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

At 08:20 PM 28-08-04 +0100, you wrote:
>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.

Maybe it is, but if it is, i'm not following. There is nothing - no
possible combination of things - that could make me buy into that biz model
for using a computer. The more valuable an app was offered, the less i
would be willing to commit something really valuable to ownership by
others. I hope other users are independent enough to put a kink in this
trajectory. I already won't use XP because of offensive terms in the EULA.
I doubt i'm missing much - my browser, email, WP and games all run just
fine in W98, and i /own/ the computer, and it will run without any external
resources at all. 

>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...

I can't see how anyone in his right mind who runs his own business, or who
has seriously proprietary data such as financial, medical, customer or
product data, would consider putting their data into the hands of a
supplier. Of course considering the popularity of Windoze, i just have to
hope there are enough people still in their right minds...

>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.

This is the old Ma Bell model, dug up and reanimated. Why make a phone
handset for $12 and sell it for $20, when u can rent it for $2/month for 10
years? The answer in the 1960's was, Because The Gubbermint Makes Them Do
It Our Way. Not anymore, at least not so far. We are seeing nothing less
than an attempt to hijack the information age from its users. On our side
is a tiny sliver of domestic competition, and a diverse worldwide market,
and imagination. Pray for confluence.

cheers - grant



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