On Sun, Feb 17, 2002 at 11:51:23PM -0600, Dan Minette wrote: > Plus, Linux is a pain to use because upgrades to the computer can > cause complicated software to stop working.
You obviously haven't tried Debian. You type "apt-get dist-upgrade", go have a drink, come back, and everything works. Also, the exact same ting can be said for Windows. At least with Linux, I can fix the problems, because everything is documented, and if worst comes to worst, I can look at the source. With Windows, trying to find details about drivers, DLLs, and registry information is very, very difficult to impossible. > I don't have to deal with that directly, but I've seen it. I write > software that is incorporated into a field logging system. Certain > features come and go as both the software and hardware are upgraded. > Features that become essential parts of software go away when a faster > box is bought. A small software group has to spend its top talent to > rewrite their software around the changes. The manager/guru of the > group has nothing but dirty words for Linux. This is quite vague. Again, the same thing can be said for almost any operating system. But if you have the source, you have a fighting chance at fixing it. > Microsoft has many features that I don't like. But, it is easier to > work with than any version of Unix I've worked with. As long as Microsoft works, it is easier to work with. When it stops working, there is a limit to how deep you can go to find out what is wrong. There is a ceiling that you bump your head against, then you just have try the 3 R's (reboot, reinstall, reformat) > Thinking about it, I think I know why. Its less magical. One can not > only find manuals, one can putz around and get the right solution. > With Unix, its a matter of knowing the magic words. I've bought books > on Unix, and they do not have all the magic words. I really don't > want to spend thousands on a library. This is incredible to me. I have the exact opposite experience. Huge amounts of Unix documentation are available online, man is your friend (no expensive library necessary). And in a pinch, the source is the ultimate documentation. With windows, when the registry gets munged like Ronn's, what do you do? Even magic words can't help you. -- "Erik Reuter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.erikreuter.com/
