6 Apr
2000
6 Apr
'00
1:39 p.m.
Then there is
the issue of *stability*.
I'm not sure what you mean by this. This particular system ( the one I use
for my email, etc) has been "up" without a hitch for three years without a
problem. I've never seen reason to cuss it. The key is that I don't try to
make it do stuff for which it wasn't intended.
The folks I see having problems with their MS-OS-based systems generally are
the ones that (1) hand around the "chat" rooms (where their computers get
"social diseases"), (2) try to squeeze more performance out of their
computers by violating the components' specifications, (3) try to get their
computers to do other sorts of things for which they (or their software)
weren't intended. Now, that's not to say it doesn't happen otherwise, but
from where I sit, that's what I see. Someone mind
explaining why if I install software on a Microsoft system or
make *very* minor changes I've got the reboot the @*& #$)@ thing?!?!
I've never wanted to become an expert on *NIX and its kin, but IIRC, if you
make any changes to the system you not only have to restart the system, you
have to recompile several modules, including, in some cases, the kernel. I
remember attaching a serial I/O card to a LINUX box once, wherein I had to
recompile (*GETTY) and restart several times. Adding a port to windows
normally didn't require a last time I did it. Of course, it is sometimes
necessary to restart the system if you have to add hardware, since nobody
recommends doing that without first shutting off the power. Well, the cost differential was larger than the cost of
the PC machines I
used to demonstrate what a poor choice the uVAXII was as a platform during
my last stint in the aerospace industry. THE JPL guys liked the uVAX-II so
they used it to replace the Apple-][ that was originally designed into a
military-oriented project. I wouldn't argue that the uVAX-II didn't do
better than the Apple-][, but their ESDI interface didn't outperform SCSI,
which they claimed it did, and the high-res graphics cards we were told to
use in the uVax-II cost as much as the entire uVAX-II with all the other
peripherals. A comparable card from the same vendor but designed for the
PC/AT cost only $600.
One should always buy the proper hardware for the job. If the Apple ][ was
able to do the job the MVII was overkill. However, what percentage of
MVII's are still in active use, compared to PC/AT's?
There is also the real killer, what platform is the application you need to
run available on?
Not all cases are so extreme, but it's the extremes
that tend to be
remembered. It's also no surprise that DEC seems to have gone out of their
way, during the early days of widespread internet use (1985-1988). to make
their LAN boards incompatible with anyone else's. They also tweaked their
protocols to weaken their own networking system so people wouldn't be
tempted to mix and match.
Back then as I recall just about *everyone* was incompatible! I've no
trouble making DEC LAN boards from that timeframe work with various systems
running 100Mbit, and I've got enough variaty I probably should have
problems in this area.
I guess it just says that when there's a tool that
gets the job done, it
makes sense to learn how to use it as opposed to sticking one's nose in the
air because it seems too "unsophisticated". What's more, people pay for
the
process of getting the job done. They don't want to pay for doing it the
"hard" way.
Actually despite what I've said, I like VB, and to some extent agree with
this statement. However, I don't use it, as it's only available on
unstable platforms. It's a great language for simple little specialty
apps. Last I looked it wasn't a great language for large complex apps.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
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