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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Analysis
Date: 8 Sep 2012 15:34:39
Message: <504b9dcf$1@news.povray.org>
On Sat, 08 Sep 2012 20:27:47 +0100, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:

>> Yes, because Dell is representative of companies that actually do
>> technical marketing /correctly/.
> 
> Alternatively, Dell has figured out that purchasing decisions are made
> by the pointy-haired boss, not the guy who actually knows about this
> stuff.
> 
> Then again, given what a stellar company Dell isn't...

Maybe you need to have a look at some of the websites that list technical 
requirements for products instead of picking the one company you've 
interacted with that does things the way that you assume everyone does 
them.

Just a thought.

Jim


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From: Orchid Win7 v1
Subject: Re: Analysis
Date: 8 Sep 2012 15:54:16
Message: <504ba268$1@news.povray.org>
>>> Yes, because Dell is representative of companies that actually do
>>> technical marketing /correctly/.
>>
>> Alternatively, Dell has figured out that purchasing decisions are made
>> by the pointy-haired boss, not the guy who actually knows about this
>> stuff.
>>
>> Then again, given what a stellar company Dell isn't...
>
> Maybe you need to have a look at some of the websites that list technical
> requirements for products instead of picking the one company you've
> interacted with that does things the way that you assume everyone does
> them.
>
> Just a thought.

Did I mention that I used Dell for the absolute minimum amount of stuff? 
They certainly aren't be favourite company. :-P

And yes, if you go to just about any website to purchase stuff, they 
give you a list of technical specifications. But that's not "marketing 
copy", is it?


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From: Darren New
Subject: Re: Analysis
Date: 9 Sep 2012 00:26:19
Message: <504c1a6b$1@news.povray.org>
On 9/7/2012 7:46, scott wrote:
> nothing is just designed by trial and error.

The handset of classic telephones like this
http://i891.photobucket.com/albums/ac112/stur5380/Misc%20pics/IMG_0982.jpg
spent 14 months in design research, with hundreds of test subjects.

The arrangement of buttons on a touch-tone phone was one of something like 
15 or 18 possible patterns, with people trying out how fast they could dial 
numbers and how long they could remember what number they dialed.

Even trivial things like "count to ten" thus take months of research.

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "They're the 1-800-#-GORILA of the telecom business."


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From: Darren New
Subject: Re: Analysis
Date: 9 Sep 2012 00:30:10
Message: <504c1b52$1@news.povray.org>
On 9/8/2012 9:30, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
> OK. But does any other company on the planet do that?

Every single other company on the planet does this, or they're not yet 
making any money and hence are a bad bet for you to be applying to. It's 
fundamental planning. It's what you're *supposed* to be learning to do when 
you get an MBA degree.

> I've seen a guy splice fiber. He cut the two ends, put them in a machine,
> and pressed a button. It used a digital microscope to align the ends in
> three dimensions, and then weld them together. Freaky as hell.

Yep, then it tests it and tells him if it worked. And to find the break, you 
plug a different machine in, it flashes a laser down the wire, figures out 
how long it takes to return after bouncing off the break, and then tells you 
where to go to fix it.

Now, how much technical skill do you think it took to design those machines, 
and how much technical skill do you think it took to do that work before 
those machines were common?

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "They're the 1-800-#-GORILA of the telecom business."


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Analysis
Date: 9 Sep 2012 00:43:02
Message: <504c1e56$1@news.povray.org>
On Sat, 08 Sep 2012 20:54:17 +0100, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:

> Did I mention that I used Dell for the absolute minimum amount of stuff?
> They certainly aren't be favourite company. :-P

You had mentioned that once or twice, I believe.  I don't believe I 
claimed they were your favourite company, just the one that happened to 
meet your narrow expectations.

> And yes, if you go to just about any website to purchase stuff, they
> give you a list of technical specifications. But that's not "marketing
> copy", is it?

It sure is.  You think it gets accurately written on its own?

Jim


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From: Orchid Win7 v1
Subject: Re: Analysis
Date: 9 Sep 2012 05:29:47
Message: <504c618b$1@news.povray.org>
>> And yes, if you go to just about any website to purchase stuff, they
>> give you a list of technical specifications. But that's not "marketing
>> copy", is it?
>
> It sure is.  You think it gets accurately written on its own?

 From what I've seen, it gets /inaccurately/ copied and pasted from the 
manufacturer's own website. :-P

I don't think of a table of figures as "copy". I think of something 
written in English.


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Analysis
Date: 9 Sep 2012 19:22:33
Message: <504d24b9@news.povray.org>
On Sun, 09 Sep 2012 10:29:49 +0100, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:

>>> And yes, if you go to just about any website to purchase stuff, they
>>> give you a list of technical specifications. But that's not "marketing
>>> copy", is it?
>>
>> It sure is.  You think it gets accurately written on its own?
> 
>  From what I've seen, it gets /inaccurately/ copied and pasted from the
> manufacturer's own website. :-P

And who does the work for the manufacturer's website?  Is it just magic?

> I don't think of a table of figures as "copy". I think of something
> written in English.

It certainly counts as documentation that gets created by someone, and it 
takes time to pull the info together.

Jim


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From: scott
Subject: Re: Analysis
Date: 10 Sep 2012 04:32:16
Message: <504da590$1@news.povray.org>
> There's a lot more to security than designing the cyphers. And yes,
> Bellcore had, for example, a 250 person department doing just that sort
> of stuff. Ever hear of the NSA? Is it MI6 where you are, or some other
> part?

http://www.gchq.gov.uk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Communications_Headquarters


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From: scott
Subject: Re: Analysis
Date: 10 Sep 2012 04:51:05
Message: <504da9f9$1@news.povray.org>
> I take it you don't subscript to "test-driven software development" as a
> methodology either? ;-)

Sure, do tests, but properly design the stuff first (including the 
tests). You shouldn't use testing as a substitute for good design.

> I can imagine a lot of design work goes into a brand new product. But if
> you're making a dishwasher, you're not making a brand new product.
> You're making a product which is nearly identical to several hundred
> thousand existing products, but with one or two trivial differences.
> Most of the research has already been done. You just need to
> double-check that your new design doesn't contain any unexpected flaws.

If you just did that most shops wouldn't even stock your new product 
because the water and power usage would be far above your competitors. 
You think the latest machines are more efficient and better at cleaning 
by magic?

You could use the same argument for car engines, just take the previous 
one, add a couple of trivial differences and test it. But again nobody 
would buy your new car because all your competitors would have spent the 
last 5 years designing a far more efficient engine (even if it looks the 
same from the outside).


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From: scott
Subject: Re: Analysis
Date: 10 Sep 2012 05:03:17
Message: <504dacd5$1@news.povray.org>
>> nothing is just designed by trial and error.
>
> The handset of classic telephones like this
> http://i891.photobucket.com/albums/ac112/stur5380/Misc%20pics/IMG_0982.jpg
> spent 14 months in design research, with hundreds of test subjects.
>
> The arrangement of buttons on a touch-tone phone was one of something
> like 15 or 18 possible patterns, with people trying out how fast they
> could dial numbers and how long they could remember what number they
> dialed.
>
> Even trivial things like "count to ten" thus take months of research.

Sure when complex human interaction is involved it's often difficult to 
avoid testing, but even so there is still lots of work going on to try 
and understand and predict human behaviour exactly to avoid having to do 
such tests.

My point was it's cheaper to avoid real physical testing, especially 
when expensive or lengthy tests are needed. If there is a feasible way 
to avoid it (like by spending more time in design or simulation) it's 
usually better.


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