Hi folks, Just wanted to thank all of you who provided useful feedback on all the issues surrounding upgrading of desktop PCs from Win9x to Win2k. I gathered a lot of useful information, I rathered enjoyed the lively discussion, and I think a lot of people got a chance to blow off some steam. Sorry to those of you whose tender tootsies might have gotten a bit toasted by all the heat from the ensuing Mac vs. PC "discussion". I can understand perfectly why Cameron Hood feels the way he does, and I don't blame him one bit. We'll all try to keep it a bit more on-topic in the future. Well, for a while at least. ;-)
I've gotta admit that the first PC I ever used was an Apple II, and I've used (and dare I say enjoyed?) Apples and Macs since then. But my computers at home have always been PC clones, and for the most part, my computers at work have been PCs or PC clones as well -- mainly because it's always been cheaper and easier to buy hardware and software to do what I need to do on PC clones. But I'm quite convinced that "Bill" Gates is just a nickname for "Beelzebub" Gates. ;-) You may not like the guy's ethics (I certainly don't), but you have to admit that Bill and Microsoft are the perfect example of what happens in a free-market system in that rare circumstance where someone with a brain starts and runs a big company. (As opposed to what generally happens in a free-market economy when clueless people are allowed to run big companies....) Frankly, I kinda miss DOS. First time I saw a Windows implementation in the late 80s running on a then-new i386, my first thought was, "Hey, just like a Mac -- sorta...." My next thought was, "Hey, I could take a wallpaper picture of Larry, Moe, and Curly, then insert my bosses' head in place of Curly! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk...." Of course I did, and of course I got a call from my boss at 8:00 PM one night shortly thereafter demanding that I change the picture back to its original form. Some people just have no sense of humor! ;-P I blame GUI OSs in general, and GUI wordprocessors in particular, for the general decline in the quality of business and technical communication, since they've allowed folks to spend way too much time on fonts, colors, borders, etc., that they should instead be spending on content and clarity. But what the hell do I know? One thing I'd venture we can all agree on is that IBM's foray into the GUI OS market was a complete and total failure. Remember OS2? HAR!! "Better Windows than Windows" my eye! I worked at a scientific instrument company in the Midwest for about a year that made the baffling decision to design controlling software for a couple of their products on the OS2. These instruments were then sold to a client base that -- I kid you not -- included many folks who didn't know how to format a diskette! Don't know how much of my telephone support time was devoted to helping customers navigate OS2. And God help them if they wanted to add a new printer. Boy, if that wasn't a marketing faux pax! Like a colleague of mine remarked, "Anyone who designs something to run on OS2 deserves what he gets!" Well, thanks for the opportunity for this little stroll down memory lane. I gotta get out more with my cameras, though! ;-) Have a good weekend, y'all! Bill Peifer Rochester, NY - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
