[ExI] Google mess

[BillK]

2010/6/11 Gregory Jones wrote:
> Here's one for you: I have a 25 yr old motorcycle, bought it new in 1985, had it
> ever since, do all the repair and maintenance on it myself, it's never been to the
> shop, 120k miles on the clock.  Whenever I need to do a job that I have done before
> on that bike, even if I did it only once and it was 20 yrs ago, I remember exactly
> how it is done, what bolts need to come off in what order, what the torque should
> be in replacing what and how, its a snap.  But if I hafta redo a computer or internet
> procedure, I can't remember it from last week, not even from yesterday.
>
> Please, why is it that internet protocols and programming languages cannot be
> set up intuitively, like mechanical devices, where a few simple universal rules
> can be applied in so many interesting and different ways, but underneath there
> is a consistent logic, like machines and mathematics.  Internet protocols seem
> so goddam arbitrary, frustrating, inconsistent.
>
> Why?
>


Two reasons, possibly.

1) Your bike is 25 years old.  It's the same with cars. (In Europe, anyway).
Nowadays, with modern cars and bikes if anything goes wrong, usually
the mechanic just plugs it into a diagnostic computer, purses his lips
and says 'Oh dear. You need a new swoggle-trifactoriser. They cost
£700 because they're gold plated and have to be specially imported
from the Buddhist monks in Tibet that are the only place that makes
them'.

2) The Internet protocols grew like Topsy with many people
contributing bits here and there, each with their own unique way of
doing things. PCs are general purpose. Everything *can* be done ten
different ways. I'm surprised that nobody told Damien that he should
have installed Linux instead of Windows!   ;)


BillK