The BMW

Ms. Myra Sidharta (Sunday, March 30, 1997: By the way...The amusing and confusing technology era) and her friend should be at ease.

There is no such thing as a techno-moron. A well designed human-machine interface in a high-tech product should be as user- friendly as possible.

Conversely, devices designed to protect cars should be as to crack as possible. Now your BMW is very hard to steal, but -- as a result -- Ms. Sidharta's friend has a hard time starting her own. Blame it on the Berlin Wall.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, a booming market for luxury cars developed in Eastern Europe. Car thefts in Germany increased. Insurance companies reacted by increasing their premium prices. Car makers reacted by building gadgets to make cars burglar-proof.

Never underestimate the capacity of German engineers' to build complicated things. They made thieves' lives miserable. But thieves are also a very resourceful lot. They no longer steal. now they carjack. Carjacking means they steal the entire car with the driver in it. Then he can turn off the electronic paraphernalia. And since they are already at it, they steal his Rolex as well.

OSVALDO COELHO

Bandung, West Java