Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 05:57:02 -0700 () From: Rick Hamell <hcg@teleport.com> To: Tim Gerchmez <fewtch@serv.net> Cc: freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: How important is "the OS?" Message-ID: <Pine.WNT.3.95.980625053413.-104419B-100000@greymouser.circle-path.org> In-Reply-To: <3.0.5.32.19980625033446.00809730@mx.serv.net>
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Good points Tim, but I think it important to point out that without Microsoft we wouldn't have as much processing power on our desks. Heck, I've got an OLD Wang Mini-Frame sitting in my living room. It was used in a medium sized company, cost $15000+ just for the CPU and ran 40 users. Now, I've got roughly 30000 times the processing power, and 200000 times the disk space on my 'low' end computer, and only two people use it. :) I hate to admit it, but without Microsoft, I'd still be using the Wang there, plus, I'd probally be out of a job. > Folks... what do we do about kids entering computing in 1998, whose first > experiences involve Win95 and playing arcade games using DirectX? Who's > going to be around in 20-30 years that cares any more about Unix, other > than a few lost souls in their 60's who earn millions a year because they > can still administer a Unix system? Well, personally, my children will learn a lot about computers, they'll be taught in an X Windows environment to do their homework and play some games, then will later graduate to other OS's if they wish. But then again if they're anything like me (god forbid) then they'll never really play games when they get past college anyways and will still have the important background they need. I think that overall, Unix in general will never be able to compete. Windows based platforms just don't have the scalibility to be able to efficently run any mission critical applications, Windows, is still, and always will be until they do a full rewrite from the ground up of the entire core OS, a 16 bit application, running in a 32 bit world. Almost all Unix systems from the start were meant to be 32 bit. Sure, there are web server, and ftp server, and all kinds of different internet related server software for NT. Microsoft says that NT is out growing Unix in new server applications percentage wise, but forgets to mention that Unix is already such a part of network market that a 5% growth is still more computers then NT's 80% growth in the same market. (At least that's what the numbers were about 2-3 years ago.) In my opinion, the only thing that could REALLY seriously hurt Unix growth at all in the near future is the Millenium Bug (refusing to call it Y2kxwhatever) But again, it has to be pointed out that those people who are going to be running into the problem, have been using (mostly) the same hardware and software for close to 15 years! Windows will NEVER come close to that record. > I think I did a poor job getting across what I was trying to say in this > Email (and perhaps made no sense at all), but I hope it generates some > discussion, especially among people who use multiple OS's like myself and > follow the latest trends in computing. You did a good job Tim, and I agree with you to a certain extent. But I just don't think Unix in general will ever die down. It's got some growing to do to become more popular in the desktop market, but that's really not it's niche (even though Linux seems hell bent on getting there.) That's why Gates is trying to put IE in Windows, he's trying to slowly dominate the Internet/Networking Market too, but will find that he's got competition now, and while it may seem 'outdated,' 'obsolete,' 'useless,' etc, to the general computer using populance... Rick To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-newbies" in the body of the message
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