>   The day computers and microelectronics go into the day to day management
>of hives in the field is the day every bee related piece of equipment and
my
>33 hives get sold cheap.
>   Faster is not better, newer is not better, different is not better.
Better
>is better. The economy of scale may be the direction an industry with tens
of
>thousands of hives to manage may have to go but I would rather flip a
>hamburger.
>   Fries with that Sir?


Computers and microelectronics are not the enemy of quality and enjoyment.
They are a tool. But I can see many ways that technology can help the
beekeepers, even in indirect ways. We use these new technologies in everyday
life, even without knowing that they are there. Computers are in our cars,
our homes and around us everywhere we go.

My new oven (not the microwave) has a computer that controls time and
temperature. It does more than the mechanical equipment it replaces, is less
expensive to make, is easier to use and bakes bread better. The last is the
greates test, it allows the tool function better.

Do you drive (or ride in) a car made since 1990 (and some after 1983)? Then
you are using a computer and microelectronics in your day to day driving.
Have a digital watch or clock? Use a cell phone?

When they have a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) built into a cell phone
and can access the internet resources (such as this list) while in the bee
yard are you going to pass this by? Do you use an electric fence around a
bee yard? It may well have microelectronics in it, if it has a solar battery
charger attached then you are high tech already.

If you are buying your hive parts then spending about $5US for the "extra"
stuff in the outer cover may not seem so bad, if it does what you want it to
do. Until then lets just wait and see.