Where would you be if Linux never really got popular, or wasn't around (this is general, you may have been a hardcore programming madman before Linux came around/became popular)
I would still be using OS/2, which didn't have a Y2K problem that I could find.
C'mon, the only reason the non-Mac people are having a bit of fun with this stuff is because of the often-smug, "the Macintosh is superior to every other type of computer, for every imaginable application", "if you don't use a Mac, you must be using Windows", arrogant attitude often displayed by the rabid Mac heads here.
All of the "points" you raise have been long ago refuted. I think you need to go to "http://www.fsf.org/">FSF and do some reading.
Open Source does *not* have to mean you don't make money. RedHat is growing, and they are selling Free Software. And people are buying it. Lots of it. Won't be long (probably a couple of years) before there are more Linux users than Mac users.
When people see my KDE desktop, they often think it's a Mac, or Windows. Linux with KDE is not as frightening to the newbie as you might think: Point and click, drag and drop, and all that good stuff, y'know? Sure, it's got a ways to go before it has the kind of drag-into-any-app compatibility that is often the case in MacOS. However, most newbies I observe, tend to use the start a program and work with it approach anyhow, which KDE makes *very* easy.
Cost of Linux: $0. Cost of OS X: hundreds of dollars
The other thing to consider is that as a result of Jobs' "vision," OS X is only going to be available for non-commodity, somewhat-expensive, Macintosh hardware.
That fact alone will severly limit its market share.
And I like Java...as a programming language. But, with the current state of runtime environments, I think it's just too sluggish for large programs.
I want a Linux Quicken that is done in C/C++ with Qt or Gtk, or even Motif, but I don't want a Java version, unless there are some very rapid improvements in the runtime environments, or a good way to compile programs written in Java into a native binary instead of bytecodes.
Also, there is already a Java home finance program called moneydance. I don't know the URL, though.
However, for example, against a command line interface, that same novice would say, 'huh? It's blinking at me...' Or something equally confounding. In my opinion, given the muscle and power of a PC, the first that should happen is some sort of greeting or dialogue that asks "Good day! What do you want to do?"
Back in 1994-95, IBM was rumored to be toying with the idea (for Workplace OS, which was to be the successor to OS/2) of a "Human Centered Interface," or something like that (I may have the name wrong) which basically would have had a kind of avatar-agent, sort of a disembodied head, with which you would interact, and assign your tasks to through voice recognition/synthesis.
This seemed ultra-cool to me, even if it might be a bit silly. I was hoping it (the head) would be customizable, so I could address my daily tasks to the disembodied head of Max von Sydow.
Now that would be cool...
BTW, it looks like there will be another client version of OS/2, as unlikely as that may have seemed recently. I've converted over to Linux, however.
He is correct. The ZD magazines were saying that NT was the replacement for DOS back then (1991-92), and that NT would be used for everything from end user stuff to high-end servers.
Also, they said it would run on a 386 with 8 MB RAM. Don't believe everything you read, eh?
I should note that I strongly disagree with what these people are doing with their site; their actions are despicable.
I'm just afraid of the ramifications of this decision, and how it might be broadened in the future to, for instance, shut down anti-Microsoft sites, or anything else controversial.
I can very easily see this applied to Earth First!, for instance.
I don't agree; GUIs aren't all that intuitive. What cue is given, for instance, that by holding down the mouse, one can drag icons or data? It is accepted as intuitive, but someone who has never used a computer (or a GUI) is not necessarily going to know to do that. Another not-so-necessarily intuitive idea is double-clicking to open something.
By comparison, I really don't think the difference between a two-button (or three-button) mouse and a keyboard-modified single-button mouse is all that significant.
As far as WIMP-style interfaces, I still believe OS/2's WPS to be the most consistent. There was a simple rule that was kept to pretty well: left button to select objects, right button to manipulate objects.
Pournelle is worried that our returns of Windows, *in compliance with the EULA*, might tick off Microsoft and they might not deliver the next version of Windows to allow him to format a floppy without setting his hair on fire.
Here's a free clue, Jerry: WE DON'T CARE. We don't care if Microsoft ships a pile of rubbish as Windows 2000, because we have a better way: Open Source.
You have no real evidence that people are going to pirate Windows and ask for the refund; few would go through the hassle of dealing with the OEMs and Microsoft for a measly $50-$100 if they didn't really believe in what they were doing.
People are asking for their refund because it's The Right Thing to Do. PC buyers shouldn't have to pay for what they don't want.
I have to think that if Microsoft had wanted to make this some sort of air-tight, you-bought-it-you're-stuck-with-it license, they would have done so. I can't help but wonder if there is some legal reason that they had to leave users an "out."
I was going to suggest that too, but I think the last time I tested it, it also removed non-AC responses to AC posts, so you sometimes lose large parts of a thread, not just the AC posts.
Slashdot Mirror
I would still be using OS/2, which didn't have a Y2K problem that I could find.
C'mon, the only reason the non-Mac people are having a bit of fun with this stuff is because of the often-smug, "the Macintosh is superior to every other type of computer, for every imaginable application", "if you don't use a Mac, you must be using Windows", arrogant attitude often displayed by the rabid Mac heads here.
Open Source does *not* have to mean you don't make money. RedHat is growing, and they are selling Free Software. And people are buying it. Lots of it. Won't be long (probably a couple of years) before there are more Linux users than Mac users.
When people see my KDE desktop, they often think it's a Mac, or Windows. Linux with KDE is not as frightening to the newbie as you might think: Point and click, drag and drop, and all that good stuff, y'know? Sure, it's got a ways to go before it has the kind of drag-into-any-app compatibility that is often the case in MacOS. However, most newbies I observe, tend to use the start a program and work with it approach anyhow, which KDE makes *very* easy.
He he he. Death to rc.local!
Long live rc.*!
Warum kann Sie nicht Deutsch?
Cost of OS X: hundreds of dollars
The other thing to consider is that as a result of
Jobs' "vision," OS X is only going to be available
for non-commodity, somewhat-expensive, Macintosh
hardware.
That fact alone will severly limit its market share.
machines as they are when you buy them
IDE is STANDARD on the iMac and on the new G3s. SCSI is not.
Others have posted the URL elsewhere in this thread. I think it's http://www.pjprimer.com/jihad.html.
And I like Java...as a programming language. But, with the current state of runtime environments, I think it's just too sluggish for large programs.
I want a Linux Quicken that is done in C/C++ with Qt or Gtk, or even Motif, but I don't want a Java version, unless there are some very rapid improvements in the runtime environments, or a good way to compile programs written in Java into a native binary instead of bytecodes.
Also, there is already a Java home finance program called moneydance. I don't know the URL, though.
Read up on the Steve Barkto incident (it occurred on Compuserve).
Back in 1994-95, IBM was rumored to be toying with the idea (for Workplace OS, which was to be the successor to OS/2) of a "Human Centered Interface," or something like that (I may have the name wrong) which basically would have had a kind of avatar-agent, sort of a disembodied head, with which you would interact, and assign your tasks to through voice recognition/synthesis.
This seemed ultra-cool to me, even if it might be a bit silly. I was hoping it (the head) would be customizable, so I could address my daily tasks to the disembodied head of Max von Sydow.
Now that would be cool...
BTW, it looks like there will be another client version of OS/2, as unlikely as that may have seemed recently. I've converted over to Linux, however.
Also, they said it would run on a 386 with 8 MB RAM. Don't believe everything you read, eh?
I'm just afraid of the ramifications of this decision, and how it might be broadened in the future to, for instance, shut down anti-Microsoft sites, or anything else controversial.
I can very easily see this applied to Earth First!, for instance.
Just trying to see the big picture here...
By comparison, I really don't think the difference between a two-button (or three-button) mouse and a keyboard-modified single-button mouse is all that significant.
As far as WIMP-style interfaces, I still believe OS/2's WPS to be the most consistent. There was a simple rule that was kept to pretty well: left button to select objects, right button to manipulate objects.
I still miss the WPS sometimes.
...that's not necessarily a good thing (that people value form over function).
Really nice email program, though.
PMMail
Here's a free clue, Jerry: WE DON'T CARE. We don't care if Microsoft ships a pile of rubbish as Windows 2000, because we have a better way: Open Source.
You have no real evidence that people are going to pirate Windows and ask for the refund; few would go through the hassle of dealing with the OEMs and Microsoft for a measly $50-$100 if they didn't really believe in what they were doing.
People are asking for their refund because it's The Right Thing to Do. PC buyers shouldn't have to pay for what they don't want.
Frys has genuine internal modems for sale, with jumpers even. I think the name is ActionTec or something.
This is good.
I have to think that if Microsoft had wanted to
make this some sort of air-tight, you-bought-it-you're-stuck-with-it license, they would have done so. I can't help but wonder if there is some legal reason that they had to leave users an "out."
Running fdisk isn't *that* hard...
I was going to suggest that too, but I think the last time I tested it, it also removed non-AC responses to AC posts, so you sometimes lose large parts of a thread, not just the AC posts.
The first time I used a Mac, I was positively *baffled*.
GUIs are easier for people who are used to GUIs. They are not inherently easier.
I can tell you this: I will not buy a Pentium III if it has this crap.
Hey, Intel: You want a serial number? Stamp it on the outside.
And this is nothing whatsoever like cookies.