[FanIn80]

This is something I've wrestled with throughout my career. When to cut off support?

My rule of thumb is the cut-off point comes when supporting old technologies gets in the way of the adoption of current technologies. I just can't see a logical reason for holding back progress for the sake of people who aren't willing to adapt.

Some people in the world still use abacuses. Imagine if the rest of the world waited for them to be ready before we all moved on. It's important to recognize that there is nothing wrong with wanting to still use an abacus. Where I have the problem is with people who want everyone else to still use an abacus along with them.

There's a guy I used to work with who would get pissed off if you answered a text while having lunch with him. We'd be sitting there for 15 minutes talking about pointless crap, and then I'd get a text from a buddy asking if I want him to get a ticket for me for a show that night... I'd (naturally) respond to that, and then he'd go into a diatribe about how rude people with cell phones are these days. I'd always remind him that there's no point in making progress in the way we communicate, if we don't also make progress in the rules of communication. This isn't 1950 anymore. He does have the ability to recognize how the world has changed, and choose not to be offended by people's use of current technologies.

I find progress to be one of those hot-button topics with a lot of people. I don't know why. Maybe some people personalize progress and see it as themselves that are being left behind?

Admittedly, I'm a pretty adventurous guy. I get pretty excited about new things and I'm usually more eager than most to play around with them.