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Yes, just like your car will last you 20 years. If you drive a car from 1994 you don't expect to be able to drive 90 mph or offroad without running into major i

Yes, just like your car will last you 20 years. If you drive a car from 1994 you don't expect to be able to drive 90 mph or offroad without running into major issues. Should cities keep their infrastructure backwards compatible for people with old cars?

hackmiester 13y ago
It's apples and oranges. In 1994 people went over 80mph all the time, and they still do. If you maintain a car well, it will continue to be able to do that. By contrast, though... a PC perfectly maintained from 1994 until now would be hopeless in today's infrastructure.
- DanWaterworth 13y ago
  Yes, it's more like buying $1000 worth of apples and oranges.
- crisnoble 13y ago
  > a PC perfectly maintained from 1994 until now would be hopeless in today's infrastructure. Not if they upgraded both their hardware and software along the way. Even without upgrades, their computer might function just fine, but they should not expect to browse websites created with technologies that were not yet dreamed of when their computer was born. People expect to make phone calls on their 5 year old phones, but it would be unreasonable for them to complain that they cannot download the latest version of snapchat on it. People with old browsers and hardware can expect old websites and software to work for them. It is unreasonable for developers to be required to create new websites that work for outdated and insecure browsers.
  - eropple 13y ago
    > Not if they upgraded both their hardware and software along the way. The "upgrades" necessary would be a new computer in all but case, so unless your name is Theseus, you've got a new computer.
    - spellboots 13y ago
      > Theseus Or Trigger... http://www.frequency.com/video/only-fools-horses-truth-behind-triggers/70490197/-/Vidoosh http://www.frequency.com/video/only-fools-horses-truth-behin...
micampe 13y ago
I do that with a car from 1972. The comparison doesn't hold though.
- crisnoble 13y ago
  You likely have been upgrading and maintaining your car. Users with IE7 who expect the world to freeze with their hardware are like car owners who do not change their oil yet would be amiss when their car stops functioning after 10 years.
  - flomo 13y ago
    Strained car analogies are the 1999 Slashdot PT Cruiser of internet arguments.
    - Zancarius 13y ago
      I nearly spit water out of my nose. And probably the corner of my eyes.
      - aaronem 13y ago
        Could be worse, as I've just found out; it could be hot coffee.
  - nirvdrum 13y ago
    I don't think anyone running IE 7 honestly believes that. But the promise of the Web was you got to avoid minimum hardware requirements and things worked everywhere. HTML and CSS were supposed to be backwards-compatible by degrading gracefully. This point has been lost. There's really very little point in having an open standard if the only way to run anything is to update your browser every 6 weeks.

hackmiester 13y ago

It's apples and oranges. In 1994 people went over 80mph all the time, and they still do. If you maintain a car well, it will continue to be able to do that. By contrast, though... a PC perfectly maintained from 1994 until now would be hopeless in today's infrastructure.

DanWaterworth 13y ago
Yes, it's more like buying $1000 worth of apples and oranges.
crisnoble 13y ago
> a PC perfectly maintained from 1994 until now would be hopeless in today's infrastructure. Not if they upgraded both their hardware and software along the way. Even without upgrades, their computer might function just fine, but they should not expect to browse websites created with technologies that were not yet dreamed of when their computer was born. People expect to make phone calls on their 5 year old phones, but it would be unreasonable for them to complain that they cannot download the latest version of snapchat on it. People with old browsers and hardware can expect old websites and software to work for them. It is unreasonable for developers to be required to create new websites that work for outdated and insecure browsers.
- eropple 13y ago
  > Not if they upgraded both their hardware and software along the way. The "upgrades" necessary would be a new computer in all but case, so unless your name is Theseus, you've got a new computer.
  - spellboots 13y ago
    > Theseus Or Trigger... http://www.frequency.com/video/only-fools-horses-truth-behind-triggers/70490197/-/Vidoosh http://www.frequency.com/video/only-fools-horses-truth-behin...

micampe 13y ago

I do that with a car from 1972. The comparison doesn't hold though.

crisnoble 13y ago
You likely have been upgrading and maintaining your car. Users with IE7 who expect the world to freeze with their hardware are like car owners who do not change their oil yet would be amiss when their car stops functioning after 10 years.
- flomo 13y ago
  Strained car analogies are the 1999 Slashdot PT Cruiser of internet arguments.
  - Zancarius 13y ago
    I nearly spit water out of my nose. And probably the corner of my eyes.
    - aaronem 13y ago
      Could be worse, as I've just found out; it could be hot coffee.
- nirvdrum 13y ago
  I don't think anyone running IE 7 honestly believes that. But the promise of the Web was you got to avoid minimum hardware requirements and things worked everywhere. HTML and CSS were supposed to be backwards-compatible by degrading gracefully. This point has been lost. There's really very little point in having an open standard if the only way to run anything is to update your browser every 6 weeks.