Tech Replaces Diamonds As Girl's Best Friend

[dbarrow]

http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=191601137&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All

Study: Tech Replaces Diamonds As Girl's Best Friend


Women, on average, own nearly as much technology as their male counterparts and would appreciate a digital video camera more than a pair of designer shoes. ...

...NEW YORK - Diamonds are no longer a girl's best friend, according to a new U.S. study that found three of four women would prefer a new plasma TV to a diamond necklace. ...

*NO WAY I can believe this!

[mikehende]

My wife is a pc addict like myself so I would have to agree that a pc related gift would be better than Jewelry.

[PeteF]

I've been online in one form or another since about 1984 and the
online community has almost always been male dominated.
Services such as dating services always had something like
80% or greater males. It's only been in the past few years
that 've noticed the percentage of females online more equal
to the males.

I have to say, many a household that call me for computer
services, it's the female of the house that is the most computer
literate. So maybe the time has finally come where females
are using computers as much as males.

Generally speaking, I suspect that females are using computers
in different ways than males.

---pete---

[photolady]

Then there is the exception to that last thought Pete. :)

Me, give me computer parts, I have no use for Diamonds except for the resale value. ;)

[Tortanick]

You'll also notice many linux distros actively reaching out to women. Undeniably Tech has become cross gender, I wonder why though

One thing that did suprise me is that it said 46% were comfortable troubleshooting their own PC, although I'd be equally suprised if 46% of men said that.

P.S. Blackmirror, whats with the sad music?

[PeteF]

Then there is the exception to that last thought Pete. :)

Me, give me computer parts, I have no use for Diamonds except for the resale value. ;)

Yes Photolady, I agree you are the exception. What I meant is that
most women are probably using their computer in different ways than
men. For example, this forum is technically oriented and we have a
a very small percentage of woman here.

I think that women have been drawn to computers becasue of
the things they can do on the Interent. Men have always been
more drawn to the technical aspects of using a computer even
where there is no Internet.

---pete---

[Tortanick]

I disagree, the technical aspect of useing a computer has only been attactive to a small subculture, of witch we are a part. the rest of humanity has used computers because of things they can do. E.G. word processing or meeting people over the net.

I reckon what happened is that tech suddenly became very fashonable. Mobile Phones, MSN, MySpace, I-pods, cameras etc. Probobly due to good marketing, thats how most fashions start.

Perhaps someone older than me could say weather in the old days when computers were just a tool for work, was there any noticeable gender devide in technical skills (excluding people like us who learn tech skills for fun). I'd guess that the computer game industry (thats clueless at makeing games for girls) created one but before that?

[Guest110]

I have always been interested in computers...from back in the Commodore 64 and sinclair days.... I love them.. where else can you meet such interesting characters.........:rolleyes:
apart from the pub

[mikehende]

I think that women have been drawn to computers becasue of
the things they can do on the Interent. Men have always been
more drawn to the technical aspects of using a computer even
where there is no Internet.
---pete---


Now before the women here come after my hide, please note that I only personally know a few women who are pc addicts and I am basing my comments on those few so take my comments with a grain of salt :cool:

I have to agree with this since all of the women I know who are pc addicts seem to be absolutely caught up in anything that has to do with the net and while the women I know like troubleshooting and repairing the pc e.t.c their "preference" always leans towards the net, the men on the other hand are always tinkering with Hardware even when it's working perfect.

[Tortanick]

I don't seem to fit either, I like setting up servers (or dose that count as net). Installing new hardware is fun but debugging it is fustraiting as hell.

[PeteF]

I have to agree with this since all of the women I know who are pc addicts seem to be absolutely caught up in anything that has to do with the net and while the women I know like troubleshooting and repairing the pc e.t.c their "preference" always leans towards the net, the men on the other hand are always tinkering with Hardware even when it's working perfect.

Well stated, Mike. Another thought.. Women are better than men at
following written instructions & manuals for how to use computers
and the net. Men are better than women at figuring out how things
work with computers & the net when there are no written instructions
& manuals to go by.

I'm not knocking either sex, I'm just saying that there is a difference
in the approach each sex takes when dealing with computers and
the Interent. I'm glad to see more and more women coming online
with computers. It's been too long a time that males have dominated
the computer technology & the internet.

---pete---

[mommalina]

Well stated, Mike. Another thought.. Women are better than men at
following written instructions & manuals for how to use computers
and the net. Men are better than women at figuring out how things
work with computers & the net when there are no written instructions
& manuals to go by.

You are probably right, Pete. Perhaps there would be fewer computer problems for newbies and the computer-challenged if it were mandated that only women--not men--write instructions (after men demonstrate the procedure, that is.). :rolleyes:

When traveling, most men will not ask for directions if they are lost--you're lucky if they admit they are lost! Most women pull into the nearest gas station as soon as possible to ask for directions. :help:

Ask most men for directions, and they'll give you route and street numbers, but little else. Ask a woman, and she'll tell you to make a right at the Baptist church, a left at the Acme supermarket, another left at Hooters, along with a few route and street numbers.

Mars vs Venus--how true.:tea:

Lina

[photolady]

I have to promise not to bite you'll's heads off. :D I understand that a lot of men are hardwired, but a lot of my customers are men also, and they still bring their computer to me to fix. In fact, 9 out of 10 of my customers are men. But I know very few women who are techs or tech oriented. Most of them use a computer for email and photos for the kids across the country. So, in my world, it's a toss up who is tech oriented and who's not.

[mikehende]

Women are better than men at
following written instructions & manuals for how to use computers
and the net.
---pete---

Got no choice but to agree with this [there goes my pride;) ], EVERY single thing that we assemble here, it's my wife's job to handle it with my pathethic self simply following her instructions, she's a master at it and makes it very simple. I am not only talking about pc stuff, whether it's a cabinet, bed, shelf, you name it and she's got it nailed but PLEASE make sure she doesn't see this post/thread otherwise I'll never heard the end of it!:D

[PeteF]

Mars vs Venus--how true.:tea:


That's exactly my point Lina. :)
I agree with everything you said.

Regardless of how either sex aproaches the use of computers, I think the
computer changes the way we think. For me, I was never much of a reader
or writer and nothing close to what you'd call detail oriented. Computers
changed all that for me.

I vividly recall working on my Comodore64 doing Basic programming in
the early 1980s and pondering how the computer was changing the way
I was thinking. It was forcing me to think in more of a logical and methodical
manner. As I began communicating with others online, I was forced
to learn proper spelling & grammar so that I could communicate more
effectively to get my point across. I began reading more and more
while communicating with others and reading all the info online and
the books & manuals required to keep the computer working.

Over the years, working on computers, I became very detail oriented.
Computer programming made me very careful about every punctuation
or character because one tiny mistake could cause much frustration.
Posting on public BBSes, newsgroups and forums regarding technical
issues taught me to include details so I didn't have to go back and
forth answering so many questions before getting an answer to my
problem.

I could go on and on about the ways computers changed the way
I think and communicate. I think the same applies to most people
who use the computer a lot.

---pete---

[photolady]

My problem with everything except computers is, I have ADD. Never as a child or even a young adult could I focus on anything.....until I discovered computers. After the discover of computers, it was natural for me to start tinkering, from then on....this is where I am today.

[PeteF]

My problem with everything except computers is, I have ADD. Never as a child or even a young adult could I focus on anything.....until I discovered computers. After the discover of computers, it was natural for me to start tinkering, from then on....this is where I am today.

Get this.. A friend of mine stops over one day and calls me outside to
his late model Dodge pickup truck which was parked and idling.
He says; "Pete smell my exhaust". I did and it smelled like french fries
cooking. WOW, he had his diesel engine running on cooking oil!!!!

He then showed me the entire system and explained how he built
it and how it worked. It was a complex system of hoses, valves,
heating elements, and auxiliary fuel tank. He fabricated the main
components himself. I'm thinking this guy is a mechanical genius!

My friend had used his computer to research the Internet on how to
convert a diesel engine to run on cooking oil. He found sites that
sold the kits for about $2500, but using the info he found on the
internet he built the system from scratch.

Ok, with all that in mind, my friend only has about an 8th grade
eduction and was told he is ADD. However, you give him a computer
and leave him by himself and he does amazing things that many
highly educated people could never do. He got his first computer
about 2 or 3 years ago and took right to it, creating his own
website and doing some very advanced things.

See, this is why I hate labels that doctors put on people such
as ADD or Dyslexic. I've seen such people do amazing things
and it makes me think they have superior intellect as opposed
to having some kind of disorder. It makes me think that today's
doctors, if given the opportunity, would put similar labels on
some of our most famous inventors & scientists of the
past like Edison, or Einstein, or whoever.

See, the computer is a tool that does not discriminate against
male, female, genius, ADD, old or young. We all have an equal
opportunity to use it to our best abilities. To me, what a person
can actually accomplish using a computer is more a measure of
their intellect than anything else.

---pete---

[mikehende]

I tried to get my College-bound ADHD 17 year old son into computers as a career but it is not for him I guess as he wants to do Sports Psycology as his major and Business and Finance as a minor [to accomodate his Real Estate endeavors] but thanks for the info as I will try with my ADD 7 year old whom his teachers say is "brilliant" but I haven't seen him do anything out of the ordinary where the pc is concerned, he as been on a pc ever since he could sit but is only interested in video games so far, wonder if there is anything I can do to spark his interest in other pc stuff?

[Tortanick]

Personally I LOVE labels, I collect them for myself. So far I have: Dyslexia, Dyspraxia (I think) Ausbergers Syndrome, Autism (well that's just counting ausbergers twice) a lisp, I can possibly get away with ADHD and my all time favourite “weird” that lets me get away with “anything” short of attacking someone

labels to me are just precompiled excuses. "No I'm not to lazy to write neatly I have dyslexia" Although in reality I can write neatly, its just horribly slow and gives me wrist ache. They're also my ticket to positive discrimination.

I agree that labels aren't totally accurate, for example despite being dyslexic I can read at an almost superhuman level. However I have found that labels work as a loose guide, for example I fit many of the traits on the wikipedia asburgers syndrome characteristics list (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome#Characteristics) but of course not all of them. I also fit large parts of J. Random Hacker (http://catb.org/jargon/html/appendixb.html) (YAY) but again there are some noticeable differences.

I guess the main advantage of lables is that without them every school would have to learn the unique bliss of Being Me from the ground up. And if people With a few labels they just ignore bad handwriting, personality quirks and let me use my laptop.


mikehende: In my opinon Computers are a great way for kids to overcome ADHD, but then they're my awnser to everything. I have no idea how to encorage him, and if I'm honest maby he just isn't intrested in computers, most people arnt but then games is a good first step, it was mine.

What I would do is try and expose him to good classic games, Ones that require a bit of work to get running. Hopefully you can turn him into an abandonware fan, at witch point he'll either be dependant on your help or learn to get old games working. Its not amazing but its a start and sure moved my skills up.

Sadly my own leap from user (as opposed to Luser) was that I consiosly decided to start hanging around tech support forums and simultaiously lost trust in yahoo and decided to learn linux and set up my own mailserver, it works great but sadly no one trusts dynamic IPs. No magic forumlar their.

[PeteF]

labels to me are just precompiled excuses. "No I'm not to lazy to write neatly I have dyslexia" Although in reality I can write neatly, its just horribly slow and gives me wrist ache. They're also my ticket to positive discrimination.

I agree that labels aren't totally accurate, for example despite being dyslexic I can read at an almost superhuman level.

Hey, I have horrible handwriting. :D I wonder if the "experts" would label
me as dyslexic. Hahahahaa. What I object to is how so called experts
have a label for everything these days and they usualy have a pill to
sell that goes along with it. Unfortunately, I think they often place their
bogus labels on people and it causes some people to give up on themselves
when in reality they have so much more potential.

I'm telling you, from the few people I do know that have been told
they are dyslexic or ADD, they demonstrate superior intellect in
certain areas. I'm adding you to the list with your ability to read at
super human levels. ;)

---pete---

[Tortanick]

I can't say how accurate the testing was but its not as simple as handwriting.


I object to is how so called experts
have a label for everything these days
People have allways had lables for everything. Now there are more of them because we're being a bit more scientific about it. I imagine that in the past most of todays acronm lables were lumped togeather under 4 or less wide reaching lables like "stupid" or "behavour problems"

Without these lables there would be no way to organise scientific research, and each school would have to have PHD phycologists to analyse students and recomend ways to get round ADHD. With labels its possible to have a set guide for diagnoseing dyslexia and a set way to get round dysleix people's weaknesses. Its not perfect, nearly no dyslexic is a perfect fit for the label but I can't see enough PHD phycologists willing to work on a educators salary for any better system.

And of course, no matter how inacurate dyslexia is at discribing a dysleix with superhuman reading its certainly a better lable then stupid


I think the problem you have is you with lables is that you call the drug companies experts, they delibrately extend existing catagories to be as wide as possible just to sell to parents. Thats bad, and harmfull to their customers.

I'm adding you to the list with your ability to read at
super human levels

Thats not the only reason I qualify, want the list ;) However most of the dysleixics I know I'd never have noticed if they didn't turn up at the dyslexics exam classroom

[PeteF]

I think the problem you have is you with lables is that you call the drug companies experts, they delibrately extend existing catagories to be as wide as possible just to sell to parents. Thats bad, and harmfull to their customers.


Tertanick, I wasn't referring to the drug compamies, I was more referring
to the professionals who prescribe the meds. The professionals are trained in
institutions that are largely financed or influenced by the drug companies.
Like any profession, you have peope who are very good and people who
are mediocre at what they do. As a whole our medical professionals have
become less skilled at troubleshooting and diagnosis and are too quick
to put a label on someone such as ADD, when in reality it is a disipline
problem or a problem caused by something like poor parenting.

What I object to is the professional who is trained hastily stick a
label on someone that matches a list of symptoms for a drug to
be prescribed as a quick fix, when in reality the true cause of
the problem is never addressed. In other words, I'm opposed to
doctors and other professionals who have become more like drug
pushers and less skilled at proper diagnosis and treatment.

---pete---

[mommalina]

What I object to is the professional who is trained hastily stick a
label on someone that matches a list of symptoms for a drug to
be prescribed as a quick fix, when in reality the true cause of
the problem is never addressed.

This mimics the problem with hastily and poorly trained computer tech support! Only difference is that with tech support a life is not at stake....unless your computer and tech support eventually drive you nuts. :)

Lina

[PeteF]

Thats not the only reason I qualify, want the list ;) However most of the dysleixics I know I'd never have noticed if they didn't turn up at the dyslexics exam classroom

Ok, you raise a good point. Someone told me they were recently diagnosed
as dyslexic. She told me something interesting about reading comprehension
for a dyslexic that makes good sense and maybe applies to posts on our forum.
What she said is, reading paragraphs that are very long and wide are much
harder to comprehend than short and narrow paragraphs.

For example, this paragraph below is harder to comprehend:

Dyslexia is a neurologically-based, often familial, disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language. Varying in degrees of severity, it is manifested by difficulties in receptive and expressive language, including phonological processing, in reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, and sometimes in arithmetic.


And this paragraph below is much easier to comprehend:

Dyslexia is a neurologically-based, often familial, disorder
which interferes with the acquisition and processing of
language. Varying in degrees of severity, it is manifested
by difficulties in receptive and expressive language,
ncluding phonological processing, in reading, writing,
spelling, handwriting, and sometimes in arithmetic.

---pete---

[mommalina]

Pete wrote: What she said is, reading paragraphs that are very long and wide are much harder to comprehend than short and narrow paragraphs.

How true, Pete.

I used to write and type a union newsletter and always used short paragraphs and a two-column format. The rank and file liked it, and it helped keep management on its toes (they managed to get hold of a copy of each issue).

Remember the discussion about Rich's instruction page to each of his customers? He thought more paragraphs would make the page too long and discourage the customer from reading it. I wonder if a two-column format, even with long paragraphs, would take up any more room. It sure would be easier to read.

I'm going to try to find that KH thread and post it there. If I don't find it, I'll try to remember to mention the two-column format during Paltalk this Wednesday night.

Lina

[PeteF]

How true, Pete.
I used to write and type a union newsletter and always used short paragraphs and a two-column format. The rank and file liked it, and it helped keep management on its toes (they managed to get hold of a copy of each issue).


Lina, that girl I was referring to told me that the narrow format in
newspapers is used intentionally to help with reading comprehension.
I'm not sure if that's the real reason from a historical point of view but
I think it certainly applies to most people and not just dyslexics.

---pete---

[Tortanick]

Applies to me, but its hardly a big deal, I think its that a narrow line reduces the need to actually move your eyeball.



What I object to is the professional who is trained hastily stick a
label on someone that matches a list of symptoms for a drug to
be prescribed as a quick fix, when in reality the true cause of
the problem is never addressed.
Never met these guys so I didn't think of it. I'd be horrified if I ever met one.

[Pi rules]

Tortanick: we must be twins or something. I can read multiple times faster than anyone else I know (just got over 2500 words/minute after a huge lack of sleep), except maybe Tortanick?, with very good comprehension and my handwriting is among the worst. I always finish my notes first, though. It's not like I ever look at them again. ;) I have to work on that before college.

I think its that a narrow line reduces the need to actually move your eyeball.
Yes, but I can read most quickly without reading individual lines like most people. I found that my brain can do that more quickly than my eyes (which are fast, but I have poor vision and have bifocals already due to overfocusing). If you let your eyes just provide an overview (kind of like a snapshot) and your brain can process the info later much more quickly. It helps on tests/quizzes as well. Try it out once and see for yourself. ;)

[Tortanick]

Sounds similar to me, I know I skim read although I do miss parts, for example read Harry Potter sevral times before discovering percy wears glasses.

I never clocked myself but I know I can read an entire Terry Pratchet in under a day.

Notes are the same, almost never look at them.

Do you read words or do you create a mental film for yourself like me?

One major diffrence is that I have no need for glasses.

[Pi rules]

I don't "read" in the traditional sense most of the time. I can't explain what I do, it's kind of like what you said: a "mental film".

PS: Google "speed reading test" and try one out. I'll retry when I get some sleep.

[Tortanick]

Looks like we got the same reading style, brilliant isn't it, Couple of questions:
1) Do you hear voices when you're reading, I'm pritty sure I don't
2) Do you read normally when you're actually trying to notice how you read, I checked no 1 just now but I read in the normal style
3) What happens with technical documentation, I read that the traditional way, yourself?


Hmm I wonder if our tastes in books are the same? I serously recomend Jonothan Strange & Mr. Norell. Phillip Reeve's Hungry cities series, The House of the Scorpian, The Discworld books (especially small gods) and the follownig commics: Calvin and Hobbes, The Gods of Arr-Keelean (http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Gods_of_ArrKelaan/index.php?p=1784) (one of my pet peeves is that stories where gods are main charachters are too rare, I don't mind how godly they behave just providing they have awsum powers and rule the world), Shades (http://www.brokenvoice.co.uk/Comics%20files/Shades/Volume%201/Prologue/shades%20prologue%20credits.html), Postnuke (http://www.postnukecomic.com/index.html) Gunnerkrigg Court (http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/index2.php) and Magellan (http://www.graphicsmash.com/series.php?view=first&name=magellan)

I read lots of webcomics, after all most of them are free but these ones struck me at the best, at least they did at the moment.

[edit] took two reading tests, the first siad 300 WPM, the second 750. Both had one key flaw, un intresting technical text that lets my mind wonder, and prevents me turning it into a film. And like you I really should try this earlyer in the day.

[Pi rules]

1 - no.
2. When I think about it too much I read "normally".
3. I don't read it at all. ;) If I do, it depends, although I think I do read it the "traditional way".

For books, I like some science fiction (I love Star Wars & Star Trek), computer books, and physics books. I'll look into some of those, though.

How about "Yakalike" before we get too off topic? I'll be on, no need to reply.