3 ms·
>I'm working on porting a foxpro database from 1988 that's running an active business which I won't talk about much before it's done, and have actually encounte
by kspacewalk2 5y ago
>I'm working on porting a foxpro database from 1988 that's running an active business which I won't talk about much before it's done, and have actually encountered in Costa Rica an auto parts shop in one of the sketchiest parts of the capital city of this country with a green on black phosphor screen running what looked like dBase III for what they were doing on old IBM PCs.
This is amazing value for money. A simple system for a small business working reliably for 30-40 years. In our world of tool churn (often seemingly for its own sake), it's unfathomable. But this is often what the customer really wants from us, they're just afraid to ask out loud for fear of being laughed at.
- Retric 5y agoSometimes their good value, other times their roughly equivalent to using paper.
- ben_w 5y agoYeah, but that’s still the case with modern computers. Marketing: “With this app, you can now buy pizza on your phone!” Snark: *slaps a yellow pages on the desk along with a rotary dial landline*
- ska 5y agoSometimes paper is great value too. I'm not saying their aren't horror-shows out there, but technologists drink far too much of their own kool aid, as class.
- sokoloff 5y agoI work in software for manufacturing. We were doing a customer panel and someone remarked they weren’t in the market because they “just upgraded their software”. Follow up question revealed that happened 8 or 9 years ago, so you’re pretty spot on.