-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: hallam@ai.mit.edu, cypherpunks@toad.com Date: Mon Sep 02 23:01:35 1996

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I doubt it. People don't use Microsoft products because of their quality or functionality.

Errmm.. hate to disappoint but SCO UNIX started life as Xenix which was written by Microsoft in the dark ages.

Concur. Microsoft products are used not necessarily because of quality or functionality (which are often dubious, but very occasionally present), but because of user interface and/or market share.

Today Linux probably represents the future of the UNIX familly, it allows people who want to hack at the OS level access to the sources of a fully functioning OS. This allows people to add in new kernel features, schedulers and other exotica without having to write a whole new O/S.

I still like FreeBSD. Similar functionality, similar availability- of-source, but very slightly easier to install/run/manage/play with. Similarly free. (FreeBSD was able to find my modem, something I couldn't get Linux to do after most of an hour. Of course I'm a *nix novice for the most part.)

Just don't confuse it with "home computing", this is geek computing and you better have a lot of interest in computing to use it. Home computing is the market for users who need a system thats simpler than a VCR or they can't use it. At one time that meant Apple, today it means Microsoft, it will never mean Linux - not unless someone can make Linux much much simpler than it is at present and provide decent WISIWIG tools such as editors etc. designed for use by aunt Ethel.

I'm not sure about that... X-Windows seems to have a decent interface, runs on Linux, hell, most any *nix you care to name, and has some decent editors available. (Or, there's always emacs, but aunt Ethel might not grok emacs too well. I don't :) - ----- David E. Smith, P O Box 324, Cape Girardeau MO USA 63702 dsmith@prairienet.org http://www.prairienet.org/~dsmith send mail with subject of "send pgp-key" for my PGP public key "Ask not what you can do for your country; ask what your country did to you" -- KMFDM, "Dogma" -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAwUBMiutozVTwUKWHSsJAQEdCgf+OM8tpEbJh/FonjORnFwe9lo2t+my8eD7 +oM7Gv/WMPekDhvxxolzqGSvgUAJL1sgbwKdray5fHFCwOtK1ogQJrN4qrXKQH5e IXlC+G91i5BUq98MmzsEngZ3Akz2YciY/U4zyEJSXUNigAFgGcuXhZ1Bw+HT3hLt x27h45wWxHWfUJR8EUgOiUDG41rTW3eSLN0Pf/cSyvMTE3c+ub+59SMYJzCO+DnK MjNfhKvFLVNPUGJYNfLGt3OzwJFaCLnuDKLI78R0W+MsCqSA02o4Mq8GRul78Dfi jgBNJEsP8JdZnQTheRCwR4cgwIHc/Csmu+Ab5UN8h5L7VV1u2YFfkA== =PgX+ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----