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>
> Well, part of my point should have been made
> a bit more explicit. We can't keep our docs
> always retro-actively backward compatible to
> clay tablets and cuniform.
Maybe not (although I do remember how satisfying the heft of a good
tablet was after it had dried), but we do need to make sure that
we're not writing for ourselves. If you are reasonably sure that
your customers aren't using older equipment, then the issue of
backwards compatibility doesn't matter to your work. However, not
everybody has that luxury.
> The world *does* move on, and those who slip
> further and further behind the mainstream eventually
> *do* feel pressure to update.
Maybe this is a side issue, but has anyone else noticed that
upgrades are a refinement of planned obsolesence, rarely delivering
the high-tech paradise they promise? Ethical issues aside, I've
noticed an increasing resistence to upgrades over the last five
years, and I wonder if it isn't going to become greater. If enough
people refuse to upgrade without a tangible benefit, then backwards
compatibility may become more of an issue.
--
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
Contributing Editor, Maximum Linux
604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com
"Rationality itself, tied to moral decency - the most powerful joint
instrument for good that our planet has ever known."
-Stephen J. Gould, Introduction, "Why People Believe Weird Things"
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