Technology

[Phil Smith xywrite@xxxxxxxx]

I want to echo Jim McSwain and point out that each generation of software
does what he was describing in the hardware world: it pushes us a bit
further from the actual machinery. Operating systems themselves were a big
step AWAY from the hardware: one didn't have to know much about disks (or,
more likely, tapes) or printers or other I/O devices. And nothing at all
about the organization of memory. That was handled by the OS.

Then came higher languages, which made programming easier and more
productive, but also made it possible to work effectively with very little
knowledge of the inside of the computer.

DOS held our hand for us, and now Windows holds them even tighter. Someone
on this list wondered where the trash can is, and what it means to put
something in the trash can. Under DOS we had an image of how the space on a
disk is freed up when you erase a file, and how that is expressed on the
actual disk.

It parallels what Jim was talking about with Ham radio, and of course also
what happened with automobiles. I used to change my own oil 'way back when,
but I wouldn't know how to now, or dare to. I even adjusted my own
carburetor once. My father greased his car and changed plugs. The automatic
transmission frees us from thinking about gears and gear ratios. And so on.

Of course the up side of all this is that everyone can drive a car: you
don't have to be an engineer. And everyone can use a computer: you don't
need a bachelor's degree in computer science.

As Jim notes, fewer and fewer can actually repair these devices: they have
to be sent back to the factory, or at best a card is slipped into a slot,
replacing EVERYthing on the old card. It reminds me of the observation
that, with the availability of so much prepared food in the stores, many
people grow up not knowing how to cook at all.


Phil Smith