From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Wed Mar 16 11:30:51 2011 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C60171065672 for ; Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:30:51 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from freebsd.user@seibercom.net) Received: from mail-gw0-f54.google.com (mail-gw0-f54.google.com [74.125.83.54]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 744498FC08 for ; Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:30:51 +0000 (UTC) Received: by gwb15 with SMTP id 15so688493gwb.13 for ; Wed, 16 Mar 2011 04:30:50 -0700 (PDT) Received: by 10.236.184.1 with SMTP id r1mr591736yhm.73.1300275048686; Wed, 16 Mar 2011 04:30:48 -0700 (PDT) Received: from scorpio.seibercom.net (twdp-174-109-142-001.nc.res.rr.com [174.109.142.1]) by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id k29sm556483yhk.14.2011.03.16.04.30.47 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=OTHER); Wed, 16 Mar 2011 04:30:47 -0700 (PDT) Received: from scorpio (zeus [192.168.1.1]) (using TLSv1 with cipher DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA (128/128 bits)) (No client certificate requested) (Authenticated sender: FreeBSD.user@scorpio.seibercom.net) by scorpio.seibercom.net (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id D4FF6E54833 for ; Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:30:46 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:30:45 -0400 From: Jerry To: FreeBSD Message-ID: <20110316073045.5b0f876b@scorpio> In-Reply-To: <4D8058C5.7070502@infracaninophile.co.uk> References: <20110307162153.0463fa73@atmarama.net> <20110307170014.GB65289@guilt.hydra> <4D7FE8E1.90600@herveybayaustralia.com.au> <20110315203753.55f1ec3b@scorpio> <4D8058C5.7070502@infracaninophile.co.uk> Organization: seibercom.net X-Mailer: Claws Mail 3.7.8 (GTK+ 2.22.1; amd64-portbld-freebsd8.2) Face: iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAADAAAAAwBAMAAAClLOS0AAAAJFBMVEUeH4oAAI3//v8LDHmw s8gyNZ/b3ej7+vn+/v////+PjIc8Plaj/TnQAAACNElEQVQ4jaXUvW/aQBQAcFtKGZLFT+YY 3D1SR9SKoRMncE3IggU4kicGi1JYOgQwyYrgnLlSzhsoNkTuVJEp+ef6ztiAoV3aJ+QPfufn s987S/5fQvoXYPjztmfc514Ks+5JfGUCfrzt4+VabF+jwEV4DGEXN8N4p16sPLxHX07/V3qX yfF5D2H6K4V8j9NkyAphvkjBembD5PDFk3zeTzP1jcksyaV9w+d4ELmUoOp8N2p8uQVyhTAT uawnKNH2mie5lJp48mscUcbJUvg0mR6APwAoye9AMyWozY4gAh0vcxa5FJ4TKCuODESWtfkB 8AEQSupUXNIYH8FSC2w8X3eMBNbbVJpJ7MgECO5yJ9DUEWCYkzNAlsRsgwLQ1GkWqELbkDOh 1bUzoHagYkNh9MXlK/MQoA42gTxz2bhPM2DJedm8MZx6cNfJgEZJ5cmwPp5FZ/Ye8O2qTrFV dgOrHkZRBoheJiGrRquwAhnQ6GeTePPerWVmQelAQ5lwNqtvQd2lcooAV74/zR1BIRS19fy5 ru+B/8ReW9pYKMPjt609zDaitHHTGOO+Zu7gHvsKE7XbeE1QVuJXomIFuZgUJdXQdhpqEELc /e8RLjfi+cQ01yMdWot8UcCVxEWHEkcUrsDGuhaIEoM9kfgAR6jxHcmEV7tNURAl8KTHN9iF McKGFHGO62O62UMpbmlVuogQ7ndL8zXCiLeBy3xpfrqaXS/+AHDG4o8AvhuPeezD/3xL/hy/ Adjlg2odglF2AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Subject: Re: HAL must die! X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list Reply-To: FreeBSD List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:30:51 -0000 On Wed, 16 Mar 2011 06:29:25 +0000 Matthew Seaman articulated: > On 16/03/2011 00:37, Jerry wrote: > > Microsoft has approximately 90% of the desktop market share with > > everyone else dividing up the remainder. If you are on a Microsoft > > platform you use their products. The same applies to other platforms > > and their utilities. > > Microsoft may once have had 90% of the desktop market -- but is that > still true? Macs seem to be everywhere nowadays. > > Also, how important is 'desktop' nowadays, compared to mobile browsers > and the like? If the iPhone doesn't support Flash, then anyone with > any sense is going to provide an HTML5 alternative. There are numerous sites with purport to state the latest statistics on OS usage, etc. This is just one that I have used before. I obviously cannot verify its accuracy. As far as I can tell, it is an impartial assessment. http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=8 In an interesting side note, another article that I read recently and am trying to locate at this moment states that 50% of users who switched to MAC from Windows in the last 5 years are now seriously considering dumping it and moving to a Windows 7 machine. Their biggest complain was with the added complexity of doing routine tasks. A lack of job specific software was also mentioned. Exactly what that entails I have no idea. Apparently, keyboard users found Windows easier to use and maneuver. I am a mouse person myself so I would not be able to comment on that even if I used a MAC. In any case, the subject declaring "HAL must die" if no longer relevant. It is all ready dead, except on FreeBSD. Even its author has declared it so. The real question is how long are the developers of the fragmented open-source community going to continue to display testosterone poisoning by refusing to come together and develop one common interface/API or whatever they want to declare it to be that works on all the competing distros and thereby helps to unite the open-source community? The sad part is even if that did happen, each distro would then refuse to use it because it was not licensed according to their own specifications. Yes indeed, you have to love standards, there are so many of them. -- Jerry ✌ FreeBSD.user@seibercom.net Disclaimer: off-list followups get on-list replies or get ignored. Please do not ignore the Reply-To header. __________________________________________________________________