so I'm reading through the Mac Plus manual, and I'm struck by how alien some of these concepts must have been.

They have multiple pages devoted to how to use a mouse.

On the other hand, the OS has a very consistent workflow and design language and methodology. They can explain complicated, abstract concepts in simple ways because they are consistent.

Apple of 1985 did a lot of things worth admiring (and a lot of shit, but that's another story.)

This kind of well produced, very well written, very thorough software manual, one that doesn't make assumptions about what knowledge you're bringing to the table, is sorely missing from modern software.

I'd pay $20-30 to have manuals like this for many pieces of modern software.

(OTOH, those pieces of software would need to be more well designed, and more consistent in their design language, in order for a manual like this to be at all useful.)

It's revealing of the state of the industry at large that software manuals don't exist anymore, and that documentation is often an afterthought.

It's elitist, IMO.

The books that I got with my Atari 400 (hand me downs in the mid nineties, I can't comment on what shipped with the system originally) were super thurrough, and also written at novices.

They didn't assume people knew about computers (because no one did) and they didn't assume people would just 'figure it out' (because no one would.)

I had all manner of books on computers when I was a kid, and very few of them were hard to understand, even as an 8 year old.

I had books from the 80s written at an elementary or middle school level that better explained complex computing concepts than the textbooks I had to study in college.

I'm not kidding. I lead a study group, because I was basically sleeping through the classes and some of my friends were struggling. So I lead a study group to help out.

I brought in these books I had read when I was a kid, xeroxed off copies of the relevant illustrations and explanations for everyone.

The effect this had on the average grades in the class was so pronounced that my teacher asked me what I had done.

I brought him the same books, and he looked shocked.

You know that slightly wistful, vaguely watery look people get in their eyes when something they care about is done really well, but in a way that makes a lot of effort they expend useless?

It was that. He started hunting down vintage copies online, and incorporating them in to his lectures.

And, like, I get that I was a weird kid. I read reference books and maps and stuff for fun.

But I struggled through the bland and boring books because I'd seen how useful reference books could be, and I'd learned that mostly through these very thoughtful books on computers.

When I get settled in to the new house, I'll pull out those books and take some pictures. I imagine many of them are on Archive.org already.

My point is (and has been, for weeks) that we are ignoring the users.

We used to care about users. We wanted users to adopt hardware and software. We wanted users to be productive and secure.

Vendors cared about the user experience.

Now, everything is user hostile. Everything is trying to screw you, or spy on you, or just isn't engineered with your safety in mind.