1999-03-12|Reflection on ENGINEERING TOMORROW

I have enjoyed your "reflections" column in the IEEE Spectrum for many years. I admire your wit and insight, as well as the ability to keep going.
You are quoted in an advertisement of "ENGINEERING TOMORROW":

ENGINEERING TOMORROW

...it does not matter which technology is better - you have to go with the group.

which may have been taken out of context. If you imply that a VHS will always win over a Beta, and an 8-track will always fail, however, I must protest. If a technology has a proper link to a compatible standard, I maintain that "you do not have to go with the group". For example, nobody cares what kind of hard disk is inside his/her computer as long as it has a bus to talk to the CPU. Macintosh survives as a better (in my opinion) technology in a monopoly of Wintel world because the main application is the Internet (TCP/IP), to which both platforms adhere. There are those who are happy to be in a minority situation, and one does not necessarily have to "win" in order to survive.
A quick "reflection" on the history of civilisation reveals that most remarkable discoveries and inventions have been made by those who do not go with the group, i.e., those who "Think Different", quoting an Apple's advertisement. Does Galileo Galilei ring a bell?
Thank you very much for your attention.

ENGINEERING TOMORROW
...it does not matter which technology is better - you have to go with the group.

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"Sunatori, Go Simon" <GS.Sunatori@HyperInfo.CA>

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