life after Windows....

William Black writes:

Sorry, XP.

Who cares, it's all crap.

That's true for Windows 9x, but not for versions of Windows descended from
Windows NT, which, as I've said, is a totally different operating system.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
aracari writes:

But things get better all the time. I know a lot of people using
one of the distribs quite happily. Mind you, they rarely tell you
what they do with it!

Because most Linux users do almost nothing with their computers.

Almost all users do almost nothing with their computers.

The average home computer is used for net surfing, email and letter writing
and perhaps Skype, if they're ambitious.

If they've got kids they may play some games, most of which make a mess of
Windows, but for the vast majority of people a web surfing tool and an
office setup is all they either want or need, and what's more they'll all
tell you that if you ask them.

The major problems only turn up when people write their web pages in such a
way as to only work on Microsoft products, as is currently the case with
the British government's 'Government Gateway' system.

As for the musician who couldn't get software, very few professionals in
the music business use Windows products. They're almost all using Apple
products, including software. Indeed, when Apple bought 'Logic' and
insisted on stopping manufacturing the PC version it caused something of a
stir in the industry.
..
Now, this being the case, there's little reason why people shouldn't use,
for example, Ubuntu on their computers.

It's free, reasonably easy to install, something which most Windows users
find hard work anyway, runs a friendly GUI and finds just about everyone's
hardware with remarkably few problems.

It also finds things like other Windows computers, workgroups, domains,
servers and other stuff that people have at home if they're beyond the
'single machine in the home' stage remarkably easily and connects to them
with few problems.

What's stopping people is that the shops don't sell computers with the stuff
installed, but if Microsoft ever introduce the restrictive annual licensing
systems they were talking about four or five years ago people will.

People already resent paying what is becoming known as 'Windows Tax'.

Already there are larger numbers on Linux computers about than ever before.
The Asus 'eeepc' type devices the shops are currently full of almost all run
Linux in some form or other, with a software fit that is remarkably like
the one I mentioned above for the home user.

As the public become educated (an inevitable result of computer education in
schools), and as government departments in Europe abandon Windows for legal
reason, the user base will expand.

At some point in the reasonably near future I fully expect Unix and its
variants will become dominant.


--
William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

"Lou Ravi" wrote in message
...
William Black wrote:

So.

What do you run on your server?

I don't have a server nor do the vast majority of computer users.

So what do you back up to?

--
William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
William Black writes:

The British government web site doesn't like Windows products for
protecting
secrets when connected to the net, it does like Linux and Unix.

I know more about security than they do.

That's why you're living in a Paris garret working as a tour guide and not
having enough fuel to heat your hovel in the winter...

You forget Mixi, we know all about you...

--
William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
William Black writes:

Well...

Yes it is...

Nobody runs servers on Micro$oft software.

Well, nobody sane...

A great many servers run under Windows. It's not ideal, but it's easy to
configure and operate for inexperienced administrators. For experienced
administrators, it tends to be the other way around.

Windows is also useful as a server in a Windows-only network, and some
server
applications, such as Microsoft Exchange Server, require Windows as the
server.

Which shows you don't understand how a modern server farm is set up.

It is very unlikely that anyone would use an Exchange Server for anything
else.

--
William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

William Black wrote:

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
aracari writes:

But things get better all the time. I know a lot of people using
one of the distribs quite happily. Mind you, they rarely tell you
what they do with it!

Because most Linux users do almost nothing with their computers.

Almost all users do almost nothing with their computers.

Rubbish. Try switching it on the next time.

--
(*) of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
www.davidhorne.net (email address on website)
"The fact is that when I compose I never think of and never
have thought of meeting the listener." -George Perle (RIP 2009)

On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:41:31 +0100, Mxsmanic wrote:
William Black writes:

Sorry, XP.

Who cares, it's all crap.

That's true for Windows 9x, but not for versions of Windows descended from
Windows NT, which, as I've said, is a totally different operating system.

That explains how all the worms and viruses running around in the wild
are for unix. Not.

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:06:02 -0000, "William Black"
wrote:



The British government web site doesn't like Windows products for
protecting
secrets when connected to the net, it does like Linux and Unix.

The British Government constantly loses and leaks secrets.

No it doesn't.

It leaks political information embarrassing to the government but remarkably
few real secrets get out.

--
William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:57:44 +0000, aracari wrote:

'Mxsmanic' wrote this:

aracari writes:

CP/M cannot be compared with Linux any more than DOS can be.

Why not?

Duh! Because neither are GUI op/systems.

ps-Are you still being sockpuppeted by Ari Silverslime?
lol.

Once you create a GUI, you essentially create a new op/sys.

The GUI for Windows NT was originally a replaceable subsystem. X Windows
systems on UNIX-like operating systems are also slightly in this category.

The GUI is grafted on after development. That is one reason why
many functions exist in the op/sys which are not supported by the
GUI.

Unfortunately, there is a tendency to integrate the GUI further and further
into the OS to improve performance and add features, and eventually they
become one and the same. At the same time, stability and security usually
suffer, as do server applications (GUIs consume enormous amounts of
resources).

See above. You don't quite understand how op/sys are developed
...although I agree that GUIs take a lot of system resources.


--
web site at http://www.bbc.co.uk/ - news comment service, logic,
economics, energy, education, politics, etc .... no tits
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
the working class [] don't feed the squirrels
can kiss my arse [] I mean the tories
i've got the foreman's job at last [] never trust a man with a wig
only when it's money -- i chav made good
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:32:28 -0000, "William Black"
wrote:


"Martin" wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:06:02 -0000, "William Black"
wrote:



The British government web site doesn't like Windows products for
protecting
secrets when connected to the net, it does like Linux and Unix.

The British Government constantly loses and leaks secrets.

No it doesn't.

It leaks political information embarrassing to the government but
remarkably
few real secrets get out.

How many government database disks USB sticks and laptops, files of top
secret
info are lost a year? How many were ever encrypted?

TOP SECRET stuff, none.

--
William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.