4/3/08

I know all of this is obvious, but also bears on the actual topic of this thread.

Computers will change at a fairly steady rate, as they have for decades. Computers will get faster, and offer more resource density (RAM, hard disk space, 128 bit bytes, etc.). Peripherals will need to change to keep up with new standards, and benefit from the increased power.

For any one casting a nostalgic eye to the past, do you really want to return to programming computers with spaghetti wire and AND/OR/NAND/NOR/XOR gates?  A program to do simple math functions could fill an entire room and would have been devilishly hard to download over the Internet. Who would like to enter data using keypunch cards, and get all output on paper instead of computer monitors?

Operating systems will change to take advantage of the extra resources (and as they have for decades waste much if not most of the increased resources of the hardware). Extra and often unwanted features will be added to disguise the fact that the OS is hogging too much of the computer's power. The user will be left to weed out the junk to produce a leaner installation so that the computer will actually function better than previous generations of computers.

It took me years to give up DOS, and I have resisted every new MS operating system. But, I would not go back. I still run a W95 music notation program that is better than the bloated slow klugey EXPENSIVE programs on the market today. Virtual machines will let me use it for a few more years. I will not, however, tie my new computer to DOS or even W95.

Applications will change to accommodate the changes in hardware and operating systems. When added assets are offered, there has always been a tendency to bloat applications with inefficient or sloppy code, and added features. Some of the change, however, will actually be progress, and the user will be able to do more with the updated software or new applications.

As applications evolve, and new applications are introduced, content will also evolve. New standards will develop, and old standards will fall into disuse. The content of market front-runners will have a large influence on how data will be formatted and stored, and how it will be shared to assure compatibility.

At some point old standards, formats, and interfaces will have to be abandoned so that hardware, operating systems, and applications can advance. Some of the older conventions will survive longer than others. Some people will mourn the loss of the old way of doings things, and some will thankfully leave the past behind. If that big asteroid doesn't find us (or some other disaster), all of this will inevitably happen.

Legacy standards hold back advances, and greatly increase the cost of hardware and software. Legacy does have its place, but sometimes its place is in a museum. I look to the past fondly, but I look to the future with anticipation of wonders (and yes, frustrations too) yet to explore.

The Greeks said, "panta rhei," that is "everything changes." Change will occur. If we know that both Poser, and the figures used in Poser WILL change, then we are empowered to decide how they will change. We can avoid the chaos of just letting change happen without planning or direction. Using the very human capacity to look into the past and imagine the future, we can choose changes that have greater benefits for the various different uses of Poser.

A discussion along the lines of what makes sense to leave behind, what should be to left the same (for now), what would be best to develop or change, and what makes sense to add could be very useful. We should probably remember that presently the big changes in hardware and software are multiple processors/cores, and 64 bit processors/peripherals/OSes/drivers/applications. Present systems and software seem to be riding this wave from behind rather than at its leading edge. So, Poser and many other applications seem to be playing catch-up at this point.
 
LMK

Probably edited for spelling, grammer, punctuation, or typos.