*BSD News Article 88904


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From: jw@qits.net.au.nospam (John Wiltshire)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.linux.networking,comp.os.linux.setup,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.misc,comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy,comp.os.os2.advocacy
Subject: Re: A suggestion to Linux/Bsd Developers
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 09:56:28 GMT
Organization: Traffic Systems Development
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Roberto Pavan <rpavan@triumf.ca> wrote:

>John Wiltshire wrote:
>> 
>> vss@shell2.ba.best.com (V.S. Senthilkumar) wrote:
>> 
>> >
>> >
>> >From the previous thread in this newsgroup it is getting clear that,
>> >unix is lacking a "cheap real word processor". (like MS Word)
>> >
>> >
>> >I know that you guys are busy enhancing kernel and driver code.
>> >
>> >
>> >But i think that, the time spent writing a Motif free word
>> >processor is time really worth spent.
>> >
>> >(please don't give emacs+groff as a solution)
>> >
>> >
>> >Put an end to this bullshit called NT.
>> 
>> If you think word processing is all that is keeping NT going then you
>> are a seriously deluded person.  After all, word processing on NT has
>> only become viable in the last 6 to 12 months (since Word95).
>> 
>> Maybe you should look at the product before inventing ways to destroy
>> it?
>
>
>I don't think what the guy wrote is all that off base.  The line is
>blurring between Win95 and NT, and is only going to get more fuzzy in
>the future.  Since the vast majority of users out there will be using
>Win95, one should look at what is the largest single app run on these
>machines.

Not true.  Use NT and 95 for a while and you'll understand the
similarity is only in the UI.

>Word processors outpace all other apps in use on home/small office
>computers by a country mile.  I'll bet it's two or three to one.  I'll
>also 
>bet that Web software and spreadsheets are the next most common.  These
>programs are usually packaged with the sale of the comuter, so the user
>usually gets a huge break on the cost of the apps.  I've got Win95 on my
>Pentium box for two reasons - so I can run WordPerfect and Quattro Pro -
>two excellent programs.  Since I'm a grad student, I got the Corel
>Academic suite.  I paid about $40 CDN for it the whole shebang.  A lot
>of stuff is on there that I'll never use, but I got a top-notch word
>processor and spreadsheet for 1/10 the price of Word Perfect for Linux -
>and no need to get Motif either.  If I paid full price for the suite, it
>still wouldn't equal the cost of the word processor for Linux and the
>necessary libraries.
>
>Don't get me wrong - I love Linux, and use it most of the time, but when
>I need a quick letter or calc sheet (I even do some heat transfer
>computing on Quattro), I use Win95 - not because it's 'easier', but
>because it has the right apps.
>
>If Unix (and if it's Unix, let's face it - it'll be Linux) is going to
>become a serious competitor to Windows, the quality and price of the
>available basic apps is going to have to come down.
>
>Just my 0.02 (CDN)

This all applies to 95.  Not NT because your first assertion was a bit
general.

John Wiltshire

-----------------------------------------------------------
John Wiltshire              | Email jw@qits.net.au
Network Systems Engineer    | Ph. W +61 7 38342783
Traffic Systems Development |     H +61 7 33698557
-----------------------------------------------------------
These opinions may not be mine and are almost certainly
not those of my employer!