[AccessD] OT:Old Dog, New Tricks - Ferrari's ?

LOL, yea but they didn't have a billion skilled workers in China churning out product.

John W. Colby
www.ColbyConsulting.com

On 1/14/2011 1:11 PM, Dan Waters wrote:
> I'm going to bet that even the Greek engineers who built this would have
> charged more than $40 - in year 0 dollars!  ;-)
>
> Dan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of jwcolby
> Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 12:07 PM
> To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] OT:Old Dog, New Tricks - Ferrari's ?
>
> I would pay $40 to have that as a real machine (in metal) just as a
> conversation piece.  As a LEGO
> it would be too fragile.
>
> John W. Colby
> www.ColbyConsulting.com
>
> On 1/14/2011 12:09 PM, Jim Lawrence wrote:
>> Impressive.
>>
>> Jim
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
>> [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Gustav Brock
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 1:01 PM
>> To: accessd at databaseadvisors.com
>> Subject: Re: [AccessD] OT:Old Dog, New Tricks - Ferrari's ?
>>
>> Hi Drew et all
>>
>> How to assemble 110 gears - including differential gears - to a meaningful
>> machine - in LEGO:
>>
>> Lego Antikythera Mechanism
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLPVCJjTNgk
>>
>> Watch in HD and full screen.
>>
>> /gustav
>>
>>
>>>>> DWUTKA at marlow.com 12-01-2011 21:27>>>
>> Actually Mark, I think a better analogy would be to say that Access is
>> like Legos, and .Net (or any other actual true programming language) is
>> like a full blown machine shop.
>>
>> First, inexperienced users can use legos, but what they make will
>> usually be a disaster (plus they tend to put the little pieces in their
>> mouth and choke on them), where as an inexperienced user would give up
>> in a machine shop, or just be too scared to walk in it.  Experienced and
>> skilled pros can make works of art with both legos and in a full blown
>> machine shop.... however the skill sets do vary between the two.
>>
>> Second, with legos, a lot of the 'tricky' parts are already molded and
>> ready to go (like Jet, DAO, Reports, etc).  With legos, you don't have
>> to build a tree out of tiny pieces, you can just use the preformed tree
>> pieces, yet you can still build the tree from scratch if you want too
>> (bound/unbound).  With a machine shop, you have lots of tools, tools
>> that allow you to build pretty much anything you want, but you don't
>> have a lot of 'pre-formed' pieces, so you have to build them from
>> scratch.  (Of course, like a good machine shop, when you build a custom
>> tool, you can easily use that same tool in another project, so you
>> really only have to do something super useful once, then re-use it).
>>
>> Third, legos aren't suited for all environments. If you need to build
>> something that'll hold up to 300 degree temps (or run across a VPN
>> connection), legos might work, but probably not too well.  To improve
>> them, you have to go outside of the lego world, and use some special
>> coating (scrap jet for a SQL Server backend). With a machine shop, you
>> can build the tool/project to suit the environment.
>>
>> Fourth, let's face it, how many engineers or mechanics didn't bite their
>> teeth on legos as a kid.  They make a great starting point for people
>> new to the field.  Where as walking into a machine shop on the first day
>> of kindergarten.... you'll hurt yourself.
>>
>> Fifth, legos have a public perception of being a toy, but people who are
>> damn good at what they do have created wondrous creations using that
>> 'toy' that wouldn't have been the same using any other medium, and
>> fulfill their purpose to the Tee.  Along these same lines, there are
>> people skilled enough to use a machine shop, who probably laugh at
>> someone using legos, but who still produce garbage, that won't hold up
>> to a skilled lego project.
>>
>> Sixth, the Legos Group continues to sell and market their product to
>> people they expect to use it as a toy (nice little dig to M$ ;)).
>>
>> Seventh, and most importantly, the only thing legos and a machine shop
>> have in common is that they can produce things.  Neither of them are
>> designed for all projects.  The true skill is to know what project
>> should use which environment.
>>
>> Drew
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
>> [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Mark Simms
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 11:10 AM
>> To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
>> Subject: Re: [AccessD] OT:Old Dog, New Tricks - Ferrari's ?
>>
>> While there is no question that John needed dot-net due to a
> multi-threading
>> requirement, before making the commitment, you've got to ask yourself:
>> How many Ferrari's are you asked to build ?
>>
>> Dot-net is a Ferrari-building tool. It takes a lot longer to build
> anything
>> with a complex toolset.
>> I think Access builds Chevy's very fine and very quickly.
>>
>> But if you need to build a Ferrari, by all means move up to dot-net.
>> Super-fancy GUI ? Access can't do it. Multi-threading ? Access can't do
>> it.
>>
>> Note: since no one understands the software business, so I'm stuck on
> using
>> these analogies to explain things to end-users. Sorry, didn't mean to
> offend
>> anyone.
>>
>>