{
  "id": "1998-march-the-disclaimer",
  "slug": "1998-march-the-disclaimer",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1998-march-the-disclaimer.html",
  "year": 1998,
  "month": "March",
  "monthNum": 3,
  "headline": "The Disclaimer",
  "kicker": "",
  "author_name": "Stuart Watson",
  "author_title": "",
  "affiliation": "WRAL-TV",
  "summary": "The author reflects on the complexity and difficulty of using computers compared to other 20th-century technologies, explaining why despite the challenges of learning FoxPro, they remain committed to it rather than switching to easier alternatives like Access.",
  "keywords": [
    "computers",
    "technology",
    "learning"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Investigative Methods",
    "Technology"
  ],
  "technologies": [
    "FoxPro",
    "Access"
  ],
  "full_text": "Let's tell the simple truth: computers can be a pain. The 20th century has endowed us with a legacy of wonderful technology - the car, the television, the remote control garage door opener. Yet no technology has ever demanded as much of the user as the computer. It's easier for this Luddite to assemble toys for all four of my children at 3 o'clock Christmas morning with instructions entirely in Japanese than it is to navigate relational query by example or structured query language in FoxPro. Maybe that's why the rest of you have moved on to Access - and why I'll never leave Fox. I worked too many years huffing and puffing as I climbed that learning curve.",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "extracted_at": "2026-07-05",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
    {
      "slug": "1996-august-switching-from-foxpro-to-access",
      "score": 0.171
    },
    {
      "slug": "1995-march-portables-can-do-big-jobs",
      "score": 0.127
    },
    {
      "slug": "1994-november-sociology-101",
      "score": 0.12
    },
    {
      "slug": "1998-april-foxpro-to-access-and-back-again",
      "score": 0.118
    },
    {
      "slug": "1990-october-plugging-in-the-hartford-connection",
      "score": 0.113
    }
  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1998-march-the-disclaimer.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1998-march-the-disclaimer.json"
}