Tony Sivori wrote:
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>
> > http://youtube.com/watch?v=5LLvqb8gmI4
>
> I think it was the camera man's fault. The way the press and public crowds
> around a (in)famous billionaire like Gates, he would be literally
> imprisoned by the crowd if he didn't just start walking and make them get
> out of his way.
>
> Now, if you will excuse me, I must spend the rest of the afternoon in
> self-flagellation to atone for the hideous sin of defending Bill Gates.
>
> --
> Tony Sivori
I dunno, he didn't kill six millions Jews, ethnic groups, intellectuals
or gay and mentally ill people from 1933-1945. He wrote software...good
gravy he's the antichrist. I don't know how many people forget that he
did two good things in the early history of microcomputers/PCs:
He forced more uniformity in the computer industry by creating a EULA
that prohibited reverse engineering, which you'd think would be bad but
for the fact that KAYPROs, Compaqs, Osbornes etc had their own mods and
for the most part nobody like John Public could grasp all that, so they
were basically killing each others' markets shares and nobody wanted to
guess which to use. At that point, there weren't any operating systems
for the micro user generally available and none that worked on all
platforms without the user adding or deleting lines of the code. Sure
that meant they had to move to a common platform, and it also killed
off a lot of uncertainty for some sitting on a fence. Z80 platforms
were indeed dandy, but there wasn't a uniform system and the 8088/8086
PC system was a marvel in it's original glory. Linus wasn't there in
1979-80 and neither were any other UNIX proponents. XEROX IIRC had the
STAR line but it was horrendously expensive for John Q. and not even
flexible enough. Recall that Windows 1.0 was in 1981 but it wasn't
until 1985 that 3.0/3.1/3.11 for Workgroups even caught fire. We all
used MS-DOS, even if a shell routine accessed the program directory, or
we used something else (another microcomputer or mainframe).
There you have it, an OS that crossed platforms and discouraged the
need to constantly tinker.
Tinkering isn't bad at all, unless it discourages sales. That hurts.
Linux has done some good things i.e. by the distributors:
They have tried to demonstrate performance issues between Windows and
Linux.
They have encouraged sites to proclaim they use a Linux baser server
program, and also emphasize the browsing experience with other
non-Linux browsers in comparison to a Windows based server.
They encourage hardware vendors of numerous non-PC computerized systems
to proclaim Linux technology links.
They demonstrate to the general public that, whether good or bad,
software writers are out there seeking an effective answer to their
needs in consumer electronics. This is seen as "at least they are
trying and putting out product I can evaluate" in the eyes of the
consumer.
Windows Vista is constantly delayed, their other software titles ripped
by opportunists who readily cry about "holes" but offer no solutions to
those who use them everyday. Vendors worry about new product not
coming, end users cry foul as they have good software and if anything
could use adaptations, not replacements.
Windows Vista has become the subject of comparisons to the late, great
Ashton-Tate's dBase, perhaps one of the best examples of bloat at the
end of effective life for a product. Ashton-Tate just put dBase IV out
there though, and Microsoft seems to be so genuinely worried about the
final product this time that they may stall themselves to death over
it.
I don't know what to do, however. I can string along on 98 SE or Me
awhile, although I prefer 2000 if I use Windows. I scratch my head
trying to decipher older Mac OS, and I kick myself in my mind for never
learning FORTRAN when I had that junior college's HP3000 available, as
it would have greatly helped.
The difference between advocacy and bashing is you should be inviting
someone to let you show them something neat, not telling them their OS
sucks. Criticism is the other side of the two-edged sword called
Progress, the katana both hurts and helps.
Yeah, say hello to Keith Carradine : )
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