Well said. As an ardent X Mac user I long for the days of simplicity - I
loved my Macs and the simplicity they offered. I truly regret that Apple made
some very poor marketing decisions which have forced me (and many others) to
go to the computer dark side with windows in the last few years. And for all
you DOSfiles who think that Win95 is so great - it still pales in comparison
to even early Mac operating systems - the flat earth people advocating DOS and
Windows seem to have won for now but it is surely a hollow victory won out of
cowardliness (you won't get fired for getting a DOS system) and a desire to
control through arcane processes and languages rather than liberate through
simplicity. --- AAhhh!!!! ---- you really don't want to get me started on
this topic.
Dr. Doug
69 C Rdst
69 C GT
69 B Rdst
71 B GT
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-mgs@autox.team.net On Behalf Of John McEwen
Sent: Friday, March 14, 1997 4:50 PM
To: Kai Radicke
Cc: mgs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: What does USR X2 stand for ?
Hi Kai:
Could you say all that in English? -:
One of my pet peeves regarding the computer explosion is the assumption of
all manufacturers, of anything to do with the field, that the average
person really gives a s**t about how the bl**dy thing works. (You can tell
I'm a Macintosh user and have been since April 1984). We have enough
technology in our lives without having to cope with compuspeak. When is
the computer industry going to wake up to the fact that the largest portion
of the market is not composed of computer nerds, programmers or systems
analysts?
Today's motorist would have trouble opening the hood of his car, and if he
were successful what could he do, other than check the oil? Today's
motorcycles are not for the homewrench. Why should our computers be? We
no longer teach programming in secondary schools - or we shouldn't. Why do
we assume that an undergraduate degree in computing science is necessay in
order to send a message or type a letter?
The original Macintosh computer is known as the "toaster Mac" because it
resembles a household toaster. Today's computers should not be any more
complicated than a toaster or a TV or a telephone. What's the big deal?
You turn it on, do your business and turn it off. End of story.
Who wants to plow through 750 page books in a vain attempt to figure what
the hell the latest piece of software can do in the 1% of situations that
600 pages of the book deal with. I want to fix Brit Iron because I can
understand it, it needs fixing and it was built to be fixed. I don't need
yet another new "faster" gadget which takes longer to do the same job,
because it has so many bells and whistles that I can't figure out what to
do with it. I don't need another gimmick which costs as much as a good set
of wire wheels.
I suggest that what our society needs is an end to more gadgets which
siphon funds from our pockets in a nasty sort of planned obsolescence which
even American cars of the fifties did not achieve. Who needs ABS brakes,
traction control, computerized on-board maps, speed sensitive steering,
electronically controlled transmissions etc. They are simply means whereby
the incompetents of the world can clutter up our highways with dangerous
drivers - each hiding begind the security of his air bags, sideguard door
beams and controlled crush cockpits - safe in the knowledge that his V**lv*
has the highest industry crash rating. It's enough to make a mother eat
her young.
Kai, you are young and keen. The computer is your hobby. Find a way to
make the computer as unobtrusive as the toaster, while allowing computer
nerds to play all day if they wish. Just don't let them drive on my
highway or use jargon when I want to find out why a message I sent didn't
get there.
The foregoing was not an attempt to belittle you Kai, in any way. It is
simply my personal opinion brought on by an afternoon jousting on the
freeway with cars filled with incompetents. I believe that we must
exercise a bit more choice over the direction of our technology before we
cannot funtion legally or intellectually without it.
John McEwen
>It just a stupid USR way of saying Second Generation.
>
>The X2 is a 56k version of an anolog modem, like the one that is in your
>PC. It can recieve 56k, but it can only send at 33.6k. But the other side
>of the connection (AOL or ISP) most have a USR modemrack that is capable of
>X2 and that the modem rack is connected to a PRI digital connection to
>achieve the 56k.
>
>I wouldn't buy an X2 modem I would get the ROCKWELL/LUCENT version of 56k.
>It is called 56kFlex or somethink like that. Same rules as the X2 but you
>can send at 45k. Also more ISPs have Rockwell based chips in there modems.
>
>So get a Modem with a ROCKWELL CHIPSET.
>
>And these 2 technologies may disappear, because the Internatial Standards
>is now getting involved. So we might have a combination of the 2, or
>either one.
>
>My advice, wait until July. And see if there is a standard, if not get the
>Rockwell.
>
>Also MAJOR Internet NEWS: 3COM just bought US Robotics and x2. 3COM says
>it won't use x2. Cardnal the other x2 company was just bought by Hayes.
>Hayes is also a rockwell based company, bye bye x2. If anyone wants the
>full discussion on this, I will put the text files in a zip and mass email
>it or put it in my FTP account.
>
>Regards,
>
>Kai M. Radicke -- mowogmg@dynanet.com
>1966 MGB -- http://www.dynanet.com/~mowogmg/mg.htm
>
>Webmaster -- webking@bigfoot.com
>Dialogue Internet -- http://www.dynanet.com/~mowogmg/isp/default.htm
>
>
>
>----------
>> From: Cancola@aol.com
>> To: mowogmg@dynanet.com; mgs@autox.team.net
>> Subject: Re: What does USR X2 stand for ?
>> Date: Friday, March 14, 1997 9:01 AM
>>
>> In a message dated 97-03-13 17:22:30 EST, you write:
>>
>> << The USR X2 thread has continued non-stop since decemeber, a
>> world record for junk threads.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Kai M. Radicke - >>
>>
>> So, Kai, What is a USR X2?
>>
>> R2D2
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