I have to put in my two cents worth here...
I became a "UNIX developer" in 1986 because UNIX (should it be called
Lunix?) was the open system which was going to revolutionise our world.
Every company started releasing their own version of UNIX which ultimately
caused it to be the most popular unopen system ever. Why is Linux going to
be any different, I ask you??
By 1992, while I was coughing up UNIX applications by the score and trying
to make them platform-independent (which the UNIX gurus said I should be
able to do but I still had to rewrite the code for every flavour of UNIX),
I suddenly discovered that the rest of world had been fallen in love with
this thing called Windows.
What, pretty pictures and a mousey thing??!!!! Real programmers DON'T use a
mouse, we rattle off hyroglyphical UNIX commands in our sleep. Gooey
interface - ha, a good ole text-based screen is far more practical.
Intuitive help files - what's wrong with using the "man" command? Despite my
scoffing, the rest of the world ate up Windows like it was their last meal.
Somewhere in amongst all of it, another thing called OS2 was going to take
over (is that something like CP/M?). It had a full suite of applications too
(does anyone remember what they were called?) and multitasking blah, blah,
blah.
Come on guys. It's ALL about application support and the users. Ask all the
UNIX houses if they're porting or ported to NT, of course they are. I
changed to develop in Windows because that's where the demand is. Oracle
tried to take us down another road with NetPCs, IBM with PowerPCs.
Fizzers!!!
We've travelled this road before, and the only way it would ever succeed in
knocking MS off its perch is if the big software names port their
applications to Linux. And considering most of them have just finished
porting them to Windows, it may be sometime before they're willing to do it
again. Wake up and smell the java beans, oops I mean coffee.....
Laurence Bevan
Disclaimer:
The opinions expressed are my own opinions. No gratuity was paid by MS for
this ranting, however the author will gladly accept any payment forthcoming.
I undertake to spend any such payment received on a room at the Linux
retirement house for the elderly.
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