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Old October 13th 05, 11:04 PM posted to uk.transport.london
Tim Bray Tim Bray is offline
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First recorded activity at LondonBanter: Jul 2005
Posts: 12
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Neillw001 wrote:
Excuse my ignorance, but why in the 21st Century are saftey-critical
devices on one of the most heavily-used urban metro systems in the
World reliant on a bit of string?


Maybe you are the kind of person who would fit a complex, unknown system
to a train saying `Its the latest hi-tech system`, it is what you need,
string is so 18th century?

If a piece of string works, then what is the problem?


You could put in electronics, a button, introduce a software controlled
system and a processor.

The simple fact is that the mechanical properties of a piece of string
have been understood for centuries.

(although, according to another thread, this still means people are
silly enough to buy the wrong sized string )

Tim