Re: Coercive Monopolism vs Wimpyness

["Brian B. Riley" <brianbr@together.net>]

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  I will preface these comments by saying that I run two boxes here a
Power Mac, on which I do most of my work, and a WinNT4/Linux dual boot
box as well.

On 12/22/97 4:50 AM, Secret Squirrel (anon@squirrel.owl.de)  passed
this wisdom:

>>And, since Windows OS is so pitifully lousy, why do people continue
>>to buy it, even without the computer attached;  why do they continue
>>to upgrade, even if it's so slow and bloated?   Don't they realize
>>Unix is better? Don't they realize they're just making Billg richer?

>Want to play a game from the store? Windows 95.

 or a Mac (admittedly not as many hybrids or mac-only titles)

>Want to install a new image in your Flash RAM on your motherboard? 
>DOS (Windows 95).

   on a Mac? who needs it?

>Want to have vendor-produced drivers? Windows 95.

   or a Mac

>Want to parse MS Turd documents? Windows 95 and MS Office.

  MacLinkPlus translators (bundled with OS) handles all WinDoze docs
(often better than WinDoze itself!)

>Want to use a Windows-specific bullshit class registration system 
>at your university? Windows 95.

  (ugh!)

>Happened to buy a printer? It won't say "Yes! It works with 
>Ghostscript!" Infact it won't say anything about hardware 
>compatability. It'll just say "Windows drivers included" along with 
>a list of a bunch of software that Idon't want and don't need. So 
>if it happens that the printer is nonstandard...Windows 
>95.

  most of the top manufacturers have Mac drivers. Epson printers even
come with Mac and PC interefaces built in

>Have a bunch of people in the office who don't care about platform 
>compatability and pass around Windows-specific document types or 
>programs? Windows 95.

  same answer as above MacLinkPlus translators

>Have a bunch of people in the office who, simply because Windows 
>and sometimes MacOS are taught as "computer education" in many 
>universities and public schools can't use anything else? Windows 95.

 point, to you, but, the aim is not to produce an extra 500,000
CompSci educated users. It is to provide a useful tool for the masses.
Windows (who stole its interface from mac who stole it from xerox)
type GUIs are easier to use than CLIs, it is only since the
entrenchment of GUIs that they have come forth in the Unix/Linux
world.

>Have to use a university computer lab? The machines are probably 
>running Windows 95. So you wind up with an incentive to use Windows 
>95 elsewhere. So...again, Windows 95.

 another point to you. as a high school teacher in an area where there
is a large IBM plant (read that as a lot of IBM employed taxpayers). I
watched with dismay as more and more IBM and compatibles have grown to
take over the lab. We have a fulltime hard wired Internet connection
from the state of Vermont and yet its all but useless half the time
because of one windows problem or another. The lab coordinator spends
more time fixing WinDoze compatability problem than teaching computer
use.

>Want to have a working copy of PGP 5.0 while everybody else has 
>started sending out DH-encrypted/signed messages and rolled DH 
>keys? Windows 95. (Yeah, yeah. The source was released in book 
>form.) 

 PGP5 Mac came out early also

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Brian B. Riley --> http://members.macconnect.com/~brianbr
 For PGP Keys  <mailto:brianbr@together.net?subject=Get%20PGP%20Key>

 "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and
  write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."   -Alvin 
Toffler