Posts by Robert E A Harvey

Re: responsibility

>There must be some universal unwritten rule employees learn AFTER their basic

>IT orientation that says employees should not use their assigned server folder.

1. $MEGACORP have never given me any IT orientation, basic or otherwise.

2. $NASTY_FACILITY_COMPANY have set my server folder quota to 5G 'because I am home based' and I have something like 500G of project data per year.

3. All project data folders on servers have been deleted in favour of a project management databse system that:

3A. Has no BLOB capability large enough to accept software projects (i could create a massive repository structure for hundreds of individual source files. If the PLC development environment saved them like that. It doesn't)

3B. I'm not authorised to access it anyway, even though I generate the actual working product. Itis full of sales memos, quotes, and copies of the brochures sent to customers. But no drawings, software, site reports, photos, signed acceptances.

You say that like it is a bad thing.

Re: consumables

I did a study once (to teach a mathematical technique to apprentices) on the half-life of teaspoons. A remarkably consistent 3.5 months in most offices.

I suspect a similar study could be done on screwdrivers.

Re: How do they do that?

It's because they don't exist.

From a production engineer's point of view a screwdriver, especially a flat blade one, must be a boring old thing to make. So they don't bother. They hire squadrons of mystical oriental gurus and swami types to 'put the fluence on' a lot of scrap material. They hypnotise old rags, torn trousers etc. into thinking they are screwdrivers.

That's why

(1) all modern screwdrivers bend rather than getting the lid off the paint pot.

(2) when the magic wears off they revert. So you leave a screwdriver on the bench and when you come back you can't find it, but there is a stained scrap of polka-dot fabric that bears no resemblence to any clothing you have ever written off.

Re: the way to cause most disruption is a suicide bomber in the body scanner.

The Boys used to cause endless chaos in the 1970s with just a telephone call.

...keyboards...

head/desk - why are we still stuck with the typewriter thing? Newton and palm got close to handwriting recognition, and we have had various types of voice input. Where are the brave ideas like the microwriter? I can still send morse code at 25wpm. perhaps we could have a phone with a morse key? What about direct neural input, or using the smartwatch to somehow pick up the sort of nerve impulses that are used for moving prosthetic limbs? What about a giant projected keyboard that is half whole words and cameras to detect eye movement, something like thegdget that Hawkin has, only - err - better?

There are thousands of engineers making me-too replicants of what the other bloke is selling, and not enough trying to make something genuinely new.

How they threw it all away?

Management, I reckon. The engineers were still making stuff, like the linux tablets and other wierdos.

I think that companies mimic people. They have a foolish childhood, a vigorous adelescence, a capable and stong midle age, and descend into senility and refusal to change.

Re: Tough to fit in a pocket.

Oh. I was sort of thinking it would be the same size as a passport.

Re: Everyday performance

This is the cybercafe machine for airport lounges and posh hotels. I reckon Apple need to market these quite hard at that sort of slot.