Quote Originally Posted by Dave Kirk View Post
Maybe the word 'compromise', with all it's negative connotations, could be replaced by 'optimization'. Same thing, sounds better.

Dave
I agree, 'optimized' is nice, because its context specific. I've used the word many times when describing particular bikes to people a the bike shop I'm tied to: "This bike is optimized for...." Implicit is the recognition that the bike is not supposed to be awesome at everything (i.e., there are compromises), but quite at home in 'ZYX' context. The other thing the term affords us is the use of a favourite of mine: 'sub-optimal.' The Peugeot I mentioned earlier is sub-optimal for everything but absolute poodling.