Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2001 11:10:05 -0800 From: David Johnson <djohnson@acuson.com> To: Nils Holland <nils@tisys.org> Cc: chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: NatWest? no thanks Message-ID: <3BE2EF8D.4CB9A508@acuson.com> References: <20011102090253.G795-100000@jodie.ncptiddische.net>
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Nils Holland wrote: > That's something that has changed in the industry, and I don't know if > it's too good. I mean: When computers were not present in every home, and > only real hackers had access to them or even owned one, the world worked > much better. I real hacker basically didn't use the computer because he > wants to store his recipies in there, but, basically, he uses the computer > for the sake that it's a computer. The heart of the problem, IMHO, is that computers are our first general purpose appliance. General purpose devices are harder to use than specific purpose devices. Cars are easy to drive, boats are easy to sail, and airplanes are easy to fly (according to pilot friends of mine). But put all three together into a single general purpose vehicle and it would very hard to use and even harder to maintain. What if your kitchen had a single appliance that combined all the features of your fridge, microwave, dishwasher, stove, and blender? Do you think Mytag would be inundated with complaints of pot roast being put through the rinse cycle? People have difficulty with computers because they do lots of things in lots of interesting ways. There are two ways I see of making them easier. The first is to raise the computer literacy level of the general public. The second is to start marketing specific purpose computer appliances. David To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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