There were junk devices back then too.
I got a $15.00 mouse that worked for 2 month and failed.
Laptop Drives were notoriously bad. Memory could fail on you...
I needed to get a new internal modem every few months.

The real difference before 2001 we were expected to pay a couple of grand on your PC. and a lot more for a workstation. Because these things were so expensive they made sure they used quality parts. Post Tech Bubble pop. We started to opt for cheaper/faster/lighter So cheaper and Lighter means more flimsy plastic, where metal was used, but we wanted faster too so they had to cut costs in more areas of quality. Having it last 4 now is considered a good run.

Well at least in the west we actually state that there is a problem. In eastern cultures there is too much ignoring that there is even a problem.

There is nothing wrong about making a fuss about a problem. But after we make the fuss you need to do something to fix it.
Not making a fuss about it makes it too easy to hide away.

Bah, you young whipper snappers, back in my day Ancient was reserved for before God said Let their be light!

Exactly.
Success is largely due to luck.
So they could be worse off today it they invested heavily in say Napster, eToys, pets.com. A lot of stuff with a lot of buzz sometimes dies off rather quickly.

That is the biggest problem. Other then rewarding the people who fix the problem, we try to figure out who is to blame for every freaking thing.

Oh look a flood hit the city unexpected, well lets blame the mayor for not thinking about this unexpected incident.

Or a random guy blew up something, why didn't the CIA/NSA/FBI know that he was doing this...

We are trying to point blame on too many things, and less time trying to solve the problem.

We we can use republican logic.
If they didn't plan for retirement, that means they want to work until they die.
Just like all those people who want to be poor.

Well there is research showing that it is hard to be analytic and empathetic at the same time. That is why a lot of Doctors who are treating difficult cases, seem very detached from the patients, it isn't because they are just a nasty person. But because they are trying to solve your problem, and that gets in the way of being empathetic.
The same thing with tech people, it IS NOT BECAUSE WE HAVE AUTISM or some other issue, but because we are thinking analytically pushing aside our empathy.

Even if we know this, we really don't like it. So while your MD is treating your case, and somehow he seems to be making eye contact to you and seems like he actually gives a shit about your condition and not just enjoying the complexity of the case. You feel better emotionally, he feel better as you are not getting pissy with him, while he is trying to think on how to do his job and make you physically better.

The problem with low level languages, isn't anything technical about the languages.
It is about a common attitude among programmers.

As a kid, We learn things by taking steps up.
We Walk/Run, Then we Ride a Bike, then we Can Drive a Car. It is a simplistic way of viewing things. One is better then the other, and you need to be better to use the better method.

The same idea goes with programming languages. (I'll Show my age hear)
You code in Basic, then you go to Pascal, then you can do C finally you will be able to code assembly. It is common for the C developers who start doing C to think oh I am programming in C now, I am an experienced coder, and I will laugh and snark at all you Basic Programmers now. So many of the C applications will have a lot of issues due to these ego's of the time, and people really using the C Language as the wrong tool for the job. It is like using a Car to go a few blocks where your bike or walking would be easier and faster.
So their are ton of legacy apps in C which are not secure because the Managers of software companies thought the same way, and wanted to code it in the Best Language. Even if such an app would probably work and perform much better in Visual Basic.

I think is has more to due with Microsoft lack of advancement in Office... For the most part what we are doing in Office 2013, is the same stuff we were doing in Office 95.
Sure there were some incremental changes that took advantage of newer technologies, some new UI changes that I am not sure if it makes things better. But for the most part things haven't changed too much.
Word is still a word processor,
Excel is still a spreadsheet
Outlook is still a memory hog
Access is still causing businesses to slowly go bankrupt.
Power Point is still making meetings boring.

Using Open/Libra office, we get the stuff that we wan't it is compatible enough to not look like a jerk (say even 10 years ago) for not being able to read the document.

I for one welcome arresting people who seem to think it is a good idea to enter someones home just because they didn't get to update all their locks on their home.

Sure it is easy to update your PC, but if you have a mission critical application running, you need to make sure you take all the right steps even with the security vulnerability to make sure it doesn't go down.
 

So say we can double that. That makes the fuel 40% efficient as we use some of the heat towards efficiency. That will double the gas mileage. However if you need a smaller engine, then it will be producing less heat. That is good if it is 1 for 1. However if their needs to be a particular heat starting limit then it may cause an issue. Unless you go with a bigger car.

The idea as the engine gets more efficient people buy bigger cars, is economically sound and proven. A large truck today can do about the same as a station wagon 30 years ago. But what happened is more people started buying trucks.

They become old and bitter, just like those mainframe guys. Everything comes with a trade-off. When we went from the mainframe to PC's, software for a little while had to take a step back so it will work on systems with less power. The same thing is happening now with mobile devices. Software is taking a step back so they can operate on their mobile devices, where speed was sacrificed for weight and power usage. However, the fact we have smaller lighter carry anywhere technology, allows us to be more connected and less reliant on paper.

Trade-offs, they happen. Just like the mainframes, the PC will move more towards business only usages, while home stuff will go to mobile devices, as well as those light end business apps.

The Mainframe isn't dead yet, neither will the PC go away any time soon. However they will get more specialized for particular work.

As a non-gun owner, I still support the second amendment.

Increased freedom comes at a cost of reduced safety. If we want to be a free society, we need to be allowed to be dangerous.

Part of this militia bit, means we as citizens should be free to arm themselves in case we feel the need to revolt against our government or protect ourselves from a foreign source.
This was added during a phase in our government where we just fought off a legitimate controlling government, to make our own. The idea of replacing it with one that is unchecked is dangerous.

Now as time went along the US Government is one of the most stable governments in the world. Because we are in an era of stability. These gun laws seem more appropriate to stop those random nuts. As there isn't much of a real effort internally to overthrow our government. However... This may not be the case, we could go downhill fast, and if laws are too restrictive then if it needs to happen we will be at a disadvantage.

Now as I stated I don't own a gun, nor am I looking for a gun, as I while I don't agree with everything about the US, it is good enough for me to not feel like I need to get armed. Nor does most of the rational population.

Wow! I though we had data a lot longer then we had Electricity...

Hey look someone dropped all the pages of a manuscript.
How will we ever get them sorted back in order. Look we have a team of 16 people. Lets shear sort them, we can get this done in Log time.

We all talk about simplifying the tax code but it won't happen, and not because of Intuit, or H&R Block.

The problem is are tax code is designed to help out the little guy... However it is so complex that the little guy cannot possibly take advantage of it.
But if you were to say, cut Interest deductions for your mortgage, or tax credit for charity, or even investment tasks. There are more then just the high income earners who are effected but the average Joe who is just trying to get ahead. So every tax detail will need to be debated and argued, and you will see stories from some parties super pack saying how horrible it will be for the average guy to get rid of it.