Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 08:25:22 -0700 (PDT) From: Tim Gerchmez <fewtch@serv.net> To: Marcel Mason <marcel@nunanet.com> Cc: freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG, arthur <arthur@col.auracom.com> Subject: Re: How important is "the OS?" Message-ID: <XFMail.980626082522.fewtch@serv.net> In-Reply-To: <000c01bda0af$ece39260$c72ff7c7@morrigan>
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On 26-Jun-98 Marcel Mason wrote:
> Yes... there is that (the cheap hardware), now if so much of it wasn't
> plug-n-pray I be a lot happier <grin>. Your also dead on the money
> re: what people use their machines for but there may be a reason for
> why they are choosing the O/S's that they do. Unfortunately, at this
> time, there is not a lot available for *nix that your "average" user
> wants/needs/desires/etc..... I did a lot of searching around for both
> the O/S *and* the applications I could run on what ever O/S I
> decided on. Godd 'ole MS would have been a real easy choice
> based on *only* the applications side of it.
>
> I can get office suites, graphics programs, HTML editors, Internet
> suites, games galore, and more shareware/freeware than you can shake
> a stick at. Unfortunately the same is not true for FreeBSD. As such,
> unless someone can point me in the direction of a decent HTML
> editor for *nix, I still need Win9x (horrors, I supose I could create &
> edit web pages in pico or vi }}}}}} shudder {{{{{ but I'd rather have
> a *nix version of Arachnophilia or Galts WebMaster Pro).
Actually, there is no problem on the software side as far as Unix goes - in
fact, most of what costs in Windows you get free in Unix, and usually with
equal the features and triple the configurability. Honestly, how hard have you
looked for an HTML editor for Unix? Have you searched the Net thoroughly?
BTW, HTML is so easy to program, why not learn to do it by hand. You say you
like control over configurability, well, writing HTML by hand is a breeze and
gives you complete control over the layout and display of the pages. To me,
it's the only way to fly.
Back to the topic of Unix/BSD... hardware drivers are
still a problem, and will remain a problem, unfortunately. Since there's
little money in it for the people who make the hardware, there's no incentive
for them to write drivers (especially for things like sound cards). Also, MS
has most of them in their back pocket, and it's tough to get enough information
out of many of them to write drivers for the various *nix's (which is sad,
since it's their loss... the Unix people will only buy different hardware that
*IS* supported).
> I've got to say that I agree with the first part, people are getting
> frustrated with MS (I believe)
Many have been frustrated with MS for a long time already, but lately it has
been getting worse. Now state and local governments all over the world are
frustrated with them too (grin)...
> Got tired of MS coming tumbling down around my ears and having
> to constantly upgrade the hardware to keep up with the software
> demands.
That is a huge pain in the tail, agreed. But I have to say that it's most true
in the area of gaming. RAM requirements are going up maybe, but MS Office 97
doesn't really require much more processor power than it did in 1994 - and RAM
is cheap as dirt right now.
> FreeBSD will run on a 486 @ 33 with 8 Meg of RAM *way
> better* than the same machine could run Win9x.
That is a definite. X-Windows under FreeBSD is about as "lightweight" as
Windows 3.1 was under DOS, in my experience. Runs fine in 8 megs, Win95
definitely runs like a dog in 8 megs (requires 16 for minimal usability, 32+
for any real work).
> Rising software
> pricing was also a factor, why would anyone in their right mind
> want to pay $500+ for an office suite when one ships for almost
> nada on the FreeBSD CD-ROM?
Well, I hate to mention it, but there's a thriving software piracy on the
Internet regarding MS-related products, so if your conscience doesn't bother
you in that area (some feel all software should be free, or at least free to
try out for awhile before buying), you can get a program or crack for just about
anything you want. Unix, none whatsoever, because it's entirely unnecessary,
most of the software is already free :-)
> Also got *REAL* tired of having little or no control over what system
> resources were being used for what and when. I had that
> control back in the days of DOS ... I wanted it back again.
Actually, you can have that control with Win95 and NT, but it's buried in the
system registry and often very difficult to find the information. It's
possible to have almost as much control as in the old days, but it takes more
work now, since MS is trying to make it so simple for newbies and so difficult
to get to the REAL configuration options, other than on the surface.
> It would be nice, but it's not a real problem if a major upswing does
> not happen. The FreeBSD, Linux, and other free projects will (I hope)
> continue in the manner they do now.
I think (hope) they will, except that MS domination concerns me somewhat. They
are so arrogant though, and their own arrogance may bring them down (in fact,
it appears that it already may have begun to bring them down).
----------------------------------
E-Mail: Tim Gerchmez <fewtch@serv.net>
Date: 26-Jun-98
Time: 08:09:36
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