> "Dave Walker" wrote
>
> Subject: Are You Annoyed?
>
> Yes, I AM annoyed.
I must admit that this was an extremely poor way to open a conversation. Whilst surfing the 'Net, I tend to bounce back and forth between newsgroups and Web pages. That particular Web page hit me wrong; after reading my message again, I see "beware, FLAME coming", and apologize for this.
I do feel that my O'Reilly references are the best that I own.
Now, to your reply...
> Alas...that attitude is too common among the fringe.
My "Webster's" defines fringe as "1. at the outer edge or border... 3. less important; as, fringe industries." I'm not sure which "fringe" my attitude places me in, and am wondering what part(s) of my message caused you to relegate me there. Was it because I used "bug-ridden" to describe the Microsoft platform, mentioned Pick, or expressed an interest in UNIX/Linux?
> For UNIX, the problem was often non-existent documentation.
> For Windows, it's self-serving documentation from MS and
> sycophantic documentation from satellite publishers.
> both cases, we've been able to do some good, and to make
> money doing it. We're serving the customers--real
> people--not the companies who create the software products.
In my case, the documentation from MS has pretty much been non-existant since the advent of the CD-Rom, and the "syncophantic documentation" has not covered any topics that an experienced user couldn't find in a help file. It's been a year and some months since I've bought any reference book pertaining to any MS platform/app.
> I would venture that if one day your job forces you to use
> a win95 laptop, or start managing a network of UNIX and NT
> machines, you'll be glad we're starting to publish in those
> areas.
I'm ordering four NIC's next week. I'm starting with my Windows platforms. Eventually I'll include the PowerStack and the Linux boxes. My signature of "System Adminstrator/Programmer" was the closest "real world" description of my job that I could find. In reality I am a "one-man-MIS-department" for a small company with 24 employees. All 24 use terminals connected to a SCSI terminal server which is in turn connect to our Motorola Powerstack. It runs Advanced Pick over AIX 4.1. In addition, we're running Windows 95 on 3 486's and two pentiums, WFW on another two 486's, Windows 3.1 on an aging Zenith 386 laptop, and Windows 95 on another two Zenith 486-100's. I'm also running Linux in a dual-boot mode on the Pentiums.
From day to day I write PickBasic programs, bsh scripts, and C programs. I've a few VBA Excel/Word programs to my name as well. I deal with files from MSDos, Windows, AS 400's, RISC 6000's and various flavors of UNIX on a weekly basis. I deal with clients running antique 286's with ProComm, and talk them through transferring files to my system. I'm a one-man-help desk, data detective, and occasionally have to fill our data entry slot.
I first used Microsoft Windows in 1988 when it was a bare 2.0. I've used it on a daily basis continuously since that time. I hailed 3.0, and was elated by 3.1. I have experienced nothing but frustration with Windows 95 for the past two years! I no longer feel I have control of my computer when Windows 95 is running. I feely admit that I've no experience with NT, but, based on the performance of Win95, I'm extremely hesitant about trying it out.
> ...And one day, I'm sure, the UNIX books will also stop
> selling, and will be out of print. And one day, the
> Microsoft books will stop selling, and be out of
> print. That's life. King Canute notwithstanding.
I understand that. I don't often refer to my CP/M manuals anymore. Similarly, my Commodore 64/Amiga manuals gather dust on my bookshelves. They had their time; I moved on.
> I will note that we are doing our darnedest to infect MS
> users with the UNIX attitude (look under the hood) and
> cross-platform UNIX tools like Perl.
I'd love to be able to look under the hood! But the fact of the matter is that I worry when I install any new apps on my Win95 platforms. Which version-specific dll's are they going to overwrite? What's not going to work anymore when the install finishes? What registry settings are going to be changed that make it difficult, if not impossible, to use a critical app? Which word-processing documents are now going to be incompatible with everything else in the office?
My Win95 box crashes, blue-screens, or hangs a dozen times or more a day. Examining my system logs on my AIX box shows that it has been rebooted once a month for the past six months. Once was to replace a defective SCSI terminal server. Three other times we physically lost power. Another time I shut the system down because of an impending flood from hurricane Danny.
AIX is reliable.
And, about Perl, what happens when MS decides to try and co-opt the Perl language because not all versions support the Microsoft API?
>Anyway, I'm sorry you're annoyed. But I have to say that
>attitudes like yours are annoying as well.
I'm sorry that my attitude annoys you. And I do admit that I have one concerning Microsoft. But my attitude comes from being in the trenches with multiple platforms on a daily basis. And Windows isn't there for me anymore.
> The scorn that die-hard UNIX users have for their compatriots
> on the other side of the fence doesn't speak well of them.
> I know developers for macintoshes, for windows, and for UNIX
> (as well as for cross-platform tools like Oracle), and they
> have a lot more in common than they have dividing them.
> There are passionate, knowledgeable developers using Windows,
> just as there are passionate, knowledgeable people using UNIX.
> And there are uninteresting people using both.
I admit that I'm a die-hard UNIX user. I'm also a recent UNIX user, having been exposed to it only 5 years ago when I returned to college to try and complete a degree started 25 years ago. On the other hand, I've been using/programming MS OS's for over ten years. I built my first computer from a kit; an old CP/M boat anchor. Since then I've explored over a dozen different operating systems; 4 of them were authored by MS, 3 were by Commodore, another three were by IBM. CP/M, Timex/Sinclair and Linux round out my experience. My distaste for MS is a recent development.
And, yes, I'm passionate about the tools I use in my work. But passion isn't always a POSITIVE emotion.
I took a second look at your Web page today, and I'll take a look at your books the next time I'm in my local Barnes & Noble. But I'm still dismayed at the encroachment of titles concerning the Redmond giant at the expense of titles about other OS's. The Unix section is one third the size it was a year ago, and OS/2 commands a single 3 foot shelf. I'm dismayed that my choices seem to be diminshing.
I've rambled on far longer than I meant to. If you've read this far, I thank you. I don't expect another reply, but if one is forthcoming, I'll welcome it. Thanks again for the time you spend replying to a "guy in the tenches" in Mobile, AL.
Thanks for your time as well.
Dave Walker
Systems Administrator/Programmer
Copyright © 2007 O'Reilly Media, Inc.