We build our computer (systems) the way we build our cities: over time, without a plan, on top of ruins

Truly new inventions take time to play out.

What happens to people like myself, who have been involved with computing for a long time, is that you begin to see how many of the 'new' ideas are simply old ones coming back into view on the swing of the pendulum, with new and faster hardware to back it up.

It sends a message to cities that, if they want to expand, they're going to have to show their work. Urban growth areas cannot be expanded unless that use is justified, and natural resource lands should be the absolute last to go.

The web is just another stunning point in the two-hundred-thousand-year history of human beings on earth. The taming of fire; the discovery of penicillin; the publication of 'Jane Eyre' - add anything you like.

With all the attention given to the personal computer, it's hard to remember that other companion machine in the room - the printer.