Re: Microsoft's OS competitors

Terry Carroll <carroll[_at_]tjc.com> wrote:
>
> On Mon, 28 Apr 1997, Phil Stripling <philip[_at_]crl.com> wrote:
> >
> > Terry Carroll <carroll[_at_]tjc.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > On Thu, 24 Apr 1997, E. L. Oliver <oliver[_at_]dolphin.upenn.edu> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Already anecdotaly, Linux use is running very high among the
> > > > computer science/hacker culture and MkLinux is available for
> > > > Macintosh and other ports of Linux are in the work to make it a
> > > > ubiquitous Unix platform.
> > >
> > > Not just "in the works": I'm running Linux on a DEC Alpha box.

         OSF Linux. Excellent. 600 Mhz of raw horse power...

(I have some friends who did the cache design of the Alpha chip, very slick chip)

> > Unfortunately, the issue of Oses isn't the OS itself, it's the
> > applications. I've looked at Linux as a substitute for MS Windows, but
> > I think I'm trapped -- There are few applications available for Linux;
> > I can get a word processor, spreadsheet, drawing program, and so on,
> > but the bulk of the applications available for lawyers runs on Windows.
>
> The idea behind the Wine project that was previously discussed is to
> run those applications under Wine for Linux instead of under Windows.

Couple of things, Linux for PC comes w/ a DOS emulator in which you can run Windows 3.1.

> The likelihood of success of implementing that idea is another thing
> altogether.

I wasn't referring to the Wine project, or at least not the initial wine project which was related to sun's WABI product.

> I think E.L.'s comment was to the effect that, if Linux can become as
> ubiquitous as Windows, applications for Linux will become available (I
> think -- I don't want to put words in E.L.'s mouth^h^h^h^h^h keyboard).

Actually, I think applications for Linux are very available. There are probably more applications that can run under Linux than under Windows, and a huge number of them are completely free. Just FTP to sunsite and you will see hundreds of megabytes of free software and source code that is frequently of a significantly better than some of the commercial (adjective) that I've purchased.

Additionally, commercial type Word processors and spreadsheets are available and a number of standard UNIX binary formats are supported meaning that SCO applications can run, etc.

It is only in the niche custom markets like Law related products for example, where Linux programs are unlikely to take hold quickly. Similarly, the home user market seems inapt for UNIX variants. (Thus, my fears for Apple w/ Rhapsody...)

> I rather doubt, however, that Linux will become anywhere near as
> ubiquitous as Windows for end users.

True. Although, UNIX variants offer a level of network management and configuration, including X Terminals, that Microsoft is still trying to provide corporations. For example, at SEAS (Engineering School), about 5 large UNIX boxes support a huge network of X-terminals for most of the graduate computer science work. I can log in at any X-terminal and all of my stuff is there, and all of the applications are network administrated, etc, remotely the X-terms can be configured, and reinitialized... Printing is ubiquituous and well, it works quite amazingly, also the costs of ownership for an X-term are incredibly low.

PCs on the other hand are outrageously expensive for corporations when their true support costs are counted. A UNIX box doesn't belong on every desk, but it provides a wonderful way of supporting a lot of desktops at low cost. Also, even w/ a UNIX box on every desk, it is absolutely wonderful how the operating system can actually segregate YOUR information from the SITE information which is a concept Windows doesn't quite have and 3rd parties spend a fortune trying to help people resolve. (By this I mean site wide limitations on what users can do, and a clearly delineated inability of a user to modify the configuration of the machine or the software outside of those settings while also allowing user preferences. Thus, I can change my color scheme, but I shouldn't be able to accidently delete Word from the computer.)

Anyhow, this isn't a computer evangelism list, perhaps we should take parts of this discussion private.

-Erik

--
E. L. Oliver                    | Friends help you move.  Real friends
oliver[_at_]dolphin.upenn.edu        | help you move bodies.
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