Re: Software engineering: a useless profession?

[mattr]

> If you are a software engineer you will..

Okay there are plenty of computers around in any relative's house you wish to visit, and tell me they don't mention some nagging problems? Maybe not "software engineering but..".

I also have built a website for my mother's company, and one for my sister's restaurant. Built a pretty visitor counter. Installed a nice stats program. Saved money by hosting on own server. Online menus changed seasonally. An online photo gallery of the restaurant with using another nice package I found on the net. I kept the old design mostly from network solutions and added here and there. Check it out: Michael's on the Hill. I also played an awful lot of Spongebob Squarepants with my nephews and let me tell you that is an impressive computer feat too.. Of course I also got my Mom to use an iMac and showed her iPhoto, a revelation every time.

I've been trying to think of the best way to get my sister (windows, not experienced) and mother (OS X) to upoad photos to my server extremely easily. I mean, explaining in an email about how to drag a photo from a cdrom and using ftp in IE is actually not easy, and it was a total failure. Led me to thinking about a product idea too.. Computers are in fact way too ornery for normal people to use. Like my sister is managing a successful 3 star restaurant in Stowe, Vermont, and is a great cook, she's sharp and talented but not into computers.

Is the best way really for me to get her to hand my mom a photocd or roll of film every 6 months? I also get 20 meg scans in the email, must be a better way. Maybe my fledgling wxperl skills will help there one day. Or maybe some dhtml thing that shows you the photos in your cd drive and uploads the ones you want? Maybe a blogging toolbar thingy? (Tell me if anyone has a clue for this seemingly innocuous but dastardly problem.) Talk about useability! The problem is that these things only look obvious to people for whom they are already obvious. (i.e. you have to spend a thousand hours with computers first).

Anyway I'm starting to get involved in RFID and sensors in the home and it seems to me that if you want to help around the house you are definitely in an upwardly mobile profession. No sweat!