At 22:20 05-04-2000 -0600, Richard Erlacher wrote:
>I really can't understand what all the hostility toward Microsoft is about.
Simple. Arrogance, bloated and bug-ridden products that are overpriced,
and unrestrained greed.
>If it weren't for the low prices resulting from the economy of scale, scale
>which is enabled by the fact that Microsoft made computers simple enough to
>use that the masses could and would use them.
And do you really think those things wouldn't have happened if Micro$platt
had not come on the scene?
Computers would have evolved to the point you described in any case. It's
just a matter of who would have helped drive said evolution.
>If you want to dog somebody, the go after DEC, (God be thanked that they're
>gone!) with their antiquated technology always a generation behind everyone
>else and with their ridiculous prices.
I'll have you know, sir, that much of that "antiquated technology" is
driving my intranet, and I'm darn proud to have it! I trust the MicroVAX
III's and SPARC IPX's I have a lot more than I do much of the "commodity"
PeeCee hardware that's flooded the market.
Also, if DEC's stuff was so useless, who was it that had a true
multitasking/multiuser computer and OS combo, in the mid-70's, that ran in
less than 64K of RAM and could accomodate over a hundred users?
Let's see a modern NT box do that. I don't think so!
>If DEC had had their way you'd have to use a single flip=flop pair for which
>they charged you 10^15 bucks per year and which broke twice a month so some
>under-trained ignoramus could come around and pretend to fix the thing.
You speak as though you think DEC would have been the only player in town.
What about IBM? Digital Research? Kaypro? Commodore? Data General? Sun?
Shall I go on?
Also, I've met quite a few old-line FE's, mainly when I was working as a
lab tech with an 11/70 in the late 70's. Every one of them was fully
qualified to trouble-shoot to the component level, using O-scope,
multimeter, and anything else they needed. Are you sure "under-trained
ignoramus" fits that description?
>Forget about the C++ or C or Delphi! These guys took 6 weeks to learn the
>VB and now most of them have paid off their houses, cards, and credit cards
>and vacation in Arruba in the winter and Alaska in the summer. at least
>twice. The oldest of the guys I know doing this is 35 and worth over $10^7
And how many 80+ hour work weeks did it take him to get there? How many is
he still doing? What good is a six or seven-figure income if you run
yourself into the ground getting it, or maintaining it? Money does not last
forever, nor can it buy true happiness or inner peace.
I can only speak for myself, but sitting in front of a screen for 12+ hour
days grinding out nothing but abstract code would drive me bonkers inside
of a week. I prefer to work with REAL hardware, thank you. Things I can
actually see, touch, and manipulate with hand tools, solder/desolder
equipment, and a nice test bench full of instruments.
If that means I don't get to vacation in Arruba and Alaska every year, so
be it. At least I'll still have my sanity (and fewer worries about the
Infernal Revenue Dis-Service).
>net. Five years ago, he was begging me for work. How many guys do you know
>who have net savings of over a year's gross after only five years? That
>certainly indicates VB is not just a joke.
No, it's not a joke. It is a useful language for what it does. But it is
NOT suitable for every imaginable application. Each language -- C, C++,
ADA, Pascal, whatever -- has its own strengths and weaknesses. I would
hardly choose VB to write, say, code for an embedded microcontroller. Nor
would I choose it if I just needed a simple program in ANSI BASIC for an
older system.
If I wanted to write a Windoze app, however, it would be my first choice.
I'm curious... if you're so enamored of VB and PCs, and not so much of
"antiquated technology," why are you even subscribed to this list?
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Owner and head honcho, Blue Feather Technologies
http://www.bluefeathertech.com // E-mail: kyrrin_at_bluefeathertech.com
Amateur Radio: WD6EOS since Dec. '77
"Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our
own human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."
Received on Thu Apr 06 2000 - 00:59:30 BST