The way things are?

From: Richard Erlacher <edick_at_idcomm.com>
Date: Tue May 7 01:17:52 2002

I'm convinced that someone will figure out a way to use the very popular
Microsoft Applications just as they are or something nearly like them and
package them in a way that is different from Windows, yet maintains enough of
the "look and feel" to please the user-public. That will make MS take note.
They (MS) can't get by with suing because the "look and feel" come from the MS
application. If MS yells, they say, "well, LINUX has been around for a decade
or more, what's wrong with running this Microsoft product on the Linux-based
Windows Emulator? It's not pirated, see? Here's the CD, and here's the
receipt ..."

I'm not going to do it, though, since I'm fairly happy with what I've got
here, and don't need to change it. Sombeody will, though.

Dick

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tarsi" <tarsi_at_binhost.com>
To: <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, May 06, 2002 11:19 PM
Subject: The way things are?


> On Monday 06 May 2002 22:47, you wrote:
> > I know things would be better if people would just listen to me ... I know
> > things would be better if only ... but that that's not the way things are.
> > Things could and should be different, but they aren't. That's where I
> > live. You see things from where things should be, while I see things, or
> > try to, from where they are.
>
> Very true. It's two different perspectives into how the computing world is.
> I take issue with people that have your stance, Dick, for the following
> reasons:
>
> Couldn't it be termed 'lazy' or 'apathetic' to say, "Well! That's the way
> the world is. I guess I'll just have to put up with the shit and go about
my
> business." instead of saying, "You know what? The world is this way, but it
> doesn't HAVE to be this way. I know I can change it, even if it's only a
> small part."
>
> It would seem to me that the latter attitude is what brought us innovation,
> expansion, revolution, and any other process that changed the status quo and
> made it better or, at least, different. I see the current *nix movement,
> which entails both saged *nix people saying, "Hey, we've been using great
> stuff for years...surely someone else can use it, too?" and the newbie *nix
> users saying, "You know what? It's not as painful as I thought it would be,
> and it's almost everything I've ever wanted in a system" as the proponents
> and the drive behind some change in the industry.
>
> You know what? I don't know as though *nix will become the dominant force.
> And honestly, I really don't care. Sure, it'd be nice, but what I really
> want to see is companies like M$ and such taking a good, long look at HOW we
> do computing and WHY we do computing, and if those can be changed, enhanced,
> or even bettered. If the movement towards *nix environments is what it
takes
> to put that push on software and hardware companies to say, "You know what?
> Maybe the users DO know what they're talking about, and maybe there IS a
> different way to do things" as well as saying, "We oopsed and there are some
> older methodologies that really *worked*, surely we can bring those forward
> into today's computing world."
>
> *nix, especially Linux, is becoming exactly that. A combination of old,
> stalwart, respected ideas in computing (security, daemons, stability,
> extendibility) and the new-fangled ideas (Intuitive GUIs, multimedia,
> real-time computing). The pressure is on. If you don't believe me, ask M$
> if they consider Linux a threat. Sure they do. I just hope that this makes
> them look at their software on how to entice users using innovation instead
> of the typical marketing wool-pulling they have tended to do in the past.
>
> Whether we end up a Windows-centric or Linux-centric computing community
> doesn't matter. What does matter is that the industry continues to move
> forward with REAL solutions, not vapor or marketingware, that improves my
and
> your computing experience.
>
> I just refuse to sit back on my ass and let the world whiz by without making
> a stand in my own little corner. Because I'm a computer professional and I
> care about the industry, this is a battle I'm going to fight.
>
> Tarsi
> 210
>
>
Received on Tue May 07 2002 - 01:17:52 BST