How much longer..

Thu Aug 14 13:05:39 UTC 2003

>Users, both corporate and at home, need to be taught that there is no >such
thing as plug and play.

For as much as I agree with the philosophy here, we must realize it is the
wrong approach.

Cars did not become more popular because owners had to learn how to swap
more parts. Wireless phones don't require a contract and setting up your own
frequency band. Computers are becoming a utility, and with greater
sophistication more and more embedded.

Back to cars, remember when a mechanic could fix a problem in a day? How
many cars do we all own that now start a service check with a CPU
diagnostic? This is not a trend that will be reversed.

The emphasis must be placed on other market forces to correct things, like
liability for failure and greater R&D for secure systems. Forcing the
consumer to learn more has never worked in the market before, and won't
here.

Jim