In comp.os.linux.advocacy, High Plains Thumper
<hpt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote
on Mon, 9 Oct 2006 16:35:19 +0000 (UTC)
<Xns98581029FFCD3hpt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>> High Plains Thumper on Monday_
>>> [H]omer wrote:
>>>> Ian wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> ... Microsoft brings out a version.
>>>>
>>>> If it was anything like "Windows Core" then I don't think
>>>> Red Hat would have much to worry about!
>>>>
>>>> Anyway, what do you mean "will win"?
>>>>
>>>> AFAIAC Linux has *already* won ... in every way that
>>>> really matters.
>>>
>>> Winvocates prefer binary situations. This will make it
>>> easy.
>>>
>>> 1 = Linux
>>> 0 = Windows
>>
>> OpenBSD = XOR (Linux, Windows)
>> UNIX = AND (Linux, Windows)
>
> Linux = NOT (Windows)
>
> --
> HPT
OK, this is getting slightly silly. :-) In any event,
I for one know of more than a dozen operating systems
(FSVO) in the terrestrial corner of this Universe, and
there's probably a fair number more than that.
CP/M
DOS (FreeDOS, MS-DOS, PC-DOS)
Win3.1/Windows For Workgroups/Win9x
WinNT/2k/Me/XP
Windows Vista
VAX/VMS and OpenVMS
VM/CMS and VP/CSS
RSX-11M
RT-11
AmigaDOS or AmigaOS
Atari TOS
OS-9
OS/2
TOY
Apple ][ DOS
Mac OS
Mac OSX
Linux
*BSD (NetBSD, FreeBSD)
HURD
something called z-OS, which sits underneath Linux in IBM's
z series.
Some of these are quibbleable; DOS, in particular, is
little more than a glorified file loader with delusions of
grandeur via INT hooking. VM/CMS is probably moribund.
OS/2, CP/M, and Apple ][ DOS are probably dead, outside
of museums. AmigaDOS (now AmigaOS) had no notion of how
to handle an MMU (since the 68020 or 68030 wasn't out yet),
though there was a purchaseable add-on later in the Amiga's
life, just before Commodore croaked.
Some of these are far more suited towards server use than
desktop -- e.g., VMS was good when I was using it (and
might well still be, but can't say I know what it's doing
now), and FreeBSD and the various Unixes have always been
more service-oriented than desktop-oriented, although I
did have a desktop Unix box (HP-UX based) before I switched
companies in 1999.
Obviously, Windows has won the desktop, in the prior round
(seen any homebrews lately outside of a museum piece? :-) ).
Linux is now up against a well-seated, though rather sickly,
incumbent. (Vista might make said incumbent well again, though
I have my doubts.) To its credit, Linux is largely immune to
many of the ails assailing said incumbent. (Not all, and
hackers and crackers are an ingenious bunch; the Amiga in
particular had a large number of rather tasty minimalistic
demos, and of course someone's writing rootkits out there.)
I don't see a knockout punch in Linux's future, though
the incumbent might punch himself in the face and go out
for the count, which means Linux wins the desktop by default.
And then there are other markets -- mobile is very hot right now,
and AFAIK Linux is in the thick of it. The incumbent in this
case isn't trying too hard, although there are a few offerings.
A child of the incumbent, however -- .NET -- shows
great promise, if it can get out of what appears to be a
DRM/patent playpen. It may very well challenge another
incumbent -- Java. Unlike Windows, though, Java is
relatively healthy. :-) Could be a real, erm, dukeout.
(Does .NET have a cute triangle-shaped mascot? :-) It
might be able to borrow a puppy from BOB/XP.)
And then there's the combat ring collapsing if power goes
out because of carbon prohibitions, fascist governments
nationalizing all computers, two nuclear weapons from North
Korea wiping out Washington and San Francisco (they'll need
better rockets for the former but they're getting close!),
a very large planetoid nudging Earth out of orbit and into
deep space after wiping out all life, etc.
--
#191, ewill3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Useless C++ Programming Idea #40490127:
for(;;) ;
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