I don't know if you've driven in the East End of London recently, but I assure you there those rules don't always apply! The computers as cars metaphor is perfectly correct in many aspects: 1. You don't have to know how a car works to drive it: If everyone had to be a qualified mechanic in order to drive safely then there'd be very few drivers. Also, if everyone had to study car mechanics to drive nobody would be able to study anything else. For the majority of people computers need to be simple enough that anyone can use it without advanced knowledge. The thought of teaching my mother to use a linux system makes me shudder. 2. Computers, like cars, need regular maintenance in order to function properly: Cars need oil changes, computers need regular updates. With cars there is a maintenance infrastructure to maintain them and, more importantly, there is a basic understanding throughout the population about what a car needs in order to function. When you have a problem with a car, there's no shortage of people who have at least a basic understanding of what to do. Plus everyone knows you can call a mechanic. Computers don't have this infrastructure or basic permeated understanding yet, to most people they are a magic box that flashes things on the screen-thingy. Most have no idea that windows-update exists and wouldn't understand what it does, and just as important doesn't know anyone who can tell them. Their question is: what do I need to click on to fix it? Greg -----Original Message----- From: variable@ednet.co.uk [mailto:variable@ednet.co.uk] Sent: 14 August 2003 14:17 To: St. Clair, James Cc: 'nanog@merit.edu ' Subject: RE: How much longer.. On Thu, 14 Aug 2003, St. Clair, James wrote:
Cars did not become more popular because owners had to learn how to swap more parts.
The good ole "computers as cars" metaphor. In the UK: 1) In order to drive a car, you have to have a license. 2) In order to have the car on the road, you have to have it taxed and have a qualified mechanic certify it for basic road worthiness. Neither of these rules currently apply to computers. Maybe they should. Rich Vodafone Global Content Services Limited Registered Office: Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2FN Registered in England No. 4064873 This e-mail is for the addressee(s) only. If you are not an addressee, you must not distribute, disclose, copy, use or rely on this e-mail or its contents, and you must immediately notify the sender and delete this e-mail and all copies from your system. Any unauthorised use may be unlawful. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and may also be legally privileged.