As a computer technician my job mostly requires working on Windows machines. Macs are now starting to show up but due to their reliability most of the Macs we deal with will be generally nothing more than software issues.

One of the greatest tools for my ability to fix Windows machines is ironically the one thing that Windows users, especially IT "gurus", mock... my Mac. To many in either camp it seems like a travesty to use a Mac for this. To Mac users it's a travesty to use a Mac to fix Windows instead of using it to get people off Windows and in the other camp it's a travesty to use a Mac let alone fix Windows but the reality is that Windows makes it difficult to fix Windows.

In my last entry I spoke about NIFE and DFTSOD. Of the two NIFE is the only excusable form of design because they had the best of intentions. Of course they say "The road to hell is paved with best intentions" so I guess Microsoft's headstone would read "He meant well but he's in Satan's arms now".

One aspect of PC design that irks me as an engineer has to do with weight. My Mac Mini with its half inch steel perimeter and it's power supply laying on top weighs less than many laptops out there. WHY? The Mini is a desktop machine (yes okay it uses lap

I've been on this planet for a while now and during my tenure here I've seen many examples of the most insidious forms of idea development ever. NIFE (Nice Idea, Failed Execution) and DFTSOD (Design For The Sake Of Design). The latter is pronounced "daft sod" on account of that's who came up with the idea in the first place, some daft sod.

I'm a fan of neither as they make life a pain to live. For example, and this is going to get a bit gross, one example of DFTSOD was when I helped my mate move. After the shift I had to christen the dunny and