This year, I started teaching basic computer literacy to adult students, and that put the current UI and design into another perspective for me. So many things are made "easy" instead of straightforward, which makes explaining them difficult.
For example, the URL/search bar in browsers. It's not a web address, so if you mistype an address or it doesn't exist, the text typed in it will be redirected to search. Another browser feature, the back button. It will go to the previous page in history, but only within the current tab and browsing session. Try explaining that to someone with almost no experience using a desktop browser.
Many designs are based on already knowing what to expect. For example, GMail does not separate fields on email composer. Body field does not have a border nor label, it is literally a blank space you have to know to click.
Yet at the same time, terminology is somewhat archaic: compose, carbon copy, forward, paste, and a few other words still remain.
For example, the URL/search bar in browsers. It's not a web address, so if you mistype an address or it doesn't exist, the text typed in it will be redirected to search. Another browser feature, the back button. It will go to the previous page in history, but only within the current tab and browsing session. Try explaining that to someone with almost no experience using a desktop browser.
Many designs are based on already knowing what to expect. For example, GMail does not separate fields on email composer. Body field does not have a border nor label, it is literally a blank space you have to know to click.
Yet at the same time, terminology is somewhat archaic: compose, carbon copy, forward, paste, and a few other words still remain.