[gameprogrammer] Re: yawvlff(yet another windows versus linux flame fest, yawn) Re: Re: OTP: deleting porn

Hello Bob,

BP> Ok, this one bugs me. Why does it bother you to have more than one
BP> window manager? It just do not understand that?

Because when we're talking about ease-of-use, having choice of window
manager does not help, it makes things even more complicated as there
is not necessarily a standard way of doing things.

BP> Anyway, time to dial it back a little bit. This is getting to be a flame
BP> fest rather than a constructive discussion. Try to keep this topic on
BP> something that affects game programming or drop it.

I disagree about it being unproductive and it's no flame fest yet, but
this whole topic has had nothing to do with game programming.

BP> My take on the whole thing? People like what they are used to. Windows
BP> will stay popular in the US for many years. The rest of the world is
BP> another question. As the cost of computers keeps going down the price of
BP> the OS becomes a larger and larger portion of the cost. That means that
BP> by the time 50% of the people on earth can afford a computer the OS will
BP> have to drop in price to only a few dollars, or be free. Microsoft can
BP> not afford to give away its OS, so most of the world will learn Linux as
BP> their first, and only, OS.

This viewpoint doesn't take into account broadband and the fact that
it's very likely that storage, as well as your OS, will be remotely
stored. In this case, you won't own the OS but will rent it... A crazy
world, but do you really think that this is wrong?

I don't like it - it even scares me from a big brother POV - but it
looks like this is the way computing is going.

BP> The more people that use Linux, the more developers will work on the OS
BP> and the applications and it just keeps getting better. 

This is true, but you need people using Linux - creating a market -
before most developers will develop for it. The problem is that
there's already a huge market in Windows and I don't see this
disappearing anytime soon.

BP> Eventually most US corporations will be forced to switch either to be
BP> compatible with their foreign customers or their foreign divisions. They
BP> will also start to see MS as an unneeded cost. 

Perhaps, I think it more likely that broadband will play a much bigger
role in remote storage...

BP> This will all take at least 10 years to play out. But, you can see it
BP> happening right now.

Unfortunately enough you can see what I'm talking about too. Most
companies would prefer to have you lease their products than own them
for many, often legal, reasons.

BP> One thing that people forget about Linux is that it is not a product
BP> with point releases. It is a process. When you say "Linux has such and
BP> such a problem" it doesn't mean that much because it may not have the
BP> problem now and it won't have the problem next year, or maybe the year
BP> after that. Every Monday I check to see if there are enough updates to
BP> justify updating my OS. Once or twice a month I download all the patches
BP> that have been applied to all the software I use. My systems just get
BP> better every time I do that. 

This is why I personally use Gentoo, but this is true of most OS'.
Linux will have to adapt to viruses and all the other things that
people dislike about Windows as more and more people use Linux.

BP> It used to be that using Linux on a desktop was a hardship. Now that you
BP> can buy a Linux computer at Walmart or Fry's that just isn't true
BP> anymore.

I disagree about it not being a hardship, things have improved but there are 
many
things - such as installing GL drivers - which are insanely difficult
for the average joe. Luckily, the average joe normally doesn't use
Linux...

Neil



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