From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 To: 9fans@cse.psu.edu Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2000 08:44:44 +0000 From: "Douglas A. Gwyn" Message-ID: <398B16E5.EBA5B9FA@arl.army.mil> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit References: Subject: Re: [9fans] ugrading edition 2 graphics to edition 3 Topicbox-Message-UUID: f7454e6c-eac8-11e9-9e20-41e7f4b1d025 nigel@9fs.org wrote: > Alternatively, you could replace the body with modern materials > which reduces it's weight. Sure, if you're in the business of building cars. But if you just use one incidentally to doing other things, you don't want to have to build the darn thing; you'd rather just get a sufficiently usable one from someone who has already built it, even if it isn't like you'd have built it. The trick in employing "stovepipe adapters" is to use them to get something that already exists working well enough to get on to *new* projects, instead of continually tweaking what has already been done. The approach of redesigning makes sense only when you anticipate that the product will need substantial maintenance to meet changing requirements. The vast majority of computer applications have not yet been invented.