>As much as I enjoy Brandy's posts, I disagree with her on this very
>important philosophical point, and agree entirely with David. A
>computer should not crash. If it does, it *is not* the _fault_ of
>the user. Even if a user action triggers a bug that causes a crash,
>it is wrong to point the finger at the user.
>
>Wade
>
>>The statement "When there is a problem it is usually the user not the
>>computer." sounds like it could be taken directly from Microsoft! Normal
>>user input should not cause system crashes.
And Wade, for once, I find myself in complete agreement with Brandy. Woe
is the day when we discover this charming and enchanting young lass turns
out to be an over-the-hill business guy who enjoys putting on airs -- and
all the males secretly fond of Brandy find they've fallen for the age-old
gotcha :) Then again, I can live in my fantasy until she/he comes
clean...
As for users -- they ARE the cause of most of the problems I fix. By
being impatient, but clicking 42 times a minute in impatience, but using
software known to be buggy, then bitching about when that bug rears its
ugly head, by installing poorly programmed games or apps on a formerly
stable system, then blaming Apple when the system does crash, you get the
point.
I guess this philosophy espoused could be expanded to GM making cars that
won't crash (no fault that the user was drunk or not paying attention to
the road). Hey, it's the fault of Philip Morris that smokers smoke.
It's the fault of Smith & Wesson that gang members off cops for fun. Or,
perhaps we are all VICTIMS in this country and no one is ever to blame?
Well, you get the point: it is a slippery slope to suggest that we are
not at fault for our own headaches -- even with computers. They are
overgrown adding machines and are not perfect (since they were designed
by humans). And whether you like it or not, you do dumb things (perhaps
unintentionally) to your Mac which will cause it to crash --- that IS
your fault, not the Macs.
Apple could make a perfect computer just for you -- but the manufacturing
costs would be too high for you to buy it. Making it affordable in a
timely fashion means not designing in the user airbag-equivalent of all
the software and hardware necessary to protect the powerbook from your
stupidity. Can anyone say: Catch-22?
paul
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