__ Rants & Raves __
__ New World Disorder __
Ellen Ullman's "The Myth of Order" (Wired 7.04, page 126) reveals the high tech industry's fatal flaw: the increasing complexity of interdependent computer systems. As a 15-year programming vet, I appreciate her point that "release schedules are normally driven by market demand, not the actual time it would take to build a reasonably robust system." It's a truism that applies to all those buggy programs we complain about and continue to use. And I really think Microsoft started it - the second Redmond hears that someone is working on something innovative or cool, it immediately announces its look-alike version and a release date before even starting to code!
But things are changing. Just look at the open-source movement.
__ Christian Eidsmoe
puchurro@aol.com __
Ellen Ullman says the Y2K bug has "challenged a belief in digital technology that has been almost religious." This may be true for those techno-twits who are awed by all things silicon, but as a computer-savvy layman who has debugged his share of win.ini files and deciphered the arcane blather of so-called Help menus, a glitch like this is no surprise to me. We've long known the computer is the least reliable, most frustrating appliance in the home. What else would we expect from the engineering subculture that put three remotes in every TV room and made setting clocks a cryptic chore?
__ Thomas Quinn
trq@primenet.com __
"The Myth of Order" was just great. Ullman adds a human touch and readability to the world of computing.
In ordinary life, we all know that perfect order is just a myth. Interactivity always produces unexpected consequences, and bugs and irrationalities are an important part of life.
Her discussion of the problems with old codes - right once, wrong now - can be taken as a metaphor for problems faced by modern society as a whole. I am a politician, and a lot of old political codes are still troublesome here in Europe, where Communism, fascism, Nazism, and extreme nationalism remain as legacy systems.
Those of us trying to adjust the political system to the new world of order and disorder have to challenge our codes more frequently.
__ Widar Andersson
widar.andersson@social.ministry.se __
Ellen Ullman has captured the experience of computer programming as I have known it for 20 years.
She also suggested a decisive counterargument to the claim that our various system problems result from a lack of "adult supervision" over programmers. The tools and practices for producing reasonably reliable computer programs exist. There is just one hitch: Owners and managers will not bear the expense.
Now, as Ullman points out, the chickens have come home to roost, and those of us involved with programming will perhaps have to pay attention to quality.
__ Charles Clark
charlie12fm@yahoo.com __
__ Fight the Power Failure __
People are not slaves to electricity ("Powerless," Wired 7.04, page 118). People are slaves to electric utilities, or to the electrical grid.
I've been making my own electricity for two years now. My family will be snug and warm come New Year's Eve, watching satellite television and surfing the Net. The energy will be provided courtesy of our photovoltaic array and wind turbine. We have a propane-fired generator for backup, if needed.
__ Kevin L. Corridon
corridon@frontier.net __
The people of Ontario and Quebec suffered immensely during the 1998 outage.
I was without power for more than eight days in the Maine town of Gray. Up the coast in Belfast, my sister was powerless for 11 days. For others, it was longer.
I don't expect the doom that is being predicted for January 1, 2000. But given my experience, I'll be prepared.
__ Rick Blake
rickb@cybernexus.net __
In "Powerless," Jacques Leslie quotes the American Red Cross as saying everyone should stash a week's disaster supplies and get extra cash in case the ATMs don't work. Given that McEmployees push burger-picture buttons on electronic cash registers, and most stores shut down during power outages, where exactly are we supposed to spend that cash?
As they say, "You can't eat money."
__ Jo Schaper
joschaper@aol.com __
__ Key Discovery __
James Ellis was quite wistful the last time we spoke, but it had nothing at all to do with cryptography ("The Open Secret," Wired 7.04, page 108).
He was not only interested in the messages contained in encrypted human communications. You might say that he was even more interested in what Einstein alluded to as that "secret" that nature conceals from us. That is to say, Ellis belonged to that oh-so-British, and genteelly eccentric, belief system known generally as spiritualism. He had the soul of a cryptographer - if information was occult or concealed in any way, he wanted to ferret it out.
It was during a conversation about brushes with death that he said, "I can tell you the secret of the universe, but it isn't going to do you any good."
Ellis, it seemed, had a vision of the underlying structure of reality, and felt that any attempt to convey it would be useless. And that was when I caught a glimpse of his wistfulness.
James Ellis was an utterly wonderful man, and I would not say anything to denigrate him or his achievements. Nevertheless, I thought some of Clifford Cocks' claims were off the mark datewise. It is also true that Cocks seemed saddened by his belief that others had profited from work that Ellis had pioneered without credit or remuneration. Setting aside the debate about prior discovery entirely, it would probably have surprised Cocks to know how very little remuneration accrued directly to Whitfield Diffie (my husband) and Martin Hellman as a result of their discovery - although they have done rather well indirectly.
I took the news of James Ellis' death very badly, and I still have not adjusted to the notion that I shan't see him again in this life. Of course, given his beliefs, he would probably be amused by my sadness, and I can only hope that he will be proved right in the end.
__ Mary Fischer
meryt@worldnet.att.net __
I would like to thank Steven Levy for his article "The Open Secret." An important point, however, should be clarified: Although public key cryptography may have been described in classified literature prior to its discovery by Diffie and Hellman, this in no way reduces the importance of their work.
The worlds of classified and unclassified cryptography are completely separate. If we found that Martians had developed the theory of relativity a million years ago, it would be fascinating, but it would not diminish Einstein's achievement.
__ Paul Kocher
paul@cryptography.com __
__ Palm's Pilot __
I really enjoyed "Organization, Man" (Wired 7.04, page 136), by Vito Peraino.
As a founder of Palm Computing and the designer of the PalmPilot, I like hearing how people use the product and their experiences, both good and bad.
While I'm glad to hear that Vito is still getting use out of an original PalmPilot, I hope I'll be able to convince him to upgrade when Handspring introduces its first product.
In any case, if Vito ever gets tired of the legal world, I am sure there is a second profession waiting for him as a writer.
__ Jeff Hawkins
Palo Alto, California __
__ This Is Spinal Tap __
Loved the black "Smell the Glove" cover of Wired 7.04. As the British poet David St. Hubbins once said, "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever."
__ Mark Koppen
mark.koppen@robertmondavi.com __
__ Separated at Birth __
It's scary how much Bill Gates resembles John D. Rockefeller ("I, Monopolist," Wired 7.04, page 146). They both did what was best for themselves and their shareholders. They both told the public it was for our own good. They both got too rich. The difference? Rockefeller's product worked as advertised, without requiring fuel-tank upgrades.
__ Paul Rafter
okpiper@homemail.com __
__ Catch the Wave __
"Order in the Court" (Wired 7.03, page 94) shows the importance of electronic filing, using the California courts as the damsel in distress and Microsoft as the white knight. Author Kaitlin Quistgaard should have focused on Delaware, the state that in 1991 created the first successful electronic docketing and filing system in the United States. The system, managed by Lexis, is called CLAD (Complex Litigation Automated Docket).
E-filing is not the wave of the future. In Delaware, and in many other jurisdictions, e-filing is the wave of the present.
__ Richard K. Herrmann
herrmann@blankrome.com __
__ Undo __
Second Gunman: Lee Harvey Oswald honed his sharpshooting skills in the Marines, not the Army ("New Media, Old Theories," Wired 7.01, page 140).
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