The Ghost In The Machine wrote:
High Plains Thumper wrote
Roy Schestowitz wrote:
Linonut on Saturday :
Matt fired off:
This story barely made it into COLA about six months
back---as an Inquirer article posted by [H]omer.
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9043359
"A lot of people think of Windows as this really
large, bloated operating system, and that may be a
fair characterization, I have to admit," said Eric
Traut, who holds the title of distinguished engineer
at Microsoft. "[So] we created what we call MinWin.
It's still bigger than I'd like it to be, but we've
taken a shot at really stripping out all of the
layers above and making sure that we had a clean
architectural layer there."
Does he mean that they are doing a redesign, or just an
ad hoc refactoring?
Of course, they'll still have the apps to
redesign/refactor.
Here's what they do here (a friend E-mailed me this some
hours ago):
"In the face of strong competition, Evangelism's focus may
shift immediately to the next version of the same
technology, however. Indeed, Phase 1 (Evangelism Starts)
for version x+1 may start as soon as this Final Release of
version X."
--- Microsoft, internal document
http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/Comes-3096.pdf
I take the announcements with a grain of salt. One is never
sure what will transpire, when it is ready to distribute it
is ready to distribute.
Meanwhile, Linux will continue to be the choice OS to
install on lighter hardware, knowing that it will perform
well as expected and stable.
No it won't. Not that Linux isn't a good OS, mind you -- but
there's other factors involved, such as marketing. It's far
easier to sell junk to the populace than to turn out a quality
product; we'll buy almost *anything*, especially if it's
well-presented.
Well, you will always have people who for the sake of new and
impressing their friends AKA "keepin up with the Jones", plunk
down 1,000 quid without batting an eye; pay for it through a
credit card loan at highest interest rate.
If one were to do that, then do it with a Mac.
I have met people who are intimidated by reinstalling software
and ask for help. Even installing Microsoft Windows XP Home
requires some computer knowledge that not all have or ever acquire.
The closest to an out-of-the-box experience comes from Ubuntu
Linux. After rebooting (the one and only rebooting required,
unless one has such an out-of-date distro that requires a huge
download with kernel patches), every came up working, sound,
video, USB ports, DVD, etc.
Best test is to try the software. It helps overcome the
troll nonsense being posted in this newsgroup, which is
BASICALLY OUT TO DESTROY LINUX REPUTATION in a sad jihad of
evangelism tainted with half truths and in some cases, out
right lies.
This may be the seamier side thereof. Of course it's in
Microsoft's interest to paint the opposition as a bunch of
amateuristic fools. (They're half-right. Amateur is derived
from "with love" or "to love"; Linux is a labor of love. Of
course with IBM and other such wading in it's a potential
profit center as well, especially with respect to its
reliability. But IBM can't quite match Microsoft in marketing
yet.)
Trolls herein have attempted to do that with very poor results.
It makes them look like Royale Phools.
One falsehood is that Linux advocates hate Windows. This is
not true; we use it where needed. Having knowledge of the
strengths and weaknesses of Windows gives us a benchmark for
comparing Linux.
After comparing the 2, I have a definite preference for
Linux. I prefer the stability it brings, the empowerment to
save money, keep lighter and cheaper hardware fully
operational, newer faster hardware operating at peak
efficiency for applications.
It also helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by running
lighter on hardware.
Not at all sure how much of a factor this is; there's a fair
number of issues here. Of course ideally we wouldn't need
computer clock pulses anyway, but I have noticed on my laptop
that when idle it doesn't need to cool itself nearly as much.
If one is not afraid to void his EULA, he can post true
benchmarks between Windows and Linux. However, that will not
guarantee that he may not be sued by the monopoly, with intention
to make an example out of him. Or have them sic the software
police on him (SBA).
--
HPT
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