Your notebook will look markedly different from a website that tries to imitate your notebook. Your password manager will only look markedly different from a website imitating your password manager if you have a certain level of awareness and acuity of what happens on-screen and what it means. I think GP's father doesn't have that awareness, and never will, by choice. They choose to spend their energy elsewhere.

Younger generations had no choice and will have spent that energy already by the time they're 12 years old, and have these problems less.

This! I mention password managers, two factor or just try and get him to improve his passwords and his eyes glaze over and can see him begging to nod off. Probably somewhat my fault for always bring them up after a meal when he's probably already half way to napping...

I'm getting close to 60, but I've been programming and working with computers since in was in 6th grade. When I was in my 30s, paying my bills meant sitting down at the table once a month with my checkbook, stack of bills, and book of stamps. Open a bill, write a check, put a stamp on the envelope, repeat. It took maybe 15 minutes and was very easy. Compare that to opening a different website, with a different username and password and maybe TOTP code or SMS code, for each bill I need to pay. It's slower and more complicated.

There is no online payment method I've seen that seems easier to me than just writing a check. Of course I rarely write checks these days, so I use the apps and websites and feel annoyed every time I do.

Though you are also correct that dealing with "technology" today requires a certain level of pain tolerance. Good UX exists but is rare, and authentication is still a mess basically everywhere if you don't want to do OAuth and centralise it to the behemoths. "Poweruser apps" can be extremely empowering, but always have a steep learning curve, sometimes very steep; they can help making your dayjob much easier, but typically help nought with, say, filing your taxes or paying your bills.

Disclaimer: am 25 years old.

and immediately you write this:

> Though you are also correct that dealing with "technology" today requires a certain level of pain tolerance. Good UX exists but is rare

So it's not just 40+ year olds who feel this way

EDIT: you are correct I didn't word my original message correctly. Perhaps you have a point.

Autopay. I only pay one bill manually, twice a year, because they don't allow autopay (property taxes). Otherwise I just don't think about it.

Sure, you may not like autopay for whatever reason, but that's a choice. The option is there.

It's not comfortable, but every time you write a check you're doing exactly this.

They are correct aren't they? None of the modern software is made to serve and help the user. It's made to serve advertisers and be promotion vehicles for product managers.

I am a computer guy. I am constantly and continuously irritated by all the crap in software. I see how my non-techie mom struggles, and it's several orders of magnitude worse for her.

So I totally agree with you.

How I paid bills in Thailand:

    1. Bill comes in the mail, with a QR code. Bill says I owe 413 ฿ for power.
    2. I scan the QR code with my phone.
    3. Message comes up from my bank saying, "You want to pay 413 ฿ for your power?"
    4. I tap yes. Bill is paid.

It might reasonably be argued that it's less secure, since it's pretty hard to hack an air-gapped sheet of paper. But it's not harder to use.

>Your father does use a password manager: a slow, very inconvenient one

Writing down certain passwords can be very convenient. No hacker on the internet is going to access the piece of paper on my desk.

I consider myself computer savvy and I still write down some passwords on paper instead of having them stored on an internet connected computer. (I believe burglars really don't care about passwords. And it is very easy to obscure the written passwords.)