Sorry. I had to get my two cents in. So here goes:....
This is the first time in Microsoft's experience that it's future depends
on the quality of it's software.
I didn't mention the BSD variants because I didn't want to further muddy
the waters.
Linux should be and is sometimes still properly referred to as GNU/Linux.
It is hard to pronounce GNU properly..... Consumers hate that.
And there is that "what does GNU stand for?" question that keeps me up at
nights.
The GNU folks had nearly everything complete and right but the kernel.
Linus wrote that - a very important piece of work, but hardly an operating
system. Linus gets more credit than he deserves in this respect, but I
can't fault him for it - he never asked for it, and possibly to his
personal detriment, he hasn't exploited it.
It was really freaky. There was all this software and no useful kernel
and then out of the blue Linus Sh*ts this diamond. Whiskytangofoxtrot??!!
I use NetBSD and OpenBSD on my Sparc and on Intel and have found it
cleaner, more secure, and less failure-prone than Linux but I've also
found it has much less support outside of the hardcore "I'm gonna port
God's-own server daemon to BSD" clique.
Mostly, if it is there for Linux, BSD has got it too. Depending on your
hardware, you can run Solaris and Linux apps alongside BSD software in
emulation mode. BTW, anyone got shared libraries for SUNOS on Sparc?
The relationship between Un*x-like operating systems is almost incestuous.
There may be a trend toward a common environment or at least towards a
cluster of competing ones which run the same software. This is healthy.
After all, computers have no mores. Errr.
It is not unimportant to note that with a few third-party exceptions,
Microsoft operating systems are the only ones not on the bandwagon. Lots
of folks are hopping on and microsoft is oblivious. I hope this turns out
like a 'Pinky and the Brain' episode.
Since the DOJ brought it's suit, there has been an enormous resurgence in
the operating system market - Particularly in ones that had little status
before the suit.
OS/2 runs Unix, Linux and BSD apps if you really want it to. So do
FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, MiNT, NeXT -- the list goes on. All you need is
a smart user or a 17 year-old kid with a GNU C compiler (if things get
hard).
You might call this period "Hangtime".
Metaphoricaly, Microsoft is flying off the top of a very steep ramp.
Either their momentum carries them to the other side, or there is going to
be a crash. In between, and beyond the ramps, stand millions of
well-earned enemies spraying 'silly string' at it while it is in flight.
Good. Everyone pays thier debts sometime.
MS is under such scrutiny that thier mafia tactics cannot be used and they
are forced to make good products or lose thier hegemony. By the time the
DOJ wins/loses it may not matter. MS may and must produce the 'killer
o/s" or dissolve.
Somehow, I think MS will not produce the killer operating system but I'd
like to see them try. The only way to challenge MS on it's merits is to
continue the scrutiny until it produces a truely marketable product. Until
lately, it has insulated it'self from nature by subterfuge. I look
foreward to what will happen, and hope that folks will keep thier eyes on
the company to ensure it does right.
I've had mine Peeled.
Regards,
Jeff
P.S. I hope that wasn't too many commas....
In <Pine.LNX.4.10.10101102327230.6193-100000_at_smarty.smart.net>, on
01/11/01
at 02:01 AM, "R. D. Davis" <rdd_at_smart.net> said:
>On Wed, 10 Jan 2001 THETechnoid_at_home.com wrote:
>[re: Linux]
>> matter what draconian measures MS would use to kill it. It must be
>> frustrating to MS to be beat by a bunch of kids with a free C compiler.
>Remember, much of Linux wasn't created by the Linux crowd; that is, all
>of the utilities, that C compiler, etc. all came from the Free Software
>Foundation's GNU stuff. Let's not overlook other threats to Microsoft,
>such as all of the other flavors of UNIX, and BDSI, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and
>NetBSD, some which are also free and perhaps more robust than Linux.
>--
>Copyright (C) 2000 R. D. Davis "The best way to gain a true understanding
>of All Rights Reserved Wile E. Coyote on the Roadrunner
>cartoons is to rdd_at_perqlogic.com 410-744-4900 fly, head-first, off a
>horse into something like http://www.perqlogic.com/rdd a fence or a
>tree; trust me, this works." --RDD
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
Jeffrey S. Worley
President
Complete Computer Services, Inc.
30 Greenwood Rd.
Asheville, NC 28803
828-277-5959
Visit our website at HTTP://www.Real-Techs.com
THETechnoid_at_home.com
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Received on Thu Jan 11 2001 - 01:01:19 GMT