At 09:18 PM 7/9/97 -0700, Michael DeBellis wrote:
>someone else wrote:
>>now that we're dreaming...
>>
>>I'd like my desktop to show me a radar map of my region,
>>forecasting local showers in the -say- coming three hours. do I need an
>umbrella or not?
>
>As opposed to looking out the window or checking your morning paper?

Can you look at the sky and predict what the weather will be in three hours'
time?  I can't, not with any real accuracy.  How many people can these days?

And the morning paper won't be as accurate as an up-to-date radar map.

Believe me, I do look out the window and I do read the paper.

The issue of whether or not an agent should (or could) do this is a separate
issue.

>Is there really all that much great content out there that you need this? So
>maybe without your personal agent you miss the first showing of Buffy the
>Vampire Slayer, its not like it won't be shown again (and again, and again,
>and again).

Hey, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of my guilty pleasures!  (Gotta lighten
this conversation up a bit somehow, as someone else pointed out.)

>Sorry if this posting is overly cynical but I think your vision of agents is
>an extreme example of a trend that I think is disturbing (and I don't mean
>to pick on you. Of course lots of people share your vision of agents). The
>trend is the same thing I was complaining about in my previous message in
>regard to MS Word.  Adding features to software that provide little real
>value but that take up lots of memory, processing, network bandwidth, etc.

Value is in the eye of the beholder.  One person's "little value" is another
person's necessity.  Granted, there are still bandwidth issues to consider,
but custom installation is (or could be) possible.

-- Louise

--
Louise Penberthy                                Voice:  (404) 875-5620
Project Manager, Interface Designer             Fax:  (404) 870-0895
Atlantis New Media, Inc.                        [log in to unmask]
390 Trabert Ave., Atlanta, GA  30309            www.atlnewmedia.com