do we trust that?), and got these 10 or so responses that were just insane, like the ones shown - the video can, and most likely is completely biased.

Anyone can edit a video to put any message they want to put across, regardless of the real facts they got. They are pointless 'videos'.

[lovinglinux]

These videos mean 100% nothing because we do not know how many people they talked to, do we? They could have talked to 5000 people (sure it says 50, but do we trust that?), and got these 10 or so responses that were just insane, like the ones shown - the video can, and most likely is completely biased.

Anyone can edit a video to put any message they want to put across, regardless of the real facts they got. They are pointless 'videos'.

Yes, they could be biased, but I think they reflect the reality.

[Cowchip7]

If I live in an area where deers are common...

The plural of deer is deer. :lol:

[gjoellee]

Web Browsers
File Browsers
Music Browsers
Image Browsers

you name it!

[lovinglinux]

The plural of deer is deer. :lol:

Thanks for the correction, but I was able to find that it is considered dated (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deers), so I guess I'm not that wrong. Please bear in mind that English is not my first language. ;)



from http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary#D

# dated — Formerly in common use, and still in occasional use, but now unfashionable; for example, wireless in the sense of "broadcast radio tuner", groovy, and gay in the sense of "bright" or "happy" could all be considered dated. Dated is not so strong as archaic or obsolete. This definition is currently under active debate in Wiktionary:Obsolete and archaic terms