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From: ejp@bohra.cpg.oz (Esmond Pitt)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: UIF's and automobiles
Message-ID: <1991Mar13.010331.8254@bohra.cpg.oz>
Date: 13 Mar 91 01:03:31 GMT
References: <9103111919.AA07088@iris49.biosym.com>
Organization: Software Division, Computer Power Group
Lines: 20

In article <9103111919.AA07088@iris49.biosym.com> pete@iris49.UUCP (Pete Ware) writes:
> I'm pretty tired of this analogy between the consistency of the UIF
> for an automobile and the inconsistency of the UIF on a workstation.

As a matter of interest, last century when Daimler showed his newly
invented vehicle to a group of engineers, they were reportedly
horrified with the idea of a gearbox:  they viewed it as a nasty kludge
to get around his failure to invent a continuously variable drive
system. "You'll never train people to use one of those things!".

The relevance of this tale is that one of the earliest-criticised
features of the automobile has proved to be one of the most enduring.
One can agree with the criticism from an engineering point of view;
however it overlooks the fact gear-shifting could be fun. We still
judge cars on how well the gears shift, rather than on how useful the
whole process is.

-- 
Esmond Pitt, Computer Power Group
ejp@bohra.cpg.oz
D