Why Aren’t Computers Like Refrigerators
I was having a heated discussion with a technologist yesterday. She
insisted that I just didn’t appreciate the delicacy of today’s computers.
“That’s exactly my complaint!” I retorted. “They’re incredibly wimpy.”
For instance, I was in a rush the other day, so instead of scrolling to the
shut down menu as I was leaving the office, I made the calamitous error
of taking a short cut. I pressed the “on” button until the machine
lumbered to silence.
Little did I know that was the last gasp for my hard drive, which by the
way, is a misnomer. There is nothing hardy about hard drives. They
destruct way too soon and way too often.
Which brings me to my point.
Computers should be just as strong and tough as a good refrigerator,
and why not?
They’re APPLIANCES, not messengers of the Almighty!
Does your refrigerator get “buggy” after a while, and require a software
upgrade merely to maintain or restore its functionality?
I’ve been told it’s not good for the hard drive if you shut down your
computer, repeatedly, so it’s better to leave it on, allowing it to eat
electricity.
Has anyone ever suggested, for other than dietary reasons, that you not
open the door to the fridge too often, lest it will forget how to cool your
food?
We expect a decent icebox, as they used to be quaintly called, to last at
least a dozen years or more.
Try getting more than a few years out of a laptop.
Lest you think I’m a Luddite, please note that one the the great pioneers
in computing, Andrew Grove of Intel, went on record several years ago
saying it is shameful that computers take so long to boot up. He asked,
why aren’t they more like TV’s?
When was the last time you had to boot up your fridge?
Isn’t it time manufacturers figured out a way to automatically back up our
data so we don’t run the risk of losing it? As I recall, this was the claim to
fame of Tandem.
Why hasn’t this architecture been adapted to the PC? Why doesn’t every
PC come equipped with two hard drives, one of which is simply there to
continuously back up the other?
Or, why isn’t our data regularly streamed to a secure online memory
cache that is awarded to us at the time we buy or lease a PC?
As consumers, we’re way too quiescent and passive about pushing for
significant improvements. It’s time to tell technologists we want
computers to be as solid as other appliances!
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a
popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader
and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell
Someone
No Comments »