ALHOLK Posted November 21, 2003 Report Share Posted November 21, 2003 Hi! My point was that if Linux runs just fine on Sparc servers then Linux will probably not cause them to disapear. If they disapear anyway it will be for completely different reasons. Although you're not completely wrong about the different *ix dialects there was two main dialects, BSD and System V. As a reasonably experienced Unix programmer I can tell you that if you know one dialect well the others come easy. Also if you write Posix compliant code it should run on any Posix compliant OS: regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted November 23, 2003 Report Share Posted November 23, 2003 if you write Posix compliant code it should run on any Posix compliant OS Hi Al, I know what you are trying to say, but didnt we have a thread a little while ago to the effect that the POSIX 'standard' is simply too *broad* for this to be the case ? The fact that NT was able to gain 'POSIX-compliant' status makes me suspect that this is the case. Perhaps I just didnt give Windows a chance, but anything that comes with such a lame shell (OK, 'command line') was only ever going to annoy me after I had experienced the power of sh, ksh and bash. The Unix environment, dated though it may be, gives the user so much power from prompt, and Apple finally realised that this is a *good* thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 Says think_too_mut: >don't you think that that a small Mac community is at a decided advantage because of the very limited hardware set that the Mac OS actually runs on. I agree - you are right but IMO for the wrong reason. More choice, not less, is what we are after. Yeah, freedom of choice and the freedom of failure too. I bought my Athlon PC from a reputable (now bankrupt maker) in Germany. What I have learned later: the motherboard had some serious flaws (Southbridge plus USB), Windows 2000 did not like my TV card, CD-burner crashed last year and recently my IBM HD crashed (I wasn't aware that this product line caused IBM to stop producing HDs ). This is a serious problem IMHO: the more possible combinations of hardware the more hard- and software errors will occur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 Hi Kamui, I'm afraid that the problems you struck highlight one of the reasons that my last 2 hardware purchases (and any I make in future ..) were Macs. The commoditzation of PC components means that manufacturers have had to work with increasingly tight margins, and I believe that overall quality has suffered as a result. Whe it becomes cheaper to simply replace an entire component under warranty than tighten quality control in the initial manufacturing process, you find yourself in the same arena as toasters, stereo headphones and other appliances. There are exceptions, and I'm not trying to say that ALL PCs are shoddily built, but its very much a case of an overcrowded hardware market. By maintaining control over their hardware, Apple are in an enviable position, IMO. Both of my Macs are sturdy, well-built computers, particularly for the price I paid, and I am confident that they will last me for several years yet. If I paid the same price for an Intel/Athlon-based laptop and desktop, I doubt that the outcome would have been as rosy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 And I forgot to mention another - Athlon based - problem. This summer was the hottest in Germany, with around 40 C and not having an aircon (actually which is quite uncommon in Germany) my Computer overheated and shut down every 15 min. When I tried to buy a fan I learned that they where sold out completely in my area. ::. Only removing the side sheets solved the problem. I am wondering if all of you living in SE Asia or Australia can run your PC only in a room with aircon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 I need to make a comment here as I believe you are being unfair to AMDs Athalon chip series. While Athalons do run on the hot side, it is the motherboard, fan array and power settings that cause the overheating problems. Because AMD has always had an aggressive pricing policy, and thus keeping Intel in line, they have often been used to make low end and priced 'mass consumer' machines. But if quality MBs such as Asus and Gigabyte are used, and proper qualty hardware is installed, the Athalon chip produces a superior product to Intel and at much better price. Ask any overclocker or gamer what he wants for a chip. Most will go to Athalon. I run an Athalon chip, Gigabyte MB and ATI graphics card............ a tough combination to beat for gaming and graphics. And at a very reasonable cost. I have used them since they came out and would not consider going back ot Intel. Can't wait to get my hands on the 64 bit Athalon FX New Athalon MBs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adikgede Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 I agree they do run hot but thats certainly not a secret and the manufacture should insure that the machine is properly cooled. On the other hand if there were not this compition to market bragging rights for the fastest CPU at the tightest margin than they would dial these things back a few ticks. But who is interested in lower energy consumption, less heat and greater reliability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickfarang Posted November 25, 2003 Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 There are some valid points posted above. The virus susceptibility is the one that attracts me. I am a former Apple employe and have been saddled with...uh..I mean using Macs for more than a decade. I have also been using Windows (mostly Win98) steadily for the last three years, and have found that for my uses, OSX gives the user as little control as Windows XP does. They are both modern personal computer OS's and are quite similar. I belive that feature-for-feature, any feature on a Mac is or will soon be avalable on Windows, if the feature is useful. The same for features on Windows. I am seriously considering switching to a Windows machine when my current set of Macs gets too slow. RickF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted November 25, 2003 Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 Hi Rick, I agree that, for the 'average' user, using OS X isnt a *world* apart from using XP - its whats under the hood which attracted me, and the degree to which Unix-savvy users can control their environment from the command line (and beyond if they want to start writing C/Objective-C to access the Carbon/Cocoa APIs). For a proprietary OS, this is heady stuff indeed, and I doubt that Windows users will ever be given the same access to the guts of their OS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted November 25, 2003 Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 adikgede said:...they do run hot ... This is probably a good reason to get a Mac G5 for the tropics (and Germany) there're something like nine separate fans in these new ones. And a range of separate cooling "zones". Just the thing for Bangkok I would have thought. Cheers Coss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.