Kind request: fix your packages

[Jef Spaleta]

Sean Middleditch wrote:

> The absolute worst thing about analogies is that people take parts of
> them that don't apply to the situation

Then stop using analogies....

> Perhaps I should've used cars as a cleaner analogy.  ;-)  I
> don't know how most of my Ford Ranger works, and I couldn't care - I
> just get in and drive the thing.

Right, out of the pan into the fire...
and if you just used a computer without trying to add functional
elements to it...your repeated user of mechanical transportation analogy
would be a much better fit. Do you drop in a v8 engine into your car,
when you need more power? Do you upgrade your brakes to abs when you
need better brakes? Do you drop in an 4 wheel drive when you need it?
Your analogies still stink. When someone finds that a certain car has a
"bug" do the car manufacturers expect users to install it...or do they
have a recall and have an expert fix the problem? Normal mundane car
users do not routinely try to add functionality or enhance functionality
to their cars by themselves. Cup holders, fuzzy dice and cowhide seat
covers...maybe...but those things are more akin to themes, desktop
wallpapers and skins in the computer world than real functional
elements. Hell most car users wouldn't even THINK about even installing
their own stereo system without some expert assistance. Adding something
like air conditioning is frankly well beyond a normal car user.  But
mundane computer users try to add functional components all the time,
without a thought to how its suppose to work. That is what upgrading
software and hardware in a computer is really...upgrading major
functional elements of the tool. Normal users of cars and planes, do not
and should not attempt to add significant functional elements without
help or understanding...and using your analogy neither should computer
users. It comes down to what a "user" is suppose to be doing when the
"use" the software. Is downloading and adding new functionality really
"using" the computer? Or is it tweaking it?
Isn't my little store bought cable modem/router with a webinterface a
computer? I use it all the time without actually downloading and
installing any sort of software on it. I think your definition of "use"
and "user" is overly broad and is itself a sort of misplaced analogy.

-jef"if car manufacturers handled bug fixes like software companies..i
would have gotten several lengths of electrical wire and a couple of
engine mounting brackets in the mail with instructions on how to replace
them...good thing car manufacturers have recalls to dealerships
instead"spaleta
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