Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 14:11:11 -0600 From: Sean Kelly <kelly@plutotech.com> To: Atipa <freebsd@atipa.com> Cc: freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Why we should support Microsoft... Message-ID: <356095DF.67393AEF@plutotech.com> References: <Pine.BSF.3.96.980518105723.3796A-100000@altrox.atipa.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
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. > 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. > [ 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. I have a feeling the so-called ``_WE_'' will get hosed one way or another. > * MS must modify their "Window Manager" so that OEMs and > competitors can customize their visual. Oh! Oh! Micro$oft should provide only mechanism, not policy! I'll start porting the Athena Widgets! :-) Seriously, this is one area that has hobbled the X desktop for years while the Mac and Windows user interfaces flourished. Despite all the arguments against UI consistency, a common set of widgets and expected behavior is really a Good Thing (tm). More's the pity, both Micro$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'? :-) 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 --Sean To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?356095DF.67393AEF>