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From: rcopm@yabbie.oz (Paul Menon)
Newsgroups: comp.org.usenix
Subject: Re: Re: Benchmarking the 532, 68030, MIPS, 386...at a Usenix!
Message-ID: <510@yabbie.oz>
Date: Fri, 29-May-87 20:00:29 EDT
Article-I.D.: yabbie.510
Posted: Fri May 29 20:00:29 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 31-May-87 20:37:21 EDT
References: <8080@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Organization: RMIT Comm & Elec Eng, Melbourne, Australia.
Lines: 35

> In-reply-to: mike@hcr.UUCP's message of 20 May 87 22:59:51 GMT
> 
> Although I have nothing *against* a benchmark suite I still claim that
> this is becoming less of an issue when compared against the richness
> of the environment. Going full throttle for the flames, I wouldn't
> trade my (mere :-) 2MIP Sun3/160 on (beside) my desk for a 10 MIP,
> vanilla System V dumb terminal, no network, no job-control
> environment, you'd have to pry the Sun out of my dead hands (tho I'd
> take a 1 MIP SYSV over a 100MIP VMS system, it's all relative.)

  I totally agree!  It all boils down do how productive these machines allow
you to be, AND STILL LET YOU SMILE AT THE END OF THE DAY!  That's my definition
of a friendly user interface.  After all, it is *you*, the programmer or
enduser, that is the biggest factor affecting progress.  It doesn't matter 
how hefty a machine you have in front of you, if it don't make you smile, 
it don't make you work.  If you don't work - it don't work.  Simple.
It seems the trend with computers that the more powerful they are, the more
moronic they get.  What good is brawn without brains?  Sure they run heaps
faster, but who develops the programs for them?  Surely we can't count on
all but extinct lanuages (FORTRAN, COBOL) to hang around forever running on 
state of the art hardware?  Then again, I guess it depends on mentality, eh?
  Apologies if people deem my response to be in the wrong newsgroup, but
some of us would be in the dark if it wasn't for bignoses catching the light.


Paul Menon.

    Dept of Communication & Electronic Engineering,
    Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,
    124 Latrobe St, Melbourne, 3000, Australia
 
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