At 01:05 PM 10/27/99 -0700, you wrote:
>
> Howdy Russ:
>
>> You (and Bo) seem to totally miss the point. I'm not
>> talking about personal comptuer uses, but embedded systems.
>> Designing, implementing, manufacturing them as
>> products... not something for my own personal use.
>
> I'm not sure that DOS is commonly used in embedded systems.
> I know that OSes such as lynx and epoch are.. I'll have to
> plead general ignorance on this one. That's something for
> the execs to figure out I suppose..
>
Thanks Jeff... no, DOS is not one of the more popular current embedded
platforms, but much of that is because tool/language developers keep turning
away from it as "not popular, not current, ancient, wrong flavor, etc."
That's human nature, I suppose... out with the old, in with the new. And if
the new truly offers better solutions, so be it. Thing is, many of the
newer solutions come with fantastic overhead (and price!) that just is not
required in many applications. It just seemed to me, that IF it were in
your plans to support PC/DOS, it would be an interesting possibility. If
it's not, so be it... you can only support so many platforms, and it's
understandable that you must pick and chose the where to invest your efforts.
I do think that expressing corporate direction is important though. In a
conversation I had with more than one other REBOL users (off this list), I
raised the same question. Their reply was, "OH SURE! It seems clear they
will get to doing that. It makes so much sense and is compatible with their
intention to reach the set-top box market, etc etc." Sure, simply
speculation amonsgt your users... based on ZERO fact... much wishful
thinking. But that's precisely why I asked the question :)
>> I'm quite serious about the Rebol on DOS question, but from
>> Bo's sarcastic remark (if that's indicative of company
>> policy) I can see it's fallen on deaf ears.
>>
>> R.
>
> Actually, sarcasm IS REBOL's company policy (I'm being
> sarcastic (-: big grin). We're REBOLs afterall!
>
> But in all seriousness: this discussion of DOS has come up
> before and we unfortunately have to concede that DOS is not
> one of our targets because we don't think it's worth it.
> Maybe when we're as big as Microsoft then we can assign a
> team to making something like that work, but we're a wee
> little group building this thing right now! :-)
>
Thanks again for the forthright answer. I'm sorry i'm rather new to the
list and missed the earlier discussions. I'd be happy and go back to check
earlier messages if someone would point me to the appropriate ones. But at
least now I know the answer.. and can plan my work and tell others to forget
REBOL for such applications. Alas, too bad... so I guess Microsoft wins
again, having convinced people they need Windows CE and and such for
embedded applications, because they have no financial gain in anything that
supports PC/DOS, now that it's been cloned and is free. The power of marketing!
> Also in all seriousness: We love our users and we mean no
> offense by our occasional glibness! Feel free to flame us to
> perdition if it seems otherwise! (-: smiles all around...
>
>
> -jeff
I would like to commend you, Bo, and many of the list members for the
friendly and helpful support you've shown me since I arrived on the rebol
scene just a month ago (or so). I've tried to pass on that help in the same
spirit I received it. I really didn't feel offended by the glibness.. and
actually did! laugh at the comment about porting to C64 and Apple ][ ... but
it did not address what I asked... and nothing more seemed forthcoming
except comments that made it seem as though my entire suggestion was
ludicrous. It's kinda hard to laugh while attempting to explain to others
that you were, in fact, completely serious! Not about running _PC's_ under
PC/MS/DR/FREE/DOS (I never suggested that), but devices which could be
nicely programmed in REBOL, such as routers, network monitors, LAN test
equipment, Internet Phones, MP3 devices, set-top boxes, and a host of "yet
to be seen" Internet Appliances that are under development and/or coming
down the pike.
Russ
