Virus Alert !!!

From: Geoff Roberts <geoffrob_at_stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au>
Date: Thu Mar 8 00:24:59 2001

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Robertson" <steven_j_robertson_at_hotmail.com>
To: <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2001 12:16 PM
Subject: Re: Virus Alert !!!


> OK.. While the frige model is simplistic we can still draw some
meaningful
> analogies.

Very simplistic, granted.

> First let's look at the reasons that you might buy a particular model
of
> refrigerator. You probably bought it based on feature set,
maintainability,
> usability, performance, product familiarity, name brand recognition,
because
> it's company policy, just to name a few... There's certainly other
reasons
> but, you get the idea.
>
> So dazzled by all the hype, you buy the WIN model and haul that sucker
home.
>
> Now this particular fridge is real popular with vendors and they
bombard you
> with all kinda things that you can add to make it bigger, better,
faster,
> larger capacity, more ice, and so on. As a matter of fact, there are
> thousands of vendors and hundreds of thousands of different components
for
> your fridge and you can install them yourself in billions of different
> combinations. There are very few restrictions to what you can install.
You
> don't need any special training, no certification, no tools, in most
cases
> you don't even need experience. Hey... You can install 4 different ice
> makers from 4 different competitors and have them all work at the same
time.
>
> In fact there are 1700 different light bulbs that you can get for this
> model.
>
> So one day you go to the fridge to get a cold beer and notice the bulb
is
> not working... Damn defective refrigerator!
>
> Who you gonna call?
> What resonse would you expect under those conditions?


.
I agree that there are 3rd party apps that may create issues, but if you
were to look at (say) a VMS box, there is very
little beyond a crook device or device driver that will bring the O/S
down. With Windows this is a daily occurence at times,
sometimes several times daily.

It would depend on what uh, extra features I have installed, and who
made them, and
whether they were installed according to instructions, and incorporate
the latest uh, engineering change orders
Assume that the answers to these questions are Office 97Pro, Microsoft,
Yes and Yes (in that order).

> If I made the refrigerator, I'd tell you to put it back the way it was
when
> you got it and see if that fixes the problem. Which is exactly what
most PC
> manufactures do.

The point you seem to have overlooked is that even the basic, as
delivered, fridge is
broken in various places under conditions of normal useage. (ie 'as it
was when I got it')
Yet they still want my money to fix their broken as designed fridge.
Need I mention the various Win98SE shutdown bugs? (to name just one
known issue)
I'm sure you know of plenty more?

> You want me to troubleshoot your fridge under these circumstances...
Credit
> card please :-)

Your reasoning also fails when the extras are provided at extra cost by
the fridge manufacturer,
are sometimes installed at the factory/retailer (bought a bundled system
recently?) and
it still falls over. Repeatedly. And then 'certified' (or certifiable
in some cases) 'engineers' install
it and it still falls over. Repeatedly. It's like buying an ice
dispenser from the fridge maker, paying
a 'fridgie to install it, and every time you use it, it trips the
compressor out.
The 'fridgie can't figure it out, the fridge was factory standard and
the ice dispenser was installed according
to the manufacturers instructions.

Cheers

Geoff Roberts
Computer Systems Manager
Saint Mark's College
Port Pirie,
South Australia
geoffrob_at_stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au
netcafe_at_tell.net.au
ICQ: 1970476
Received on Thu Mar 08 2001 - 00:24:59 GMT

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