Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncr-sd!hp-sdd!hplabs!ucbvax!PINOCCHIO.BERKELEY.EDU!bzs
From: bzs@PINOCCHIO.BERKELEY.EDU (Barry Shein)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Revolutions and Fidonet
Message-ID: <8811102118.AA12763@pinocchio.UUCP>
Date: 10 Nov 88 21:18:14 GMT
References: <621.23788C5A@isishq.FIDONET.ORG>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 25


From Doug Thompson (replying to my unfortunate initials)
> BS>  
> BS>What do other people think would be revolutionary in a personal  
> BS>computer?  
> BS>  
>  
>The auto became revolutionary with Henry Ford, not because his car was  
>anything so amazing, but because its price tag was. When they become a  
>mass phenonemon, they will have revolutionary impact.  
>  
>It's already happening now with computers.  

Some say that the critical thing in making the auto revolutionary was
committing to building roads for the autos to drive on. W/o smooth
roads horse-drawn buggies seem a win over cars.

Now many are saying networks are to computers what roads are to cars
(including the need to invest in infrastructure at a societal scale.)

In the end this "computer" thing may be renamed "communicator" by
many. Well, the car pioneers called 'em "horseless carraiges", like
the word "computer", very literal minded.

	-Barry Shein, ||Encore||