Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 14:49:46 -0600 (MDT) From: Atipa <freebsd@atipa.com> To: Sean Kelly <kelly@plutotech.com> Cc: freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Why we should support Microsoft... Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.96.980518143520.4694A-100000@altrox.atipa.com> In-Reply-To: <356095DF.67393AEF@plutotech.com>
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On Mon, 18 May 1998, Sean Kelly wrote: > Atipa (Kevin) wrote: > > <Puts on flame-retardant asbestos suit> > > Smart. > > > The consumer ultimately decides what sells and > > what doesn't, and not the providers. > > I'm not sure that's true. If an operating systems vendor makes > contracts with computer manufacturers that its OS is installed on all > manufactured systems, the consumer gets stuck with a `sale' that s/he > didn't necessarily choose. How long would those contracts last if the product was inferior? There will always be a choice. We should lobby alternatives. In fact, I think this whole issue is way less important than their corruption of Java. _THAT_ will be the key to everyone else's success. A nice, free Java-capable OS would be a godsend. We should send the Men in Black to investigate that instead. That decision will make this one moot. > > If Win98 stinks, I hope it dies and forces MS to make better products. > > But MS-DOS stank for years and years, yet was easily one of the world's > most popular operating systems. It did its job. It brought PC's onto the forefront. If it were more featurefull (complicated), it would not have ever gotten off the ground. And yes, it did stink, but that is why we have _evolved_ away from it. There have been very few software products that have been useful as long as DOS. (All I can think of are scientific tools like FORTRAN, linpack, etc). > > [ including competing browsers ] > > As I said, take off the restrictions and let the best product > > win. As consumers, _WE_ are the ones getting hosed in this > > ordeal, not Microsoft. > > Again, consumers don't always choose the superior product. I know > personally of a large number of computer users who currently use > Internet Exploder instead of Netscrape because it came preinstalled on > their systems. It's an older version, and both Exploder 4 and Netscrape > 4 are (less buggy?) improvements. But these users don't even realize > you could upgrade the browser, much less install a different one. Well, I have little pity for the uninformed. I think IE4 is _way_ less buggy (and bloated) than Netscape, and perhaps the difference is the inside track on the structure of the OS. > I have a feeling the so-called ``_WE_'' will get hosed one way or > another. True, but who do you want to make these decisions? Certainly not some politicians who wouldn't know a browser from a colonic. > > * MS must modify their "Window Manager" so that OEMs and > > competitors can customize their visual. > > Oh! Oh! Micro$oft should provide only mechanism, not policy! I'll > start porting the Athena Widgets! :-) > > Seriously, this is one area that has hobbled the X desktop for years > while the Mac and Windows user interfaces flourished. Despite all the > arguments against UI consistency, a common set of widgets and expected > behavior is really a Good Thing (tm). For both developers and the user base. > More's the pity, both Micro$oft and 3rd party applications break > standards and guidelines to differentiate their products (where > `different' == `better'). No one needs to modify the `window manager'; > everyone's figured out how to customize the visual appearance already. > Blech. > > > How would all the > > developers of FreeBSD feel if I took a FreeBSD release, changed > > the GUI a bit, and called it AtipaOS? You would feel smited. > > You mean `smoten'? :-) Correct! Should be "smitten" or "smoten". :) > I don't think the FreeBSD developers would feel that bad---read the BSD > license. > > > Also, the continuity of the UI is the only thing that makes > > supporting this crap OS possible. If everyone had their own > > interface, providers would have a bear of a time giving > > accurate, detailed instructions. > > Take a look at the latest version of Quicken ... Intuit took the > standards book and tossed it out the window. Worse, Micro$oft did the > same thing when it unveiled the latest version of its competing product, > Micro$oft Money. For more simultaneously humorous and disheartening > examples, I wholeheartedly recommend this site: > > http://www.iarchitect.com/mshame.htm As soon as I shake off the first wave of attackers, I'll check it out. :) Regards, Kevin To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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