--- Dave Sherman [[EMAIL PROTECTED]] ---
Actually, the Windows versions from 1.0 thru 3.11 were written in a
combination of C and C++. Win95 and later are pretty much all C++, except
some older libraries that are still around. Even Microsoft isn't foolish
enough to write their OS in VB -- that product is marketed (in a sort of
unspoken rule) for non-programmers and non-professionals. Visual C++ is
MS's "enterprise strength" development tool.
------
Thanks you Dave!
Finally! The first sane thing said on the thread on "Windows Written in VB"
which somehow managed to get under this Subject line. It's been fun
watching this "thread" meander and the *completely* off-base remarks made
from some people.
I try to be OS agnostic - after all it's not a religion, nor should it be.
So I try to judge the merits of any OS on how it "treats" me and what I can
get done with it.
At work I use Win2K. Here at home I use Win2K, Win98 (soon to go away) and
Linux. My Linux experience began when I tried REDHAT a couple of years ago.
I got it running and used it for a few weeks but eventually dropped it.
Recently I tried Mandrake, mostly on a whim since I saw a 7.1 box in Costco
for $25. I really liked what I saw!! My Linux system (HP Pavilion 3265)
has given me some problems with freezes. Since I was (am) a newbie I didn't
know how to restart the X server with ctrl-alt-bs. Therefore I probably
rebooted the system when I didn't really have to. I'd like to eventually
get the sound going on it, but it may use a non-supported, on-board sound
chip. I will keep Linux around from now on. For the record, I have had
exactly one BSOD on my home system (CPQ AP200) running Win2K. More than that
with my Win98 system, but not terribly more - but once it was just sitting
there doing nothing when it BSOD'ed!! As for resource usage, yes, raw Linux
(no windowing system) can get by pretty cheaply. Add X, KDE and the
windowing apps and I've found that I would want a machine that is just as
"big" as my typical Windows machine.
Let's digress for a moment. I sift through 100/200 or message each day on
[newbie] and [expert] and actually read a lot of them. I am always bemused
by the fact that there is *such* dichotomy within the Linux ranks. On the
one-hand various writers rave about how they want Linux to beat the bad,
ugly giant from Redmond. Then out of the other side of their collective
mouths they say (when the going gets tough) hey, this is Linux - learn it
and how your computer works! This was especially true in the thread (could
have been in [expert] reflector) where there was a lot of Mandrake bashing
going on because Mandrake was trying to make it so *easy* to install Linux!
Now let's bring it back. Personally, I enjoy the innards of computers and
OSes, wish I know more about all of them and enjoy playing with them when I
have the time. But if Linux is to really compete with MSFT OSes on the
desktop two things need to happen (1) installation has to be an absolute
breeze and (2) there need to be easy to install apps that are in demand.
Not just or two, but the whole panoply of the Apps space. A vast, VAST
majority of people don't care what's under the hood. To misquote a comment
made to Bush (Sr.), "It's the appliance dummy!"
Painful as that is to all of us who really enjoy diving in, 95+ percent of
users will say, "I just want to use my computer, just like I want to use my
car." My 84 year old father uses Win98 on an HP machine. For the most part
it's been stable enough for him. I support him from 1800 miles away. It's
hard enough on WIn98, but I shudder to think what it would be like under
today's Linux. And most of the time I am so time-constrained that I want
any OS I touch to "just work". I get just as angry when something in Linux
doesn't work as I do when something in an MSFT OS doesn't. In both cases I
just want to use the computer - to write mail, to browse or to develop.
For the most part 7.1 has been a lot of fun to use. When I am done testing
some ham radio communications software that a friend is developing I plan to
upgrade to 7.2, or the first full update after 7.2. I am also looking
forward to trying the KDE and Gnome equivalents to Office. Tried
StarOffice, but really didn't like the way it created a sort of desktop
within a desktop - yukk!
Mandrake is doing is great and is on the right path!! Let's support them
and eventually there will be a choice for those that want it - they won't
have to become "Linux friendly users", because Linux will have matured.
So... I'll climb into my asbestos suit now - with this crowd I'm gonna need
it!
