am i the only parent annoyed by how ridiculously convoluted a process it is to download attachments from Google Classroom? we live in a world of shitty products that everyone uses.

— Steve Randy Waldman (@interfluidity) September 8, 2020

For a while, around 2000-2004 or so, computers were actually getting easier to use while being more powerful. This all changed when advertising took over everything — and Google et al. became newfangled monopolies.

Since then, computers and related (smartphones, etc.) have gotten vastly more difficult to use while pretend convenience — backed by much propaganda — rules all. Now, actions that should be a click away take 10, or are just impossible, and every product is designed to addict, not to assist.

But we have no one to blame but ourselves; this is the world we’ve built.