My impression is that the lines between operating systems
will become blurred. VMWare (www.vmware.com) allows linux
and winNT to run simultaneously on one computer. Sun
has announced lxrun, which allows linux programs to run on
Sun's Solaris operating system.
I think the real difference will be cultural.
For most people I know, computers are something
like eating at restaurants. You get advice from friends,
try a few experiments, learn to avoid the bad places,
and the bad food at the good places, leave a tip and go home.
For me, the computer is like my kitchen. Okay, sometimes
the food isn't so good; it's a new recipe, sorry, I should
have tried it a couple of times first. But then there
are those times when the soup and the fresh bread
taste just right, and you see your friends' eyes light
up when they try the first bite of the strawberry
cheesecake. Delicious!
There are two big projects that are competing right now
to supply some of the applications that Sandra says
unix and linux are missing at present, Gnome and KDE.
The computer programs the two groups have produced
are similar, but if you listen to the people involved,
a different story emerges. The key Gnome programmers
work together for a company in North Carolina. They
tend to keep their ideas quiet, and they use public
relations gimmicks like announcing the product before
it's ready and slandering their competitors during
interviews. The key KDE programmers are volunteers,
mostly university students in Europe. They talk
about their ideas very openly and with a good measure
of zest and humour.
I think this runs to the heart of my ecopath sentiments.
If you're really engaged in living, these hidden
flavors emerge, and your choices become clear.
And if not, well, it's just product, don't worry about
it, you'll never know the difference anyway.
Michael
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
:}
:}> Standard methods which can be taught once. Linux would need
:}> some improvements to make it friendlier for new users... a
:}> possibility.
:}
:}Not really. If computers would come with Linux installed rather than
:}windows, most people would find it as easy, or difficult to use depending
:}on whether one finds computers easy or difficult to begin with. There is a
:}lot to be done in terms of applications though.
:}
