Return to BSD News archive
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.development.system,comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.os.linux.advocacy
Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.mira.net.au!news.vbc.net!samba.rahul.net!rahul.net!a2i!news.walltech.com!news.aimnet.com!netserv.com!news.mathworks.com!gatech!swrinde!howland.reston.ans.net!ix.netcom.com!netcom.com!tporczyk
From: tporczyk@netcom.com (Tony Porczyk)
Subject: Re: Historic Opportunity facing Free Unix (was Re: The Lai/Baker paper, benchmarks, and the world of free UNIX)
Message-ID: <tporczykDpqKHL.7vG@netcom.com>
Organization: ITRC
References: <4ki055$60l@Radon.Stanford.EDU> <jdd.829261293@cdf.toronto.edu>
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 1996 06:24:56 GMT
Lines: 51
Sender: tporczyk@netcom4.netcom.com
Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.development.system:21136 comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc:534 comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc:3115 comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc:2901 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:17117 comp.os.linux.advocacy:44784
jdd@cdf.toronto.edu (John DiMarco) writes:
> Perhaps it is time for a free Unix variant to emerge that can serve as
> a simple, relatively small, reliable, and straightforward platform for
> running applications.
What applications?
> Windows NT has too heavy a footprint (and price) for the desktop.
Actually, Windows NT workstation is only $295.
> What will it take? All relevant shell and file interfaces will need to
> be replaced by simple, point-and-click window-based interfaces (with
^^^^^^^^
That would be the last day I would use that system. Augmented, yes,
replaced, never.
> Easy: a platform to run applications -- and only this -- is exactly
> what most users want.
No, actually users don't give a damn about platform to run applications.
They want *applications*, period. What they run on is totally
secondary. Modern UNIX has no common, affordable productivity apps.
Let me give you an example: I teach networking. In one particular
course I thaught for a good while I often had students who came to
learn SunOS because it was necessary to run the app they bought or were
about to buy. Had they been able to run it on something else, they
would. Many of them were pulling their hair out trying to learn basic
administration in three days, but they were willing to do it because the
app did what they needed. The OS was utterly secondary.
In case anyone might think otherwise, I'm a UNIX bigot, but I'm also a
realist. I have neither time nor skill to write Word 6 or Excel killer
for FreeBSD, so I am not going to bitch about the lack of those apps.
It's just a fact of life. Modern apps often require many months of
development time of tens of programmers. I don't expect those apps to
show up any time soon, and without them UNIX will NOT make it to the
desktop outside of specialized requirements. I will continue to use
it, because I have a reason to, but I totally fail to comprehend why
one would expect an average user who runs mostly Word Processor and
Spreadsheet to suddenly switch to UNIX.
t.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tony Porczyk * tporczyk@netcom.com * San Jose, California
GIT/ED d++$(!d) s++:++ a? C++++ USLB++++$ P+ E--- W(--) N++ !k w-- M- V? b-
PS+++@ PE++ O X-- Y++@ PGP-- t+@ 5++ R* D---- e* V-- h* y** r+++(*)+++(*)>?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------