Are engineers early adopters?
Around 7:45 this morning on the way to work, I noticed crowds of people standing outside the local AT&T and Verizon Wireless stores. No doubt the crowds of people were waiting to buy the iPhone 4s. I drove right by.
In my experience, engineers aren’t early adopters of the latest technology. In fact, I think we’re somewhere past the peak of the adoption curve. It’s not because engineers don’t like technology, for we usually do. Instead, I say it’s because engineers know how to keep older technology running longer than the general population. We fix and upgrade older technology when others simply replace it. I would argue that test engineers are farther behind than other engineers because they in particular know how to keep technology running. Take those test systems in your lab or production line. Many are running Windows XP and I know that some of you have PCs that still run Windows 98, Windows 3.1, and even DOS. Those test systems may have ISA bus cards and I know that PC instrument card makers still sell those ISA cards as replacements.
I also hear, rather frequently, that test engineers need to build duplicate test systems for products with long life cycles. Thus, they buy old instrument cards and used test instruments and may even remove Windows 7 from new PCs to install older operating systems. Why? Software application code and driver compatibility.
My IT friends run out to get the latest technology, but engineers often save money by reusing older technology. Keep on keeping on.
Chubby commented:
Thanks for helping me to see things in a dieffrent light.
Bill commented:
I think engineers also are aware that shortcomings in the first designs generally get fixed over time, in response to faults found by the early adopters.
Laszlo commented:
I like to think that most engineers are curious by nature, so new technologies/products are first reviewed on-line, tested in the store, looked at on social networks for word of mouth/experiences then purchased if all checks out. That is more being prudent than anything else. I particularly like Gen. 1.1 as many of the early failures have been caught already.
One area many hardware engineers understand is the reliability bathtub curve and which components are the culprits of the wear out back end. Maintaining those extends life by a few years.
JimOM commented:
Engineers are early adopters of truly new technology, but are not early adopters of trendy marketing or technolgy that is not a significant improvement over technology that already exists. Engineers were the earliest adopters of the PC, back before the Apple I. I'm talking about Ohio Scientific, Commodore64 and Radio Shack TS80. But now that the PC is a commodity item, engineers are content to keep their old PCs running, rather than running out to buy the latest Macintosh or version of Windows. Engineers are also a large part of the early electric car and hybrid car market, but engineers are also less likely to buy the latest model of car every other year. As an engineer myself, I bought the very first Sony CD player ($700 in 1980 dollars!), but I was the last person I know to buy a DVD player. To me, the CD was a vast improvement over the mechanical LP, but the DVD seemed like only a minor improvement over the VCR, and DVDs could not record. Me and my buddies had no use for cell phones when they first came out, because we could already talk from our cars or anywhere with our ham radios. Cell phones were not new technology, just very low power walky talkies that the phone company charged you to use by the minute. Now, if they bring out a cell phone that uses sub-space radio, maybe I will be first in line.
Roy Osborn commented:
And engineers are often aware of even newer features in the pipeline, making them less inclined to run out and buy the today's technology. They don't get as excited as others as they know there's better features/performance coming.
sistla vamsi commented:
Hi Martin
I have a different perspective on that. I bet engineers are enthusiastic than their counterparts in diving into latest technology, because its eventually gets realized through their hands. But as we see far more than many other people, we also get exposed to the cons (also we know how reliable it is)...mostly rather than pros, which get marketed to the end consumer through reviews. So engineers might be sceptic in taking a call for new technology, but once they commit probably they might stick longer than typical consumers who can be lured easily for the next big thing in the market. So yeah, since what we use now is a call we made some time back, we know how to keep it up and running...and hence will take time to bade good bye to the same and welcome new.
