pete@tcom.stc.co.uk (Peter Kendell) (01/11/88)
As a postscript to the Jerry Pournelle discussion - In _The Legacy of Heorot_ (Niven, Pournelle, Barnes 1987) we are treated to the spectacle of a future computer on a colony planet with goodies like voice input that has to be *told* to save when the power flickers! Perhaps Pournelle didn't write that bit himself (and I believe he's *really* keen on individual responsibility!) but didn't he read the proofs??? -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Peter Kendell <pete@tcom.stc.co.uk> | | ...{uunet!}mcvax!ukc!stc!pete | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (01/19/88)
> In _The Legacy of Heorot_ (Niven, Pournelle, Barnes 1987) > we are treated to the spectacle of a future computer on > a colony planet with goodies like voice input that has > to be *told* to save when the power flickers! This sort of thing is showing up elsewhere, too. Too many authors are assuming that their own experiences with PCs can be extrapolated to all computers and all computer users. -- Those who do not understand Unix are | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology condemned to reinvent it, poorly. | {allegra,ihnp4,decvax,utai}!utzoo!henry