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johnridleyI just saw a report on CNN entitled "Old pumps don't go to $4/gallon."
I remember what a big PITA it was back when gas went over $1/gallon. There were a lot of mechanical pumps that couldn't handle it. Some stations took to setting half the price and putting a sign on there that said "Actual price is twice this amount." Eventually the pump mfgs came out with a gear set that doubled the rate, and those stores with such converted old pumps always charged an even number of cents as a result.
I'm disappointed that the programmers of the newer pumps put such a limit in. This is like the hard drive or "SmartMedia" updates we've had in years past. 16M not enough? Let's redo the hardware so it'll handle 32M. Then next year we'll redo it again to handle 64M. Oh, and these aren't compatible with earlier cameras. Every step involves pain of transition.
My opinion, having watched these half-measures, is that if you've hit a limit and you are fixing the problem, you should push the limit up A LOT. Maxtor finally did this with hard drives. We went through the pain (BIOS upgrades, incompatibility) at ISTR 4GB, then 32GB, then 137GB before Maxtor finally said screw this and came out with BigDrive with a 144 petabyte limit.
I'm just sort of surprised when someone comes out with something like a gas pump with a limit that simple economics would tell you would be exceeded within the device's lifespan.
But then again, I get bugged when I buy a $10 watch and the calendar function only handles the next 10 years.
I remember what a big PITA it was back when gas went over $1/gallon. There were a lot of mechanical pumps that couldn't handle it. Some stations took to setting half the price and putting a sign on there that said "Actual price is twice this amount." Eventually the pump mfgs came out with a gear set that doubled the rate, and those stores with such converted old pumps always charged an even number of cents as a result.
I'm disappointed that the programmers of the newer pumps put such a limit in. This is like the hard drive or "SmartMedia" updates we've had in years past. 16M not enough? Let's redo the hardware so it'll handle 32M. Then next year we'll redo it again to handle 64M. Oh, and these aren't compatible with earlier cameras. Every step involves pain of transition.
My opinion, having watched these half-measures, is that if you've hit a limit and you are fixing the problem, you should push the limit up A LOT. Maxtor finally did this with hard drives. We went through the pain (BIOS upgrades, incompatibility) at ISTR 4GB, then 32GB, then 137GB before Maxtor finally said screw this and came out with BigDrive with a 144 petabyte limit.
I'm just sort of surprised when someone comes out with something like a gas pump with a limit that simple economics would tell you would be exceeded within the device's lifespan.
But then again, I get bugged when I buy a $10 watch and the calendar function only handles the next 10 years.
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Date: 2008-05-16 04:09 pm (UTC)I'm sure we will see $10/gal gas, but it'll be a few years. Maybe the mechanical systems will be gone by then. I used a mechanical gas pump a few months back, and I think I know where there's another, but there aren't many.