> Competition ensures that the benefits of technology go to the end user of the
> technology rather than the provider of the technology.
> > Progress = Fast Credit Checks???
>
> You, the end user, got the benefit of waiting less time (and so on for your
> other examples).
The problem is that I'm the provider much more than I'm the end user.
At work, which is where I spend most of my time, the technology has
raised the standards and expectations to the point where I *need*
that fast credit check, because after my 12 hour day at work, I have
only 3-4 hours of time to pursue the rest of my life. A lot of
people, especially clerical, etc., are in this boat.
It's also not always true that the benefit accrues to the end user.
Many times, the introduction of Great High Tech Things into a
workplace simply substitutes one set of delays and hassles
("Windows says SYSTEM.DRV not found when I try to run it. What
happened?") for another. Only once the High Tech is in place, the
expectations are again raised.
There's also an implicit assumption that to the end-user, fast is
good. The extra 30 seconds in line may be just fine with me,
especially if I'm taking the time to relax and space out, or talk
with the person next to me, etc. At restaurants, for example,
service that's too fast can be just as annoying as service that's
too slow.
It's certainly true that as an end user, technology has done some
great things. What I'm wondering is whether there are some other
loops we need to be careful of, as well.
- Stever
---------------------------------------------------------------
Stever Robbins stever@mit.edu stever@verstek.com
Accept no substitutes! http://www.nlp.com/NLP/stever.html
"You're only young once, but you can be immature forever."