*BSD News Article 88478


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From: Frederick Haab <"haab.."@efx7.turner.com (remove .. to reply)>
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.setup,comp.unix.bsd.misc,comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy,comp.os.os2.advocacy
Subject: Re: Betting on Unix
Date: Thu, 06 Feb 1997 16:41:01 -0500
Organization: Turner Broadcasting
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Alex Yung wrote:
> Bill davidsen (davidsen@tmr.com) wrote:
> : In article <32F90AEB.41C6@osf.org>, Kaleb S. KEITHLEY

> : | Unix doesn't have applications??? What are you talking about?
> : | Do you mean Linux doesn't have any applications?

[...]

> : People who think {vi,emacs}+{groff,TeX} are a word processor should
> : not quit their day job to sell UNIX word processing to the masses.
> : The same is true for sc as a modern spreadsheet.

> If I understand Bill's point, one chooses an OS by apps he/she uses.

Hopefully (although a lot of people buy into O.S. hype before
thinking it through...thus the success of MS Windows when Macs
had been around so long).

> But I don't understand the bashing about Unix.  Most of the Unix apps
> are not built for any home users.

This is basically true...but why?  It doesn't have to be this way!

> It is meant for mission critical processes.

WHO SAYS?  Like in your airplane example?  The VAST VAST VAST
majority of things running out there are *not* "mission critical".
In fact, if I remember the anecdote correctly, Unix was first
built so the authors could play a particular game...

> Each OS addresses certain need for certain population.
> I don't think we would want to have one OS for everyone.  Isn't this
> monoploy which no one wants anyway?

Yes, but "UNIX" isn't a company or even a single O.S., and even if
it was so what?  So what if it was the only O.S. people used as
long as it did what it was supposed to in a decent fashion!  There
is *no* reason why "Unix" can't be an end-user O.S., why it can't
be installed simply and easily by novices, and why it can't have
a lot of good end user packages!  People are arguing that your
average person shouldn't use Unix just because it can do more?
Because it's *more* powerful?  That's ridiculous!  My company now
needs to use PC's, Macs, and Unix boxes because of this sentiment,
why do we have to live with such a nightmare?  What's wrong with one
good O.S.?

[...airline scenario deleted...]

I ask again, why do I have to boot my computer into a different
O.S., or run some O.S. emulator, just to type a stinking letter
on a nice word processor?  It makes no sense when we say how
much better Unix is than DOS/Windows, and then use DOS/Windows
to do our mundane day to day business.

Just because I run a finite element analysis package on Unix
doesn't mean I *shouldn't* use Unix for word processing!
(That's just a scenario folks).

Fred

-- 
-=-=- Frederick Haab -=-  Software Developer  -=- Turner Production
-=-=-