>Maybe we should have engineers build betas of bridges and stuff. They do. Much of this work is now done as a computer simulation, but physical models are also constructed. Sometimes in minature and sometimes a particular component at full or near full size. If you look carefully at construction sites you will often find little bits of structure constructed in an out of the way spot.
I'm sure you know about wind tunnels. There is a huge pool of water at the David Taylor Lab, just north of DC, that is used for testing ship designs. It has a wave machine that can simulate storms at sea. The Corps of Engineers has a huge (but minature) physical model of the Mississippi River, locks and all. Carnegie Mellon has a shaker table large enough to hold a house. They build houses on it to test different ideas about resisting earthquakes. Your attitude toward quality and testing demonstrates why non-professionals (people without solid engineering training) should not be allowed near projects like these (Zune included). I think MS hires way too many business and literature majors for technical work. Real engineers just sadly shake their heads. ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
