Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 11:51:49 -0800 From: Johannes H Andersen <johannes.andersennopsamel.ac.uk> Subject: Re: Saabs vs. compuers
Dave Hinz wrote: > > Johannes H Andersen (johannes.andersennopsamel.ac.uk) wrote: > > : Dave Hinz wrote: > : > Well, I'd like to suggest a differing opinion, which goes something like this: > : > Not to mention - a smoothly running Windows system is iffy-at-best, if you > : > try to do any serious work on it. The masses, however, just accept the > : > reboot-of-the-day, the virus-of-the-week, and all the other things that > : > Bill Gates has brought to them. They're happy, which is the amazing thing. > : > > > : Nahh. Windows NT is stable. Have you tried it? > > Yes, I have, since NT 3.51 or so. It's *better* than it was, but > for a server-class machine, it just doesn't have what it takes to do > serious work. > Well, I think I'm doing serious work, at least this is what my employer thinks since he is paying me. > : Since Macs are proprietary, > : you easily end up with an obsolete machine after just two years. > > And, this is different from the Intel/AMD world how, exactly? > You can replace the processor if necessary, sometimes this may require a change of motherboard, but it is still relatively inexpensive. > : At the > : moment, the main difficulty is the lack of faster IBM/Motorola PowerPc chips > : than around 500 MHz, Well I don't know the latest figure, but they are well > : behind in power. Compare e.g. with Athlon 1.1 GHz and you just become a small > : dot in the rear view mirror... > > Depends on what you're doing with them. My problem isn't with the chipset, > it's with the OS that most people inflict on it. > I used to use DEC VMS, a bulletproof system of high quality and proper network clustering, but you had to pay 10 times the price. People wants Windows systems anyway, partly because they don't want to be locked in to obsolete systems and hardware after a couple of years; if replacements becomes necessary, it won't cost an arm and a leg. > : > : > Those of us who know how good it can be, can only sit back & chuckle. > > : Well, you do that. In the end it doesn't matter which machine you are using > : as long as it does the job. I prefer a PC which allows me to tinker and add > : on anything new as long as there is room inside the box. > > Well, I like PC's for the "open architecture" standpoint, and Mac's for > the reliability. Linux gives me both of these advantages, along with a > very active development community, who are coming out with new stuff all > the time. Linux is very interesting and hopefully it will counter the Windows monopoly (90%) we have at the moment. The main problem is buying and fitting peripherals which does not come with Linux drivers. Yes, yes some peripherals do, but you want to be able to choose your peripherals at liberty. To start the process, it would be nice if some PC manufactures would sell complete Linux boxes with all the driver requirements sorted out. This would then snowball a natural market for "extras" which will also work for Linux. > > : Oddly, I have the > : opposite view for my Saab 1993 9K; it runs perfectly at the moment so I > : don't want to ruin it by boyracer chipping etc. Anything mechanical is > : also much inferior to solid state computer electronics. I would be > : interesting if someone invented a "plug and play" type of car. I suppose > : theft of components would be a problem. I believe that manufacturers > : already to a large extent source their component on the open marked; GKN > : makes parts to most cars. Electrical things, brakes etc. can come from > : anywhere; e.g. Bosh, Lucas. All what is needed is some fashion designer to > : decide this years shape of car and a brand name for it. The rest is then > : bolted on from the ironmongers. > > Well, with liability laws being what they are, I don't think that'll happen > any time soon, at least not in the USA. There are plenty of specialized > shops who will sell you specifically what you want, and your point about > component theft is a good one: "Hey, there's a ZR-1, let's go steal > the ECU for use in my minivan!". It works pretty well with today's sytem; > the market demand drives availability of custom parts. Not a lot of > chromed valve-covers available for Saabs; we leave those for the Harley > and Chevy folks. And, Abbot Racing and Group Six Performance don't sell > parts for the masses; and that's just fine. > > There are advantages and disadvantages to each choice, be it in cars, or > in operating systems & computers. You have to deceide what's important, > and what's not. For me, it's a matter of quality, over popularity. That's > why I drive Saabs, and why avoid Windows whenever possible. > > Dave Hinz Johannes
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