Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Bubba, Microsquish, And You........
About 15 years ago many of the car, appliance, and vending machine manufacturers, giddy over the new generation of digital micro computer chips becoming available, started using them in their products. VCRs, which until then had clock like timers and "push/click" type controls, gained digital controls, and menu driven timer settings. Some cars got all digital dashes, and all of them got a new generation of computer controlled emission devices along with electronic ignitions, and the next generation of fuel injection systems. Carburetors became a thing of the past. TV sets started getting away from the old rotary "click" type channel selectors, and started using the new electronic style tuners instead. Vending machines started gaining electronic controls too, giving buyers more (but not necessarily better) choices. Along with all of this came an explosion of remote controls. It's not unusual anymore to find a basket or drawer with about a dozen, mostly unused, remotes in the average house.
This was truly a revolution, these digital chips. For better or for worse, our devices became more complex, more capable, and for many people, more frustrating to use. The now-popular image of the befuddled adult watching his 5 year old program the VCR emerged. All over America, VCR clocks blinked "12:00" never to see another number. A lot of people were doing good just to find the damn "play" button. I talked to a Ford mechanic once, and he told me every spring, and fall, they'd get a legion of silver haired folks showing up at their garages, complaining of an odd, now-gone noise or rattle, and "Oh, by the way. While you're at it, could you please set that damn clock???"
All of this met with varying degrees of success or failure. Cars, due to the newest generation of micro-chips finally started getting away from the under hood maze of leak-prone vacuum hoses used to control the first generation of smog controls. Instead, they gained electronic controls and cars actually became more reliable, and trouble free. Oh, don't give me that. YES THEY HAVE!! In the '50's and '60's, if a car made it to 100,000 miles, it was considered a major miracle, to be accompanied with pictures of the odometer at 99999.9 and then 100000.0. People would stand around in awe of the achievement. Now, cars get to 100,000 miles before the owner even considers changing the spark plugs, something that used to be done every 10,000 miles. I recently sold a Ford Ranger that made it to 525,000 miles before we sent it on its way last spring. Used to be, to start a car with a carburetor, you'd depress the pedal once to set the choke, wait a second, and turn the key. On a super cold day, if it hadn't started within 60-90 seconds, you'd probably flooded the engine and you were screwed. Call AAA, and wait a couple of hours. I went out to start one of our cars on a -25 below morning recently. Now this car had sat unused for a couple of weeks. That used to mean the kiss of death. I turned the key (No pumping!) and within 5 seconds, the thing was sitting there purring away. Unheard of 20 years ago. Modern cars are more powerful, more reliable, get better mileage and last longer. The only drawback is that when they DO break down, due to the electronics, they can be tougher to fix.
Not everything has been smooth sailing. For a short period of time, voices were being added to things like cars, appliances, and vending machines. People DETESTED them. It wasn't long before car owners were taking their cars in to have the voice silenced. Same for appliances and vending machines. Manufacturers were sitting on warehouses full of these machines with voices, which eventually had to be turned off before they could be sold. Why? It was summed up succinctly by a man who told his Mazda dealer "My kids talk back to me, my workers talk back to me, even my damn dog talks back to me. I don't need my car talking back to me too!!!" As noted before, when things DO break down, they can be harder to fix. I also noted the explosion of remote controls, most of them unused in the long run.
I believe we're on the cusp of another revolution of electronic controls, driven in large part by the newest generation of machines being able to talk with each other wirelessly. The best example of this I can mention is "Blue Tooth." Here's a explanation of Blue Tooth in Wikipedia.
All of this may, or may not be good. Microsquish has a strangle hold on computer operating systems, much to the chagrin and regret of computer nerds, and I'm one of them. The only reason I use Windoze is because the software I want to use requires it. A smart move on Bill Gates' part,(Hereafter refered to as Bubba.) bad for us. Back in the "good ole days" I had Windoze 3.1 installed on my computer, but I never used it. I used DOS instead, as it took up much less resident memory than Windoze. I would always boot the computer on DOS, install the graphics and sound drivers if needed and then just typed in the run commands for the programs I wanted to use. Especially good for games because the available memory wasn't hogged by the OS and the software ran much better. Most savvy users did this. Bubba knew that, so he started convincing the software companies to require Windoze to be running while using their programs. This did several things, all good for the companies and bad for us. It required people like me to either upgrade their computers or buy new ones, and buy the Windoze OS. Good for Bubba but bad for us. He's got the OS market locked up. They've done everything they can to dominate, and dominate they have. There are Apple users out there, but they're a minority, and always will be. I think they like it like that actually. Now, we have the newest generation of Windoze, Vista, being installed in the newest generation of computers. It's getting mixed reviews. It's not being recommended for older computers. The version of XP I bought about a year and a half ago is working fine, and I've no plans on replacing it anytime soon.
Now Bubba wants to extend Microsquish's reach into other things, like the electronic systems of house hold appliances, watches, TV's stereos, well, you get the idea. Bubba and Co. would love it if EVERYTHING used Windoze. Our first MrCoffee coffee maker, a wedding present, was finally replaced in 2002. It had one on/off switch. That was it. That thing made us coffee for 22 years before croaking. Think the new one with digital controls will last that long? I doubt it. But I'm sure as hell not going to toss it out out and buy a new one simply because this has come out. But if Bubba has his way with us, (And so far, he has.) we might be replacing appliances like this simply because Windoze won't support the software any more, forcing new purchases of hard and software. Good for Bubba and Co. but bad for us. (Gee, where have I heard that before???) How good this will be remains to be seen. Bubba isn't the only one out there making this happen. Microsquish has competitors who want a piece of the pie. For now, at least. Remember that Bubba and Co. have shown an amazing talent for flattening his competition. If he manages to do it again, get ready to bend over and grab your ankles. And brace yourself. It won't be much fun.
"People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didn't they? People feared coal, they feared gas-powered engines... There will always be ignorance, and ignorance leads to fear. But with time, people will come to accept their silicon masters."
Bill Gates
This was truly a revolution, these digital chips. For better or for worse, our devices became more complex, more capable, and for many people, more frustrating to use. The now-popular image of the befuddled adult watching his 5 year old program the VCR emerged. All over America, VCR clocks blinked "12:00" never to see another number. A lot of people were doing good just to find the damn "play" button. I talked to a Ford mechanic once, and he told me every spring, and fall, they'd get a legion of silver haired folks showing up at their garages, complaining of an odd, now-gone noise or rattle, and "Oh, by the way. While you're at it, could you please set that damn clock???"
All of this met with varying degrees of success or failure. Cars, due to the newest generation of micro-chips finally started getting away from the under hood maze of leak-prone vacuum hoses used to control the first generation of smog controls. Instead, they gained electronic controls and cars actually became more reliable, and trouble free. Oh, don't give me that. YES THEY HAVE!! In the '50's and '60's, if a car made it to 100,000 miles, it was considered a major miracle, to be accompanied with pictures of the odometer at 99999.9 and then 100000.0. People would stand around in awe of the achievement. Now, cars get to 100,000 miles before the owner even considers changing the spark plugs, something that used to be done every 10,000 miles. I recently sold a Ford Ranger that made it to 525,000 miles before we sent it on its way last spring. Used to be, to start a car with a carburetor, you'd depress the pedal once to set the choke, wait a second, and turn the key. On a super cold day, if it hadn't started within 60-90 seconds, you'd probably flooded the engine and you were screwed. Call AAA, and wait a couple of hours. I went out to start one of our cars on a -25 below morning recently. Now this car had sat unused for a couple of weeks. That used to mean the kiss of death. I turned the key (No pumping!) and within 5 seconds, the thing was sitting there purring away. Unheard of 20 years ago. Modern cars are more powerful, more reliable, get better mileage and last longer. The only drawback is that when they DO break down, due to the electronics, they can be tougher to fix.
Not everything has been smooth sailing. For a short period of time, voices were being added to things like cars, appliances, and vending machines. People DETESTED them. It wasn't long before car owners were taking their cars in to have the voice silenced. Same for appliances and vending machines. Manufacturers were sitting on warehouses full of these machines with voices, which eventually had to be turned off before they could be sold. Why? It was summed up succinctly by a man who told his Mazda dealer "My kids talk back to me, my workers talk back to me, even my damn dog talks back to me. I don't need my car talking back to me too!!!" As noted before, when things DO break down, they can be harder to fix. I also noted the explosion of remote controls, most of them unused in the long run.
I believe we're on the cusp of another revolution of electronic controls, driven in large part by the newest generation of machines being able to talk with each other wirelessly. The best example of this I can mention is "Blue Tooth." Here's a explanation of Blue Tooth in Wikipedia.
All of this may, or may not be good. Microsquish has a strangle hold on computer operating systems, much to the chagrin and regret of computer nerds, and I'm one of them. The only reason I use Windoze is because the software I want to use requires it. A smart move on Bill Gates' part,(Hereafter refered to as Bubba.) bad for us. Back in the "good ole days" I had Windoze 3.1 installed on my computer, but I never used it. I used DOS instead, as it took up much less resident memory than Windoze. I would always boot the computer on DOS, install the graphics and sound drivers if needed and then just typed in the run commands for the programs I wanted to use. Especially good for games because the available memory wasn't hogged by the OS and the software ran much better. Most savvy users did this. Bubba knew that, so he started convincing the software companies to require Windoze to be running while using their programs. This did several things, all good for the companies and bad for us. It required people like me to either upgrade their computers or buy new ones, and buy the Windoze OS. Good for Bubba but bad for us. He's got the OS market locked up. They've done everything they can to dominate, and dominate they have. There are Apple users out there, but they're a minority, and always will be. I think they like it like that actually. Now, we have the newest generation of Windoze, Vista, being installed in the newest generation of computers. It's getting mixed reviews. It's not being recommended for older computers. The version of XP I bought about a year and a half ago is working fine, and I've no plans on replacing it anytime soon.
Now Bubba wants to extend Microsquish's reach into other things, like the electronic systems of house hold appliances, watches, TV's stereos, well, you get the idea. Bubba and Co. would love it if EVERYTHING used Windoze. Our first MrCoffee coffee maker, a wedding present, was finally replaced in 2002. It had one on/off switch. That was it. That thing made us coffee for 22 years before croaking. Think the new one with digital controls will last that long? I doubt it. But I'm sure as hell not going to toss it out out and buy a new one simply because this has come out. But if Bubba has his way with us, (And so far, he has.) we might be replacing appliances like this simply because Windoze won't support the software any more, forcing new purchases of hard and software. Good for Bubba and Co. but bad for us. (Gee, where have I heard that before???) How good this will be remains to be seen. Bubba isn't the only one out there making this happen. Microsquish has competitors who want a piece of the pie. For now, at least. Remember that Bubba and Co. have shown an amazing talent for flattening his competition. If he manages to do it again, get ready to bend over and grab your ankles. And brace yourself. It won't be much fun.
"People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didn't they? People feared coal, they feared gas-powered engines... There will always be ignorance, and ignorance leads to fear. But with time, people will come to accept their silicon masters."
Bill Gates
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"Oh, by the way. While you're at it, could you please set that damn clock???"
Mine's always been right six months out of the year. Why screw with success?:)
On a super cold day, if it hadn't started within 60-90 seconds
If you could crank a car for 90 seconds in that weather, you knew you had a damn good battery!:)
As noted before, when things DO break down, they can be harder to fix.
And when it comes to modern cars, first get a 2nd mortgage on the house...(:
The best example of this I can mention is "Blue Tooth.
The best example I can think of, of Devil Controlled Electronics, is Blue Tooth!
I used DOS instead, as it took up much less resident memory than Windoze.
DOS 6.2 was absolutely the best OS ever invented to this day!!
That thing made us coffee for 22 years before croaking.
I always suspected you worked on Noah's Boat!:P
And brace yourself. It won't be much fun.
No, it won't. With every release of his OS's, goes more control of our machines away from us, and to him. I keep hoping someday one of those checkerboard programming (Linux)kooks will come up with a workable alternative, but Bubba has sewed the market up too tight. You run it on windows, or you don't run it.
Apple? That's what you use if you don't want to use a computer!
Excellent post, and thanks for the drive down memory lane!:)
Mine's always been right six months out of the year. Why screw with success?:)
On a super cold day, if it hadn't started within 60-90 seconds
If you could crank a car for 90 seconds in that weather, you knew you had a damn good battery!:)
As noted before, when things DO break down, they can be harder to fix.
And when it comes to modern cars, first get a 2nd mortgage on the house...(:
The best example of this I can mention is "Blue Tooth.
The best example I can think of, of Devil Controlled Electronics, is Blue Tooth!
I used DOS instead, as it took up much less resident memory than Windoze.
DOS 6.2 was absolutely the best OS ever invented to this day!!
That thing made us coffee for 22 years before croaking.
I always suspected you worked on Noah's Boat!:P
And brace yourself. It won't be much fun.
No, it won't. With every release of his OS's, goes more control of our machines away from us, and to him. I keep hoping someday one of those checkerboard programming (Linux)kooks will come up with a workable alternative, but Bubba has sewed the market up too tight. You run it on windows, or you don't run it.
Apple? That's what you use if you don't want to use a computer!
Excellent post, and thanks for the drive down memory lane!:)
People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented...
It's a good point. Indeed! I've lived in a series of apartments here in Babylon by the Bay where there are no light switches inside the bathroom or kitchen. As understand it, building codes used to forbid it.
It's a good point. Indeed! I've lived in a series of apartments here in Babylon by the Bay where there are no light switches inside the bathroom or kitchen. As understand it, building codes used to forbid it.
# posted by 
: Thursday, February 22, 2007 3:19:00 PM
: Thursday, February 22, 2007 3:19:00 PM
Go out right now and by a percolator. Not an electric percolator - one that you put on the fire.
You can make coffee in it. You can make coffee in it in your backyard on the bbq grill.
The only time we become slaves to technology is when we allow technology to control us. I can add and subtract, multiply and divide with nothing more than a pencil and a piece of paper.
I can sew, crochet, knit and weave. I can brew my own alchoholic beverages at home.
Bill Gates can go pound sand.
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You can make coffee in it. You can make coffee in it in your backyard on the bbq grill.
The only time we become slaves to technology is when we allow technology to control us. I can add and subtract, multiply and divide with nothing more than a pencil and a piece of paper.
I can sew, crochet, knit and weave. I can brew my own alchoholic beverages at home.
Bill Gates can go pound sand.
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