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Comment by jes5199 | Hacker News Reader

that feels, to me, like a real failure of our field. What other tool can you use every day for 30 years and still be a novice at?

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Most of them. I use a toilet every day and have no idea how it works except for I push the button and my shit goes away.

To be fair, the toilet hasn't changed much in the last 30 years but computing has drastically changed.

Has it though? The development of smart phones is probably the biggest thing. Computer use is still mostly the same outside of hardware changes and the software industry.

Consumer computer use is pretty stagnant I'd say. Click the icon of the program you want on the desktop. Read/watch some things, click some things, scroll a bit.

Yes, it has. I've had many experiences that have required me to perform online sleuthing over the years just to keep my computer working properly. New programs ("apps") that seem to be change for change's sake, or worse, to try to make computers work like cell phones. My latest peeve: a Windows 10 update has caused my laptop to stop recognizing DVDs (though it plays CDs fine) and MS seems entirely disinterested in correcting the problem.

I think toilets have changed a lot. I have a Toto toilet that uses something like .7 gallons a flush and I am fairly sure is easily capable of flushing a cat or, at least, a large russet potato.

30 years ago a toilet needed 5 gallons and would clog if you used more than 12 inches of toilet paper.

While they may have changed in many ways - as far as the UX for the average user, it's been a lever to press to make it flush. Now I still see new low flow ones that have levers, and some new ones have 2 buttons. Of course there are those that auto-sense arrive/leave in some commercial establishments... But to the average user they have no changed that much I think - most still have a lever, if you can't find it and you are looking in that general area you will see the two buttons and likely press one to see if it flushes..

and press it again if it doesn't flush enough.. just like the old ones :)

> I have a Toto toilet that uses something like .7 gallons a flush and I am fairly sure is easily capable of flushing a cat

I think you owe it to this forum to provide a citation.

Fair call and I was wrong. I have two, one is the Toto Drake II and uses 1.28 gallons per flush. The other is an Aquia IV dual flush which uses either 0.8 gals or 1.0 gals per flush.

https://www.totousa.com/aquia-iv-1g-toilet-10-08-gpf

I was more interested in the cat claim.

That's just a guess. I don't have a cat to test it with and I like my russet potatoes too much to try and flush one.

Cars are the first thing that springs to mind, people use them for decades and can be very inept at operating them or understanding how they work.

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