Bob George wrote: > > > assertion that we're in an "era of diminishing returns." > > Diminishing returns are not no returns. which I think was his > point. > > YOU are making the case that there are only diminishing returns > in recent years. The author makes quite the opposite point, > stating that one of HISTORY's most important advances (the > Internet) has evolved since you argue things started going > downhill. We have a nomenclature problem Bob. In the economics I was taught, 'diminishing returns' is not down hill, it is just not going up as fast. I believe your characterization of my position is called a 'strawman'.
Maybe you did not work in offices before the pc; I did, and it seems like Howard had some knowledge of that era. the quantum leap in productivity brought by the pc had a much more important effect than what has been done since the pc moved from a focus on processing data, text, and accounting, to a focus on the GUI and the attractiveness of graphic images. It is not the same as 'no progress' it is less, and in fact less than it could be if real structural problems were taken care of, such as virus risks, and if the bandwidth of the networks were increased faster than the glut of glitz being flushed thru them. I am not saying the GUI is a bad thing so much as it is more of a distraction to the things that need to be done. Nor is it a matter of the os; any of them can be programmed to handle the numeric and text data business needs, and even dos could run the usual gamut of business graphics- scanner, printer, webpages.... But the _advertising_ to promote sales, like on a graphic medium like the TV, tends to focus on the graphic tasks, inhibiting the less visually appealing real _work_ that must be done on books or 'three up mail lists'. this is not a function of technology per se, but a sociological characteristic of what will sell. To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
