>> The Apple App Store policies have changed once again ... >What's new.
Interpreted languages are now permitted. A J interpreter will not be rejected (well it may, but it has a shot now). > Are proprietary systems still indispensable? Given that on the desktop the percentage of Linux users is a rounding error, I'd have to say 'yes'. Although, Linux/Android has made inroads into the mobile space, iOS, RIM, WinMo, Symbian (all proprietary) command a significant lead. Given that there is a PocketPC (proprietary system) J port, I felt that it was reasonable to request an iOS port. I'd pay for it too. > What about moving to an open source system offering long term stability? I might buy your argument if J itself was open source. That said I've been building HPC Linux clusters for over ten years with a lot of success and long term stability. But that is not true of all my attempts to wield a Linux-based desktop or PDA (two Zauruses). Because of its lack of popularity in the consumer space I was basically on my own for figuring out a lot of problems like how do I sync with my corporate mail and contacts, why doesn't suspend work when I shut the lid, why can't I get the external VGA to work when I give a presentation, how do I share my documents in a format that customers and peers and use so that we can collaborate, etc... It was becoming a hobby and not a way to increase my productivity. And, when you spend most of your time in a virtualized environment perhaps its time to rethink what should be virtualized. Just because it is proprietary doesn't make it bad or unable to offer long term stability. I run apps that are 20 years old (DOS) on Windows just fine. As for my Linux desktops and servers I have to hope that all the apps have been recompiled/ported. Android with it's Linux-based OS does not guarantee that 1.1 apps will run on 2.0. A number of very upset users have been waiting for their phones to get upgraded. Open source does not offer long term stability unless you have all the source to everything and you are willing to invest in making it all work. In the HPC, digital media, and Web markets we see that frequently and that is why it works. I am a huge advocate of open source and Linux and it is how I've made my living for the last 11 years. But I do not subscribe to any universal concepts. I use the right tool for the right job when I need it. Right now OS/X and iOS are increasing my productivity. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
