R.I.P. for D.I.Y."

From: Douglas H. Quebbeman <dquebbeman_at_acm.org>
Date: Mon Apr 29 13:45:16 2002

> OK, but these are not the kind of devices I was refering to.
> I have seen the immense effort that goes into prototyping GSM phones. That is
> which lead to my opinion that such development is beyond any hobbiest means.

I'm not sure I understand this.

Are the GSM prototypes with which you are familiar, FINISHED
prototypes, i.e. same size, circuits, etc, as the final product?

If so, I'd understand the difficulty, but that is a form
of prototyping that I'm only familiar with through the
efforts of non-technical people to get involved in the
hi-tech field. I guess it gets done that way a lot, and
this is likely the source of the devices we swear at.

Usually, the prototypes I've developed, are what we refer
to as level-1 prototypes. They demonstrate the basic
concept as being workable.

At level-2. you bring in accountants and marketing people
to work with the engineers to see if the device can be
produced in a cost-effevtive manner, wherein the beanheads
determine that they'll actually be able to make a profit
from the manufacture and sale of the item. Many otherwise
promising designs die here because the engineer won't let
the beancounter substitute that switch that will break at
the device's half-life, or because the engineer won't let
the marketing guy make the device purple and yellow.

Good for the bloody engineer, too...

-dq
Received on Mon Apr 29 2002 - 13:45:16 BST