7 Dec
2008
7 Dec
'08
12:14 p.m.
The p[roblem is that (a) I can't afford it,
(b) I can't afford to
maintain it, and (c) if/when it stops working, I haven't a clue how to
fix it.
You can have a windows PC with windows for free, just look around :) And
I'm not talking about pirated software :)
Why you would need that with windows? Everything I use just works, why
would that stop work?
I haev yet to find any electrical or mechanical device which doesn't fail
sometime. And when it does, I need to repair it.
OK, asusming thr hardware doesn't fail, the software should carry on
behaving the same way. I say 'should' because my experience of Windows is
that it is not predicaable. It does not do the same thing for the same
inputs every time. But if I get a result other than the one I am
expecting, how do I track down what the problem really is? Given
schemaitcs and OS source it's at least possible (I have used both to
track down problems in computers in the past). Without them it would seem
to e alomsot inpossible,
For me a tool has to work, and it has to be
pleasant to use. If it isn't,
I use something else. And the few times I've used Windows, I've found it
to be extremely unreliable.
That is something I find to be VERY funny.
I think I'm one of the only people in universe that has a stable
windows. My windows installation NEVER breaks. I have no trouble with that.
Period. But: - I don't instal dubious programs (e.g.: I
know what I'm running)
How d you know if a program is 'dubious'?
Tony, trust me. I have a WORKABLE and PLEASURE TO
USE copy of windows
I as much as any GUI can be a 'pleasure to use' :-)
XP. Of course I have now a sizeable machine (Core 2
quad, 4GB RAM, Geforce
8600, 22" LCD) but it worked just as well with my old athlon 1800/512 ram.
It is a matter of KNOWING what you do with your windows.
And this is the sort of machine I am going to get for free?
I also have an aversion to using things I
can't fix when they go wrong.
Becuase they tend to go wrong at the most inconenient moment.
Make it work well and it will never go wrong. Trust me. Well, at one time manufactuers of programmable
chips were very bad about
providing full documentation on how to program them. I have yet to find a
completely 'open' FPGA or CPLD -- meaning a device where I can get,
without signing an NDA or similar, full specification on how to send bits
to the device (what pins to wiggle and how, what are the critical
timings, what voltages to apply, etc) and also how to turn my design into
those bits. Microcontrollers do tend to be more open (the PICs that I've
used were fully documented), but I am not sure if this ICD system is.
And it is still this way. No FPGA or CPLD open docs. But take a look at www.atmel.com and see for yourself how it works.
I will do...
-tony