Re: The HP Way

On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 16:12:00 GMT, "Michael A. Terrell"
<mike.terrell@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

John Larkin wrote:

On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 12:43:14 GMT, Fred Bloggs <nospam@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:


You're calling me a dud?- hah. And this just because I think most of
your design work is really ugly, like that horrific ambient light
detector using the LED display reverse leakage measurement.

I didn't design that, I just made it up. But why is the idea ugly (he
asks, rhetorically)? It could add adaptive brightness control to a
display with zero added sensors and zero added IC pins.

No, I think you're a dud because you never seem to have any fun. Do
you ever have fun?

Sorry, no
aesthetic dimension means no consideration. And I don't like any of the
panel layouts on your VME stuff either, so there.

Well, the guys with gigabucks to spend do like them. Have you seen our
new style?

http://www.highlandtechnology.com/DSS/V470DS.html

This uses [1] a laser-cut stick-on polycarb overlay, with the led
windows backlit from some cool Osram right-angle surface-mount LEDs.
All our stuff will look like this over time. I agree that
past-generation VME modules, not just ours, tended to be ugly as sin.

John

[1] with apologies to people who insist that inanimate/unintelligent
objects (like DNA) can't "use" things.


I guess that fred has no idea that people buying VME are after
function, not a pretty face. Most of it ends up in a rack, sometimes
with a door to protect the front panel wiring. Some is used as embedded
modules inside a piece of equipment like the custom VME backplane and
boards Microdyne made for the DR/RCB 2000 series of DSP based dual
channel diversity Telemetry receivers I worked to move from design to
production. Fred would have *** his pants at the simple silk screen
printed front plate, and the stenciled serial numbers, but most
customers would never see any of it, so we saw no need to spend money to
dress them up.

VME has historically been ugly.

http://www.getntds.com/product_images/product_465.jpg

http://www.cacdsp.com/products/images/v3c31.jpg

http://phys-ds.physics.lsa.umich.edu/docushare/dsweb/GetRendition/Document-1851/html/index5744123.jpg

The tall skinny front panel, usually paved with connectors, doesn't
help. Most people then silkscreen the panel with easily-chipped black
ink lettering in random fonts and locations. The overlay thing is
about as much hassle as sending out panels to be anodized and
screened, and looks cool.

John

.