Re: [SLE] Why I still use Win98
"Steven T. Hatton" wrote:
"Paul W. Abrahams" wrote:
Third, there are some programs and other facilities that just have no equivalent in Linux and probably never will. My best examples are TurboTax and AOL, but there are others.
Well, if I'm not mistaken, AOL owns about a 10% share of Red Hat, and through their Netscape subsidiary AOL produces some high-end server products which run on Linux. It is very likely that AOL will port to Linux. It wasn't that long ago the CEO of Intuit was complaining about MS business practices. Currently Corel is rolling out WPO2K, which is a Win32 product which runs on Linux using wine. It has it's problems, but I expect it to improve. If Corel can pull this off, I expect a lot of vendors to start writing to wine rather than to Windows. This is the type of major implementation wine has been needing for a long time. Hopefully this will draw more attention and resources to wine. If wine becomes capable of supporting a sufficiently large number of Win32 applications perhaps people will be more inclined to reject MS changes to an industry standard Win32 than they are to reject third party software which is undermined by changes in MS's OS.
'Tis devoutly to be wished. But I'm afraid that as soon as Wine becomes a threat to MS hegemony, MS will tweak the OS and start producing new products that require the tweak. Hardly a new procedure for them. I still remember the saying from several years back, ``Windows ain't done 'til Lotus won't run''.
Fourth, I often need to interchange documents with people who are running the latest version of Word. Yes, I know about Star Office and use it, but it hasn't (and probably can't) keep up with the Microsoft updates. People will use what they will use, and I don't think I'd get very far in convincing them to eschew Word.
At the risk of biting the hand that feeds me, I wish to voice a disagreement with the way the US Government has handled this question of proprietary document formats. I am required by law (at least that is what I've been told) to deliver my documentation in MS Word format. This forces me to use MS products to create any work related documentation.
I emphatically insist that this has been a major waste of government resources due to the miserable way MS Word handles outlining. Most of what I write is procedures documentation. This requires extensive use of outlining. I have spent far more time trying to get Word to do this correctly than I have actually writing procedures.
Thanks for pointing that out, Steve. There's the world we live in and the world as we wish it were. When people I work with from other organizations use Word documents as the basis of our collaboration, they don't want to hear a diatribe from me about why they should be using something else instead. (Personally I prefer to produce documents in TeX and write them in Emacs.) And Word's outlining features are one of its most coercive aspects.
I believe the government should specify a reasonably flexible and powerful electronic document standard that all software vendors must adhere to in order to provide word processing software to the Government. This standard document format should be configurable as the default 'save' format of the Word Processor software. The Government is a huge purchaser of IT hardware and software. If the Government insists on open standards for day-to-day usage it will influence the industry toward support of these standards. Of course the Government can screw up a good idea. Just look at POSIX. Then again look at TCP/IP!
As for me, I do everything in my power to promote the use of open standards in the systems I develop for the Government.
A force for truth, justice, and all good things! <loud applause>>
I don't understand what you mean about just turning on the system, waiting a few minutes and having at it. If you mean one must log in, then I must admit I don't see the issue the same way. I use NT which requires a log in. I like that feature at work, and also here at home. My landloard/housemate uses my systems, and he scares the F*** out of me! He started telling me about problems he was having downloading and installing some software for looking at dirty movies.
Some people need login and some don't.
If you don't like the requirement for a login, it is possible to eliminate at least the password. Take a look at the PAM documentation: file:/usr/doc/packages/pam/ps/
I've often thought of producing a Linux interface that would provide automatic, no-hands, invisible login. Optional, of course. The system (under the covers) would have just two users: default and root. I strongly believe in the separation for reasons that have nothing to do with security: a separate root account helps avoid dire consequences from slips of the finger (chess players have a name for that which I can't remember). It's like the safety lock on the chainsaw.
As regards the "quality of graphics" I am again unsure what you mean. I admit Netscape 4.72 is rather crash happy. Other than that, I don't have the least problem with graphics on Linux.
Just an example (and I think this is an X widget problem): look at the checkboxes under X versus Windows. Under X they're small and shaded; sometimes it's hard to see if they're checked or unchecked. Under Windows they're large and marked with a very visible X. Paul Abrahams -- To unsubscribe send e-mail to suse-linux-e-unsubscribe@suse.com For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@suse.com Also check the FAQ at http://www.suse.com/Support/Doku/FAQ/
Just like they tweak smb ect.. and try to polute java and twist any thing to there own advazntage. Same ol same ol Will realy get interesting if M$ actualy gets split. Will get more interesting if Mexico , China and Korea realy do pull off there Open Source Linux on there educational sysytems. Korea and China real have the technical how to to actualy do that. Now that would realy put M$ in a bind and realy weaken there international market. You think We got it bad here , look oversease M$ windows in some markets goe for several hundred just for the local version ie Aribac Windows , and they are usualy under the beck and call of the local licenced distributer on whome every one must buy throgh. In Egypt conterfiting has gotten so bad that there are peaple who make raids on local buissiness and force them to produce a local valid licence for each application on every computer they have. Then they are fined for each illegal conterfitted copy. I would realy like to see the look on there face when faced with a liniux based machine with strictly open source software on the GNU licence printed out on you inkjet printer. No halo , no special markings on the licence.
'Tis devoutly to be wished. But I'm afraid that as soon as Wine becomes a threat to MS hegemony, MS will tweak the OS and start producing new products that require the tweak. Hardly a new procedure for them. I still remember the saying from several years back, ``Windows ain't done 'til Lotus won't run''.
Fourth, I often need to interchange documents with people who are running the latest version of Word. Yes, I know about Star Office and use it, but it hasn't (and probably can't) keep up with the Microsoft updates. People will use what they will use, and I don't think I'd get very far in convincing them to eschew Word.
A
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participants (2)
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abrahams@valinet.com
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samelash@ix.netcom.com