On Thursday 30 September 2004 13:05, Chuck Urwiler wrote:
> If only a computer were as simple as a TV, I might go with the analogy. But
> really, this doesn't work because a computer is *much* more complex than a
> TV. Of course, it's not being sold that way to the poor hapless
> computer-illiterate consumer, so they think when something is wrong and
> someone like us fixes it, it should all work and never have a problem
> again.
You know, I think there are a lot of comparisons to be made with the early
auto industry and computers/software. Time spans and other issues, of course,
are different, but the greedy bastards running some of the companies have
never changed. <s>
For example.... when was the last time ANY of you have changed a tire? OK, a
few of you have. When was the last time you had a _blowout_? (other than
driving an Explorer) <g> Tires simply don't blow out at all anymore.
In 1960, though, _everyone_ (except the stereotypical woman) knew how to
change a tire, and you made sure you had a good working spare if you went any
sort of distance. Things have changed.... And I imagine that sooner or later,
we'll have computers that won't "blow out" any more either.
On the other side of the coin, car manufacturers have resisted since the
beginning of time to make their cars safer if it would cost them money. Seat
belts, air bags, steering wheels that act like spears, glass that smashes
into nice sharp pieces....
Microsoft has more money than God yet they will _never_ make their software
'safer' until they're forced to. And even then, they'll do the very least
they can and get away with.
It's not that WIndows is full of holes and bugs - it's that the manufacturer
has plenty of resources to fix the problems and refuses to do so. If
Ford/Firestone had been sitting on $60 billion in cash when the tires
starting going bonkers on them, what do you think would have happened?
--
Whil
Moving to Linux: Freedom, Choice, Security, Opportunity
http://www.hentzenwerke.com
©2004 Whil Hentzen |
