Re: MicroSoft to purchase Aonix?

[jhopper@erinet.com (jim hopper)]

In article <5mkgrl$akp@ion1.ionet.net>
mbates@ionet.net (Mike D Bates) writes:

> My company builds aircraft simulators -- the kind used for pilot
> training, with real cockpit controls and instruments, full motion, and
> wraparound out-the-window visual scenes.  We're looking at moving from
> Unix platforms to running simulation on a cluster of Intel-based
> syatems running NT.  The reason?  The hardware is more plentiful and
> cheaper than what we currently use, and there's a better chance that
> Intel and MicroSoft will still be around in 20 years (so the argument
> goes).


lets look at history shall we.  Think back a few years (much less than
20) can you run current microsoft OS's and tools on 286 or 386
hardware?? In fact its pretty hard to run them successfully on a 486 in
many cases isnt it ;-)  SO while microsoft will be around, your
hardware/software investment will be useless!  i mean if you had done
what they propose and written your stuff for windows  3.1 for instance,
how much help would you be able to get from microsoft if you needed
maintenance now??  They would simply tell you to rewrite it for windows
95 if you have bugs in 3.1 wouldnt they??  

this attitude is the fly in the ointment of all this COTS crap people
keep trying to sell.  sure the stuff will be maintained by the
companies, BUT their prioriities for maintaining backwards
compatability bear NO relationship to ours ;-)

Yes we build flight sims as well (well actually we build radar
simulations to go in the flight sims) and we do our work in Ada. we
interface with people who work in C and C++ but we do our parts in
ada95.

jim