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Re: Is Windows becoming irrelevant?

On Sun, 30 Apr 2006 19:18:38 +0100, Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> __/ [ Ignoramus19383 ] on Sunday 30 April 2006 18:59 \__
>
>> On Sun, 30 Apr 2006 17:03:30 GMT, 7
>> <website_has_email@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>> Ignoramus19383 wrote:
>>>
>>>> I have to use a Windows box at work (along with a linux box as
>>>> well). The main apps that I use are:
>>>> 
>>>> - Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird
>>>> - XEmacs
>>>> - xterm
>>>> - cygwin
>>>> - Open Office
>>>> 
>>>> The only native Windows app that I use is a MS Visual C++. (which is a
>>>> very solid product)
>>>
>>> You can use gcc or kdevelop studio - I use gcc and get reliable
>>> predictable results; and with any problems I can check right down
>>> to the source code of libraries as to where the problem originates.
>>> I can't do that with micoshaft vc++, or indeed with any micoshafted
>>> software products. Micoshaft is a great hindrance to a busy developer.
>> 
>> Does it have a good debugger that can debug 100's of thousands of line
>> programs with many libraries etc?
>
>
> I have some colleagues who are competent with both GNU/Linux and Windows.
> According to them, the Visual C++ debugger is one of their main motives (if
> not the only one) for coding C/C++ under Windows. 

Exactly my situation. VC++ is the only thing that is holding me to
Windows at work. 

I am going to take a very close look at Eclipse soon. 

> One particular person that
> I think of at this moment runs Cygwin alongside Visual Studio/C++.

Just like me. 

> I came across similar opinions when I spoke to other people. It's always the
> debugger they rave about. 

Yes, the compiler is solid, but nothing to write home about. The
debugger, though, while not amazing, is the only solid debugger for
large projects that I know of. 

> That said, this all goes back 2 years into the past. Things may have
> changed. I used to be using ddd back when I was 18 or 19 and last
> year I taught myself gdb. I rarely program in C/C++ at this moment
> (only passively when I must), but if you want further pointers to
> debugging tools that I found and gather, let me know. I must have
> had them bookmarked.

Yes, I would be interested, especially in educated comments about
Eclipse. 

I am not interested in ddd, it is (was) a joke. 

>
>>>> So... Even though the OS that I run is Windows, it can be made to run
>>>> all the great free Unix programs.
>
>
> I fully agree. It is my principal contention and perhaps the reason why I'm
> here in /C.O.L.A./ for several hours per week.

I am glad. I thought, for a moment, thet by COLA you mean the linux announce
group, which I moderate. 

>
>>>> Does this mean that Windows is slipping into irrelevance, since people
>>>> can use it almost as they would use Unix?
>>>> 
>>>> i
>>>
>>> I'd say its totally irrelevant. Of the 20 or so software products I use
>>> every day, there is only one if not two that I must use windopes for,
>>> only because their original developers haven't yet
>>> released a Linux alternative.
>
>
> Games are a prime example. That said, no game is a necessity, neither at work
> nor for services across the household. All you need are a few games that
> work on Linux. You can never explore all of them anyway and, if you must,
> inexpensive gaming consoles are available at the shops. The cost of
> Windows+Office licences exceeds the cost of most consoles.

I am not into games myself, about the only game that I could play is
minesweeper. (which is available for linux) Otherwise, yes, you have a
point. 

>
>>> And I can tell you now, I would switch today and be done with windopes
>>> for good because I hate running into brick walls with endless micoshaft
>>> licensing issues, and veneers of DRM crap, and risks with viri when I
>>> could instead just boot up GNU/Linux and do all my developer work
>>> in double quick time without having to worry over licensing issues
>>> or access to source code.
>> 
>> I am less critical of MS Windows now, once I was able to run unix
>> stuff on it. It is definitely inferior to linux because of very poor
>> scheduling support, need to reboot too often, viruses etc, but at
>> least I can run good open source sotfware on it now. I do not use
>> Windows at home though, myself.
>
>
> I have been 100% Microsoft-clean for quite some time (excluding vacations
> abroad). It feels great and I am never missing anything. If anything, I
> spend less time than ever on maintenance, recovery, and the riddles involved
> with interoperability -- something you _will_ experience if one of your
> machines _still_ runs Windows.

I do spend some time on that, under linux, but overall I have been a
happy linux user since 1995. The OS does exactly what I want, that's
what I like. 

i


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