[WinMac] Re: WinMac Digest #263 - 03/24/99

John W. McCarthy(jwmcmac[at]flash.net)
Wed, 24 Mar 1999 23:28:20 -0600

listers:

Some observations and perhaps evangelizing:

I know arguments can be made both ways for both sides of the following
observation, but I really feel the swing is the way I'm seeing it at
this time. I know these issues could swing the other way and probably
were the other way in times past. I'm merely making an observation that
has become more obvious to me as I have listened to the comments on this
list, indirectly.

No one seems to have expressed my observation explicitly, but it comes
across implicitly throughout the body of the list's comments.

I did not formerly believe these observations but it appears to me that
. . .

1) MS products, especially their servers, have become more and more
proprietary/exclusionary to an extreme.

2) That the MS OS's have lately tried to eliminate the competition from
their environment by integrating their own software tightly into their
OS, whether it be Windows 95, 98 or NT . . .

-- this appearing to get in the way of any 3rd party software that might
want to play the game (no common playing field) . . .

 . . . to the point that if you want to play in their environment you
must toe-the-line . . . again to an extreme.

-- realizing that this is not necessarily a bad idea (integrating their
various apps and OS's) but that it is no longer a fair method since it
is highly exclusionary to those who are not privy to the inner workings
of the OS (3rd party developers)

3) That these proprietary/exclusionary actions by MS can be covered by
the fact that it is a very real "battle" of sorts against those other competitors.

4) That if you are happy with being assimilated by the Borg, or are
already assimilated, continue with MS.

5) That if you like freedom and versatility, you had better start
looking elsewhere than an OS that integrates all of its applications
tightly into its OS.

*** It also appears to my observation that . . .

1) Apple has been very proprietary but not exclusionary . . . in that .
. .

-- Apple's OS is highly manipulable in all areas that do not require security.

-- With OS-X Apple is going to an even broader Open Source and is
currently offering their source free to all developers who want to join
in the fun.

3) Apple has been extremely proprietary with some of the inner parts of
its OS, but has most often sought to create foundational software upon
which 3rd parties could expand, if they have the genius to do it.

4) That Apple's decision to go with an established Open Source OS
foundation is a great step in the correct direction and that it is a
beacon of light for the future of computing.

5) That Apple is positioned between the two extremes right now.

On the one side is MS's exclusionary software assimilating the world.

On the other side is that other mostly free Open Source OS, Unix (in its
many forms), which is going to get you in the service fees (they hope --
 not to denigrate this respectable plan).

Apple is proprietary, non-exclusionary, not service oriented at all in
the sense that they try to make their products and OS as user friendly
as possible so that no one needs any high tech service -- which I for
one think is great.

*** It appears that any OS is going to have problems on both sides of
this issue.

I like Apple's position in this field of play. It is the position I
would hope that many of you can appreciate.

Happy Holy Week

Patrick Kelly McCarthy

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