Aucbvax.6384
fa.works
utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!works
Fri Mar 5 10:28:16 1982
Re: where's the innovation
>From gary.RAND-UNIX Thu Mar 4 11:00:41 1982
From: gary.RAND-UNIX
Message-ID: <42.383953526@RAND-UNIX>
Via: Mit-Ai; 3 Mar 82 12:34-EDT
Via: Brl-Bmd; 3 Mar 82 12:47-EDT
It's not clear to me that the boring and often petty character of
so much "office automation" work is going to be relieved by a
turn to things like "home env. support sys." (for which one
pessimistically imagines a veritable tsunami of "recipe support
systems" and "checkbook data-base technology" and "machine-readable
gardening advice" etc.). That is, just plugging the same old tools
into some new application areas will not necessarily stir the
adrenalin in those of us who are growing jaded and gray. Things
might pick up a bit when the computing field more widely raises
its sights above the easy clerical and administrative chores, and
goes after some higher functions of (life, corporate, military,
home, and ...) management -- like planning, situation analysis,
etc.
But the easy chores are really there, and they do need help, and
we can hardly blame enterprising folks for chasing after them.
And, easy as they may be in principle, there still remains lots of
room for improvement in their actual coverage!
Finally, though I have come to take a good (UNIX) file system,
screen editor (E, EMACS), message system (MH, MM) pretty much
for granted, they really do add something substantial to the
quality of my life. If I ungratefully think of them (and their
sibling capabilities) as "boring", it's probably only because
they do what they do quite well and unobtrusively. Sigh!
Gary
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