Three Ways To Keep Computing Simple

1. Run Linux - Linux is the only modern operating system that lets you operate your computer simply. DOS is pretty much a dead end, although it's okay for running on period hardware and to support some ancient programs. Linux affords you the opportunity to really get into computing rather than being just another technology consumer. Linux offers many ways to get involved in your personal computing. From desktop OSs to embedded systems, you have the power to get under the hood.
   
   
2. Use Command Line Tools - Does everything have to have a graphical UI? Is it possible to be productive in a non-graphical environment. Get down with the command line and see how much you can do. A world of productivity awaits when you get your hands off the dad-blamed mouse and don't have put your work on hold while closing the too-many windows you have open. I remember pining for graphics capability when all that was available was simple command driven systems, now we have more graphics than we can handle. Eat lobster every night and it starts to taste like soap.
   
   
3. Program Your Computer - We cast our information problems in terms of applications others have written to solve other problems. For the sake of expediency we modify the vision of our data into inputs for existing applications, like forcing a square peg into a round hole. Spend your energy programming your computer to solve your problems, create a round hole for your round pegs. Data processing needs haven't changed that much over time. We still need to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. We still need to process text in so many forms - email is the number one form of communication on the internet. And look at what people spend their time doing now - tweeting 140 chars at a time and "texting" like crazy. How about we view our computers as tools rather than just endpoints for communication that inundates us with noise?