Yes but to follow that analogy and again show things are usually near
black or white, in the US the Government on behalf of consumers forced car
manufacturers to install seat belts starting back in the '60's. It then
took a decade or more to convince consumers to wear them. But they
evolved and no doubt many people are alive today that wouldn't be
otherwise. Each side has to move away from the extreme position that it
is all the other viewpoints fault!
*********************************************************************
Bill Selmeier 20720 Maureen Way voice (408)257-7670
President Saratoga, CA 95070 mobile (408)655-3400
RightNet, Inc. http://www.right-net.com bills(_at_)right-net(_dot_)com
Equipping you to do business on the Internet!
On Wed, 1 Aug 2001, Lloyd Wood wrote:
On Tue, 31 Jul 2001, Ian King wrote:
In any event, blaming any one company for viruses because its products
are abused, seems way too much like e.g. blaming automobile
manufacturers for reckless driving. Sure, no one really needs a car
that can do 150 MPH when the limit is 60 or 70, but the majority of
customers demand a vehicle that *could* do twice the limit, regardless
of whether they take advantage of the capability -- or those vehicles
wouldn't sell.
I like that car analogy. In fact, I think it can be extended further.
Microsoft: unsafe at any speed. That would make Outlook the exploding
Pinto of software; blame the driver for putting the car in a situation
where it could explode.
Bottom line: blaming the instrumentality is easy, but
futile. Human beings are responsible for their own actions, although
some wish to evade or abuse that responsibility.
Children are human beings. Children are generally not considerd
responsible for their own actions.
L.
<L(_dot_)Wood(_at_)surrey(_dot_)ac(_dot_)uk>PGP<http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/L.Wood/>