Messages in this thread |  | | From | mandrake <> | Subject | Re: Good point of Linux over Windows NT | Date | Thu, 23 Jan 1997 16:48:10 -0500 (EST) |
| |
> 4. More brainlessness and user-friendliness, both in use of the OS (a nicely > pre-configured window manager would do) and of installation and use of > applications. That is largely why people like MS Windows and why people > write applications for it. This may sound heretical, but, point of fact, > what do we really want? We want to be able use UN*X (preferably Linux) at > work. Jobs! That's what the people want! This will only happen if we let > less advanced users in on the game. Either way, we'll end up fixing > neophytes' systems. Would you rather it be Windows or Linux? This is > largely why Mac has managed to hold such a large percentage of market with a > closed, propriety system over DOS.
With standard redhat installation, RPM and the redhat control panel make a lot of this possible (as well as other configuration / package management tools i.e. linuxconf)
> 5. Applications!! Applications!! That's also partly why Windows won out > over OS/2 (despite the fact that OS/2 could run 16-bit Windows apps faster > than Windows). This is partly also why NeXT never took off, nor did the > eariler movement to market UN*X flavors for 80x86 (the price didn't help that > either). Ultimately, if the OS has no applications (and ones that look > good--unlike many of the stock X apps), then few will use it. We already > have several big applications: Netscape, Mathematica, WordPerfect, etc. > Adobe makes several products for Sun and SGI. How difficult would a port be? > Another idea is support for cross-development, perhaps supporting (or > translating) code from IDEs like Visual C++, Visual Basic, Borland stuff, > etc. Perhaps a free implementation of the Microsoft Foundation Classes, > for X/UN*X, that could be compiled with g++?
There is already a lot of really good free software available for linux. But something that I think what would particularly be useful is a commercial c/c++ compiler. (NOTE: This is not a mark against gcc, however to the best of my knowledge the disassembling of any code compiled with gcc and use thereof is perfectly legal, please correct me if I am wrong)
> I have been following up on the NeXT buy-out, reading with some interest in > the attempt to merge the OSes. Sounds like a bad idea. Nevertheless, one of > the commentators mentioned that an improved Mac shell would incorporate > features of the NeXT OS, but drop the UN*X shell and commands. It > occurred to me what a splendid thing it would be if someone developed an > OS which had both a nice, user-friendly GUI, for the graphic designers > and secretaries, and a good command-line interface, like a UN*X shell and > commands, that's fully tweakable. Imagine--a real choice!
Actually, if you put a good window manager over X (i.e. AfterStep) and built some GUI configuration interface to it (which is something I have been debating doing to AfterStep's .steprc) that included a way to add new software to your popup menu or wharf or whatever menuing system you use without having to edit a text file (something I have noticed about the way my bosses work is that they love to go through and click to configure stuff but as soon as they have to do it with a text editor they're lost) then you've got it made. Sure, you can leave advanced stuff to the advanced users, but you can't forget the users of the system.
-- Geoff Harrison - System Administrator, IntelliMedia Commerce -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----------------------|mandrake@lobotomy.com Version: 3.12 |(404)262-0000 ext 102 GCS/E d? s-:- a? C++++$ U++++LVSAB*$ P++$ L++ E-|(404)261-2282 (FAX) W+++$ N++ o+ K w--- O M+ V-- PS+ PE Y+ PGP++ t+@|http://www.lobtomy.com/mandrake 5 X+++ R+++ tv b+++ DI++ D++ G+ e* h* r++ y++ |Jesus saves sinners and ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK-----------------------|redeems them for valuable cash prizes.
|  |