By the time (the Leaning Tower of Pisa) was 10% built, everyone knew it would be a total disaster. But read more

By the time (the Leaning Tower of Pisa) was 10% built, everyone knew it would be a total disaster. But the investment was so big they felt compelled to go on. Since its completion, it cost a fortune to maintain and is still in danger of collapsing. There are no plans to replace it, since it was never needed in the first place. I expect every installation has its own pet software which is analogous to the above.

FORTRAN --'the infantile disorder'--, by now nearly 20 years old, is hopelessly inadequate for whatever computer application you have in read more

FORTRAN --'the infantile disorder'--, by now nearly 20 years old, is hopelessly inadequate for whatever computer application you have in mind today: it is now too clumsy, too risky, and too expensive to use.
PL/I --'the fatal disease'-- belongs more to the problem set than to the solution set.
It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration.
The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offence.
APL is a mistake, carried through to perfection. It is the language of the future for the programming techniques of the past: it creates a new generation of coding bums.

Sites need to be able to interact in one single, universal space.

Sites need to be able to interact in one single, universal space.

Real programmers can write assembly code in any language.

Real programmers can write assembly code in any language.

You'll see more and more perfection of that - computer as servant. But the next thing is going to be read more

You'll see more and more perfection of that - computer as servant. But the next thing is going to be computer as a guide or agent.

The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.

The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.

Whom computers would destroy, they must first drive mad.

Whom computers would destroy, they must first drive mad.

The internet is a great way to get on the net.

The internet is a great way to get on the net.

The most important and urgent problems of the technology of today are no longer the satisfactions of the primary needs read more

The most important and urgent problems of the technology of today are no longer the satisfactions of the primary needs or of archetypal wishes, but the reparation of the evils and damages by the technology of yesterday.