automated social engineering at it's best (maybe?)

[Randy Edwards]

 > > The granddaddy of which is that users generally just don't want to be
 > > bothered to (learn how to) mainain their computers.
 >  Exactly.  Or, more broadly stated, "people generally just don't want to
 > be bothered to think".

   Just to play devil's advocate a bit, I'd disagree.  As a consumer 
appliance, computers suck.

   Compare a computer to a car.  I know that for $25 every three months I get 
my car serviced and I can then hop in it any time I want and drive it.  I 
only have to fill it with gas and vacuum it once in a while.  It's extremely 
rare that anything else will need to be done.

   Or take my game console -- I buy the newest game pad for it, buy a game, 
and it just works.  Or my washer and dryer, or my DVD, or most any other 
device in my home.  What other device in a typical household besides a 
computer craps out routinely with normal use and requires the level of 
maintenance and support that a computer does?

   No doubt, computers are complicated.  But let's face it, the computer 
industry itself shares a HUGE amount of the blame for making bad products and 
pitching them as something that anyone can use, operate, and maintain.

   IMHO, it doesn't need to be this way.  The industry could be building 
appliance-like computers that would do the tasks that 90% of the people want 
done and that'd be that.  But of course there's more money in making a 
product that is shoddy and needs constant replacing, and if the consumer is 
stupid enough to keep buying that, well...

   Gee, I was going good until the last portion of that last sentence.  Maybe 
I validated your point. :-)

 > People need to realize that not thinking is harmful, even dangerous.

   That I agree with.  Only I might spin it towards non-computer issues like 
global warming, or our political process, or any one of dozens of other 
topics. :-)

 Regards,
 .
 Randy

-- 
Ever wonder why you have so many viruses and security problems with Windows?  
"Our products just aren't engineered for security." -- Brian Valentine, 
Microsoft VP of Windows development.
<http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/02/09/05/020905hnmssecure.xml>