Re: [announcement] SYSAPI and SYSSVC for Windows

["Ekkehard Morgenstern" <ekkehard.morgenstern@onlinehome.de>]

"Ludovic Brenta" <ludovic.brenta@insalien.org> wrote:
> > I could modify GNAT if I get the source and a proper compilation environment
> > for it. :)
> 
> The sources are available[1] for you to modify freely as you will.
> That is what makes GNAT Free Software.  As for the proper compilation
> environment, there are several Free operating systems available to
> choose from, all of which are vastly superior (IMHO) to Windows.
> 
> [1] ftp://ftp.cs.nyu.edu/pub/gnat

Thank you! I recall having seen the sources there, but I didn't download them.
Thanks for bringing that back to my attention! :)

> > I suspect GNAT's Windows support hasn't been updated for a while, and 
> > somebody's got to do that. :)
> 
> Nah.  Somebody's got to switch to a Free operating system, thereby
> becoming Free instead of Captive of one OS supplier.  As long as you
> program specifically for Windows, you are Captive.

Oh c'mon. I still have to use Windows because the applications I use aren't
available on GNU/Linux, plus I invested a lot into my Windows system, and
I don't want to toss that overboard.

But I will set up a GNU/Linux box for my private projects as well, because
I have to to create code for it (Cygwin might do as well, but it's not the
same as a real GNU/Linux box).

Windows certainly can't be dealt with by ignoring it. It's the big mistake
IMO of the GNU/Linux community to do that. Why is the Wine project not 
finished yet, the Windows API is so easy to emulate! It could permit 
running at least some of the Windows apps on GNU/Linux. But the real strength
of Windows is often overlooked: It's its components! Windows XP alone
comes with over 1.5 GB of components. Where's the .NET/CLR port or emulation
for GNU/Linux? It could boost GNU/Linux server sales.

Where are the good, easy-to-use desktops for GNU/Linux? As long as you have
to touch a single shell file to get your machine to run, GNU/Linux will be
no option for the user who wants an easy-to-use system.

People don't even update their Windows with the latest Windows Update, and
then their machines don't run properly. If the GNU/Linux community was a 
bit more clever, they would exploit the situation and provide a mega-easy
GNU/Linux that is attractive to the non-tech user.