20 Jan
2009
20 Jan
'09
1:52 p.m.
There have always been both brilliant and stupid
engineers, and
everything in between. People today are not more stupid than those of
40 years ago. The problems that need to be solved have changed, and so
have peoples' specializations.
I wonder if part of the change is that the people who buy and use very
complex products now are not technically-minded at all.
30 or 40 years ago, I would guess a lot of small-ish computers were ought
by engineers or scientists who had some idea as to what went on iside,
and could appreciate a good design. And they were prepared to pay for
said good design, so that's what got built. Now the average PC owner
wouldn't recognise good engieering if it lept up and bit them, they are
swayed, alas, by price alone. So guess what gets made...
Tony has it right. The market demands low prices and doesn't demand
ruggedness, so that is what gets built.
It's a great pity there aren't enough people out there who would pay for
a good design for such a product to be comemrically viable.
-tony