Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2001 06:01:47 +0100 From: Brad Knowles <brad.knowles@skynet.be> To: "Anthony Atkielski" <anthony@freebie.atkielski.com>, "Konstantinos Konstantinidis" <kkonstan@duth.gr>, <chat@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: A breath of fresh air.. Message-ID: <a05101007b837448d6ad8@[10.0.1.16]> In-Reply-To: <009401c17f9c$5bad3bf0$0a00000a@atkielski.com> References: <0112071641320B.01380@stinky.akitanet.co.uk><000b01c17f42$c23ab140$0a0 0000a@atkielski.com><3C110351.4748B559@duth.gr><005001c17f6c$e60c0ef0$ 0a00000a@atkielski.com> <15377.17350.796336.801464@guru.mired.org> <006901c17f70$19a2f820$0a00000a@atkielski.com> <3C11560B.A035DEF3@duth.gr> <009401c17f9c$5bad3bf0$0a00000a@atkielski.com>
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At 4:56 AM +0100 on 2001/12/08, Anthony Atkielski wrote: > Yes. But since most customers are best served by Windows, it doesn't make > sense to make a general recommendation of anything other than Windows, no > matter how much other solutions might suit a minority. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Have you ever heard of this thing called "Requirements Determination"? Whenever people ask me what kind of computer they should buy, we go through a long process. It goes something like this: Them: What kind of computer should I buy? Me: It depends. Is there anyone in particular that you need to be compatible with? Is there any particular program or type of program you need to run? Why are you buying a computer and what do you want to do with it? Once I get the answers to those questions, my next response is usually "Then buy the computer that best serves that function." If they have a friend who uses Amiga computers and they want to share software with them, then obviously an Amiga is the best choice for them. If they want to run a particular program which is only available on one platform, then their choice is made. Only if they want to run a program (or a set of programs) that are available on more than one platform do you then get into a situation where you have to look at the issue more deeply. For example, if most of their friends are using one particular platform, and some of their friends are using a different platform, then they need to decide which group of friends they want to be most compatible with. If they want to be compatible with both, they need to decide at what level they need that compatibility -- do they have to run all the exact same binaries, or can they just share data? If they need to run all the exact same binaries, that may well force their decision to go with a particular system that has not only native support for one group of friends, but can run good quality emulation software so as to be compatible with the other group. What completely escapes me is why you find it so extremely important to try to force-fit everyone into precisely the same mold? The majority of holes out there may well be round, but there are some of us that are square pegs, or triangular or even odder shaped, and yet you are still here preaching your gospel that you must force us all into the same round holes. What is is about you that makes you completely blind to the reality of this world where everything is not solid black, but where we also have the occasional white or even grey -- not to mention all the reds, blues, greens, yellows, oranges, pinks, purples, and various other colors of the rainbow? > Because the geeks on mailing lists like this are often asked for advice > about what computer system to buy, and people who are uninformed in IT may > not recognize the extent to which the recommendations they receive are a > consequence of the emotional investments that some geeks have in their > chosen belief systems. I submit that the majority of geeks on this mailing list will probably use a fairly similar system for helping people to find the right answer to their questions, as I have detailed above. Moreover, even if they are all FreeBSD zealots and push their views with frothy vigour, it is not your responsibility to save the world from them. It is most certainly not your responsibility to save everyone else on the mailing list from them -- especially since the likelihood is that most of the other people on the mailing list might be inclined to agree with them regarding the general suitability for FreeBSD in most roles that you seem to find so violently abhorrent. > I can predict what type of system a geek will recommend much more accurately > by knowing his religious preference than by looking at the requirements of > the application. Which is precisely what you're doing -- Windows Uber Alles. [0] > Unfortunately, geeks like that influence a lot of non-geeks in buying > decisions, and I've seen the very unhappy results of such influence time and > again. Repairing the damage done by these fanatics is extremely > time-consuming and difficult. It seems to me that most everyone on this mailing list is trying to do precisely the same thing to you, with regards to your fanatical pursuit of declaring Windows to be the One True Operating System, and your unending attempts to force this view on everyone else. It has been my experience that it is only the true baseless ignorant fanatic that pursues their view on a particular religious topic to the exclusion of all others, and is unwilling or even unable to listen to any possible alternative views. Contrariwise, I have found that it has been the more knowledgeable and experienced individuals who are willing to say "This works for me, but it may not be for everyone". >> Does that mean that *I* should immediately cease >> to use FreeBSD and buy Windows XP? > > No, but it strongly implies that you should acknowledge the suitability of > Windows to the desktop for the average user--however heretical this may > seem--and keep that fact in mind when you are asked to recommend a system > for the desktop of an average user. Why? Just exactly who is the "average user", and how much do they really know about their true needs and what will serve them best? Do we just roll a die and pick someone? What if they happen to be a MacFanatic, a Linux Zealot, or a FreeBSD Adherent? Just exactly who is the "average user"? You know, when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Your hammer is Windows (and everything else Microsoft). Unfortunately, your nails are all the rest of the people on this mailing list that are willing to say that FreeBSD works best for them but it may not do so for everyone else. Are you really the only person in the Universe who can't see what's wrong with this picture? I strongly suggest that you take some courses in logic before you continue posting on this mailing list. I also suggest that you have some psyochological therapy before you again assail the FreeBSD Faithful with your rendition of "Microsoft is Merciful" and "Allah Wishes He Could Be Gates". [0] My apologies to the German-speaking people on this mailing list for not using proper accent marks, but I wanted to make sure that this message didn't get rejected by the mailing list management software for binary content, and I felt that most people would understand the statement even though the accent marks were lacking. -- Brad Knowles, <brad.knowles@skynet.be> H4sICIFgXzsCA2RtYS1zaWcAPVHLbsMwDDvXX0H0kkvbfxiwVw8FCmzAzqqj1F4dy7CdBfn7 Kc6wmyGRFEnvvxiWQoCvqI7RSWTcfGXQNqCUAnfIU+AT8OZ/GCNjRVlH0bKpguJkxiITZqes MxwpSucyDJzXxQEUe/ihgXqJXUXwD9ajB6NHonLmNrUSK9nacHQnH097szO74xFXqtlbT3il wMsBz5cnfCR5cEmci0Rj9u/jqBbPeES1I4PeFBXPUIT1XDSOuutFXylzrQvGyboWstCoQZyP dxX4dLx0eauFe1x9puhoi0Ao1omEJo+BZ6XLVNaVpWiKekxN0VK2VMpmAy+Bk7ZV4SO+p1L/ uErNRS/qH2iFU+iNOtbcmVt9N16lfF7tLv9FXNj8AiyNcOi1AQAA To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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