23 Aug
2010
23 Aug
'10
4:41 p.m.
Dave McGuire wrote:
On 8/23/10 4:51 PM, Teo Zenios wrote:
... and pretty much everywhere else, too.
Never underestimate the need to interoperate with other users as a way of
selling tech; e.g. I've been on openoffice for a number of years - but if I
have to send something to someone who can only read MS Word, I still find
myself needing to run things by a nearby Windows system / Word in order to
iron out the glitches.
What frustrates me is that I'm still doing the same type of stuff that I used
a computer for fifteen years ago - some coding, a bit of graphics stuff, a bit
of word-processing, writing emails, looking at a few websites etc. My
expectations of what the computer as a tool needs to do for me hasn't changed,
but the hardware has got many times faster and the experience seems several
times slower. In terms of productivity, I think things may have gone backwards.
I guess nobody ever bothered to use older
hardware with a clean install
of older Windows (retail not the OEM bloated versions) and use older
apps to get work done? Its not like your old apps quit working when a
new version comes along.
Well, for a few years now, the typical American way of thinking has
been "if it's old, it's bad, and if it's not new, it's old".
This mindset is the very essence of the
"well-trained consumer", and
it exists and pervades to the utter delight of salesmen everywhere.
I love old stuff. I can usually fix it if it breaks. Service information often
exists, or I can reverse-engineer it if needs be. I can sometimes make parts
if I can't get spares. And I'm saving the planet by keeping stuff out of
landfill and not compounding the problem by asking companies to make me new
products. If only I could get a large tax refund for doing that too :-)
cheers
Jules