From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,UTF8 X-Google-Thread: 103376,8a402d78988bdf2b X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2003-12-16 11:54:26 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news2.google.com!newsfeed2.dallas1.level3.net!news.level3.com!news-out.visi.com!petbe.visi.com!skynet.be!skynet.be!louie!tjb!not-for-mail Sender: lbrenta@lbrenta Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: [announcement] SYSAPI and SYSSVC for Windows References: <%VlDb.5454$Pg1.1321@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net> From: Ludovic Brenta Date: 16 Dec 2003 20:54:23 +0100 Message-ID: User-Agent: Gnus/5.09 (Gnus v5.9.0) Emacs/21.3 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Organization: -= Belgacom Usenet Service =- NNTP-Posting-Host: 217.136.10.170 X-Trace: 1071604464 reader5.news.skynet.be 16492 217.136.10.170:33037 X-Complaints-To: usenet-abuse@skynet.be Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:3488 Date: 2003-12-16T20:54:23+01:00 List-Id: "Ekkehard Morgenstern" writes: > "Ludovic Brenta" wrote: > > 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. As I said: your investment in Windows-specific programs made you Captive. You are not alone in this situation. > 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. It does permit running some of the Windows apps on GNU/Linux. Wine has been production-worthy for a couple of years now. A few months ago, I was running Microsoft Visual SourceSafe on top of Wine on my GNU/Linux box at work. And Microsoft Office runs on top of CodeWeaver's enhanced Wine, called CrossOver Office. This is possible because Wine is free for all to enhance and modify. Now, the poor quality of Microsoft applications (especially WRT security and viruses) makes it, ah, difficult to choose them when you've got free alternatives. Hence the lack of interest in running Microsoft 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. Most GNU/Linux or {Free,Net,Open}BSD distributions come with much, much more than 1.5 Gb of libraries, and it increases by the day. Not only are the libraries there, you can also inspect their source code and get in touch with their developers. You can extend them to suit your needs, and have your changes merged into the main line of development. Try that with components supplied by Microsoft. But for people who just cannot think outside the wonderful world of Microsoft, there is a project called Mono[1] to provide a .NET-compliant platform on GNU/Linux. Complete with the freedom to modify it, of course. [1] http://www.go-mono.com > 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. They are here: http://www.gnome.org, http://www.kde.org, and included in all major distributions. BTW, both include a component framework à la Microsoft DCOM. Besides, I do not want an easy-to-use system. I want a powerful system which I can control and modify to suit my needs. This is particularly important, IMHO, when developing software that depends on gigabytes of other software. > 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. But the GNU/Linux community does exploit the situation properly. So do the *BSD communities. For technically savvy users, Debian, Gentoo or the *BSD's are the ultimate distributions where updates are made available every day. For newbies, Mandrake, SuSE, Knoppix or LindowsOS provide the ultimate in ease of installation. Just take your pick: you are Free. For more information, you should pay a visit to http://www.distrowatch.com. And most of the distros have package management systems (apt or RPM) that put Microsoft to shame. And yes, they do run properly whether or not you update them, because they are much less vulnerable to viruses than Windows. -- Ludovic Brenta.