Windows was successful not because of the desktop, but because it was based on MS-DOS, the winner of the desktop OS wars. Back when the PC first came out there where three reasons to by the IBM PC; I, B, and M. IBM validated the PC for business use. By the time Windows came out, the only competitor was Apple, and they were always priced higher.
Popular does not always mean better. Betamax was technologically better than VHS, but VHS won the marketing battle. I don't want to use an OS designed for the "average" person, who still has problems getting the VCR to stop flashing "12:00". I have no interest in marketing SMSQ/E to the outside world. I find it great for my own purposes and I leave it at that. If I had my own company, I would probably use 100% Linux. I prefer SMSQ/E for my personal computer and personal programming. It is my opinion that future of the QL should be aimed squarely at the present users will very little consideration to expending to new users. Yes, I would like to get some old QL users back into the fold, but I don't think we'll be able to convert Win2K or Linux users. Point-and-click is OK for some things, but I find I can get files copied faster with a shell than by using two GUI file browsers and dragging and dropping between them, esp. for mass copying. Luckily I learned touch typing years back in High School and I use it every day. The only problem I have is typing "copy file_txt" instead of "cp file_txt" when I'm at work. I also find moving my right hand from the keyboard to the mouse, and back again, can slow things down. I've seen a real good Win2K person doing everything to administer a server without touching the mouse. Remember, this is only my personal opinion. I feel that it is SMSQ/E that I have the most to help control the future of and so I want to get as much input as I can. There is no way I can influence the direction of Linux or Unix in general. Tim Swenson
