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Re: [LUG] (Another rant) [Fwd: Microsoft shuts down Windows 98]

 

On Wednesday 12 July 2006 14:27, Ben Goodger wrote:
> Obviously I cannot do that.

Why not?  has someone deleted all of the previous versions of NN from the 
internet?

I was working for a dot com when IE 6 came out, as a deceloper.  I remember 
NN, and i remember than IE 6 *was* better technically at the time.  I'll 
happily accept evidence from anyone on the contrary (which can be validated, 
as i do still have the original netscape install CD's *somewhere* :-)).

>  It's only now that matters. It doesn't really matter whether IE was
> superior or not in 2001 - I believe it may have been superior in 1998 - but
> it is most definitely inferior now, and that's very important.

Right. excellent.  progress.

So, MAYBE, just MAYBE microsoft's mistake [1] was to stop developing IE 6 and 
give time for netscape to go BOOM, mozilla to produce the slowest bloaty 
browser in the world, some smart guy to come along and produce 
pheonix/firefox, and now just as it's beating IE 6 in way of features ad 
usablility, IE 7 comes along.

which brings us right back to my point (edited for brevity):

  Because while you're in your little hole preaching about how amazingly
  rubbish they're busy finalising their next generation of products to blow
  OSS out of it's way for desktop (and possibly even server) users.  oops.

You need to seriously sit back and take a look at your view on what open 
source software means to you.  Are you a zealot, blinkered by open source, 
unable to see it's competition?  You have not yet come up with a single valid 
counter argument to any of my points, yet you seemed most offended by them.  
Why? 

In case you're wondering:

I've been an open source developer for neigh on 10 years now.  (look at my CV 
or Google for my name if you don't believe me), and have managed massive 
deployments of linux, run ISP's using linux, developed large software 
projects using linux, worked for a company who offered linux to the desktop 
in devon, and, this year, am managing moving a national telco the over to 
linux for it's entire VoIP switching platform spanning an entire continent, 
as well as written a SIP client used on OSX, Windows, and Linux by thousands 
of people.  I've not used Windows on the desktop since pre 2000.  I develop 
for windows though, and for OSX. I use linux on the desktop because it's 
better for ME, that doesn't mean it's better for everyone.

I suggest you look back through the DCLUG archives a few years to see my 
support for open source software.  i'm sure a few of the members who have 
been subscribed for longer will also be able to vouch for my support for, and 
knowlege of open source software.

Do you wish to argue the point more?

 ~ Theo

1 - the one that tom was referring to they keep making "again and again".

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