on 1/7/02 11:28 AM, BK at bk_newtontalk_at_yahoo.com wrote:
> The common belief that computers are just too complex to be made
> reliable is a myth supported by most vendors as it helps them to evade
> responsibility.
You read me backwards. The myth is that computers are inherently unreliable.
:-) If you were to purchase a computer new, and use it as it came, you would
have almost zilcho problems. In fact, if you simply used them in a simple
manner, you would have few problems. Unfortunately, computers aren't the
product of a single entity, but of a plethora of companies and individuals
scattered all across the world, writing completely different software, often
at cross-purposes to each other. That is the nature of the beast.
Of course, the worst aspect of all this is the "nut behind the wheel" so to
speak, meaning the user. If we drove our cars like we drive our computers,
we would be mangled meat. That is the truth.
There is one other factor--memory, or lack thereof. We think of the great
behemoth of the Saturn V rocket that carried men to the moon. What most
people don't know is that while everything else worked well, there was one
item that caused problems, and caused it at the most inopportune times. That
was the ship's computer. It had less memory than a stock VIC 20, and had a
weird interface, but it would bomb out when it was needed the most. The
reason? Memory overload. See, you aren't unique, and your problems aren't
new. :-) When you add these three items together, you can have problems.
For myself. I seldom crash, and my wife crashes even less. My children's'
computer never crashes. In fact, I don't know when was the last time their
computer crashed. Computers crash, not because they are unstable or
unreliable, but because those who _use_ them make them that way.
Yes, there is a lot of shoddy workmanship out there in the way of
programming, but most of the time, you don't need to use that stuff. We
choose to, in spite of the flaws. In that case, we again are to blame,
because we encourage it by purchasing the garbage. ;-)
BTW, I use Macintosh, and have 8.1, 8.5.1 and 9.1 on our three main
computers.
YMMV :-)
-- -Jon Glass Krakow, Poland <mailto:jonglass_at_usa.net> <mailto:glasshaus5_at_aol.com> "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." --John Adams-- This is the Newtontalk mailinglist - http://www.newtontalk.net To unsubscribe or manage: visit the above link or mailto:newtontalk-request_at_newtontalk.net?Subject=unsubscribe
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