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From: marty1@houdi.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng
Subject: Re: Design Examples Needed
Message-ID: <1060@houdi.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 17-Apr-87 10:08:26 EST
Article-I.D.: houdi.1060
Posted: Fri Apr 17 10:08:26 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 18-Apr-87 06:34:44 EST
References: <339@sdics.ucsd.EDU> <50900001@hplabsc.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel
Lines: 32
Summary: Not the puller, the cork!

In article <50900001@hplabsc.UUCP>, marvit@hplabsc.UUCP writes:
> Bad examples of industrial design include:
>      .....
> 	b) 90% of the wine cork pullers

THIMK!  It's not the puller that's at fault!  The cork was designed to
stay in the bottle for many years with high probability of retaining a
seal.  It was not designed to be easy to remove.  It takes skill to
remove a cork whether you use a puller, a pusher, or a corkscrew.  What
the world needs is not a better puller for the cork, but a modern
closure to replace the cork.

By the way, I'm not a poor workman finding fault with his tools.  Not
only can I use several different types of corkscrew successfully,
including the one on my Swiss Army knife, but I have also put a few
hundred corks into bottles of wine of my own making, using a hand tool.

I think what we're talking about is the design of tools to be used by
casual users who don't have training or experience.  There's a big
difference between tools for a casual user and professional tools.  For
instance, the "waiter's corkscrew" (a folding lever affair) may be just
what a waiter needs, since it fits in a pocket easily, but it's a
disaster in the hands of an unskilled user.  I know from experience.

Does a discussion of corkscrews belong in comp.cog-eng?  Yes, as an
analogy.  What I said about wine corks and wine cork pullers is also
true about computer-based tools and what they do.  I.e., if your
computer tool is doing its job badly, maybe it's doing the wrong job.

M. B. Brilliant					Marty
AT&T-BL HO 3D-520	(201)-949-1858
Holmdel, NJ 07733	ihnp4!houdi!marty1