His memory is like an old 5.25 inch diskette with a maximum of 720KB of data and diminishing by the day due to fungi infestation. And his excuse is “Baru turun padang 15 minit…” — k1980

Never mind, be more generous, credit him with a hard disk.

In the mid 80s, a Control Data hard disk, 4.5″ thick, 60MB cost RM3600.
Today a Seagate hard disk, less than 0.75″ thick, 250,000MB (250GB) cost RM250.

Basing on Cost/Unit of memory alone, not to mention Cost/Performance ratio, hard disk memory cost is 60,000 X more expensive than 20 years ago.

How do we measure the performance of our Prime Minister?

We are frustrated with the increasingly high cost of living, with spiraling prices of fuel, flour, bread, vegetable, etc, etc, process, and quality of life plunging with spiraling crime rates, religious intolerance, decreasing educational and job opportunities, etc, etc.

Cost of living/Quality of life index ratio may not be 60,000 X worse off today than under previous Prime Ministers, but could be quite substantial. There may be better yardsticks for comparisons. Some economists may be able to enlighten us here.

However, in order to have a fair and balanced view, we need to be aware of the fallacy of comparing the progress in computer hardware, which follows Moore’s Law with the performance of a Prime Minster who follows Draconian Laws. It may serve to highlight our points, but would be grossly unfair to compare apples with oranges.

An example (a joke) of a stinging response to an attempt to compare the computer industry with the auto industry — a more plausible comparison — is reproduced below:

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated:
“If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 miles to the gallon.”

In response to Bill’s comments, GM issued a press release stating (by Mr. Welch himself):
If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would just accept this, restart and drive on.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn, would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought “Car95” or “CarNT.” But then you have would have to buy more seats.
6. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only run on five percent of the roads.
7. The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single “general car default” warning light.
8. New seats would force everyone to have the same size butt.
9. The airbag system would say “Are you sure?” before going off.
10. Occasionally for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key, and grab hold of the radio antenna.
11. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they neither need them nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would immediately cause the car’s performance to diminish by 50% or more. Moreover, GM would become a target for investigation by the Justice Department.
12. Every time GM introduced a new model car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
13. You’d press the “start” button to shut off the engine.