Speaking of Linux...

[Bob Molyneux drdata@xxxxxxxx]

> Robert suggested using WSH, and gave a very helpful example of such a
> script. I blush to say I had never realized WSH EXISTED until I saw the
> mention of it on Robert's OED page (I have the hard copy ed., but I
> looked at the page with a view to recommending it to any of my colleagues
> who might have the electronic ed.) Sometimes one's fear and loathing of
> Redmond cause one to shoot one's self in the foot. I have been trying to
> decipher the docs, and even got a book on VBScript (couldn't find
> anything on plain WS) out of the library. But as I keep promising myself
> I will move to Linux, I hesitate to sink too much time into learning more
> proprietary MicroSludge. Anyway, thanks for a good example, to look at in
> conjunction with the docs if I do pursue this.
> Patricia


I discovered this list about a month or two ago and, well, thank you all. I
bought just about every version of the sainted XyWrite I could and although
I owned them all, I stopped at 3.55--I just loved that space bar spell
correction thing. And almost every day of the world I use XyWrite. It is,
as someone said here, the best program I have ever used. I, like I am sure
most of you, every day use printer drivers, keyboard drivers, and XPL
programs I wrote (or started writing) in the 80s. They still work and can
be adapted when necessary to new circumstances. But you guys did things I
never imagined. Wow. Just that realization is energizing. Again, thanks.


It seems to me that people use computers for a lot of different things.
Some play games, some IM, etc. etc. I work with them and try to produce
things and it is my guess that most of the folks on this list use computers
for similar kinds of things.


I had one important rule for any computer platform I bought or built:
1) It will always run XyWrite.

As I started reading about XP, I knew that there was a more important rule
I never thought about: I would control it--after all, it was how I eat. So,
the new rule 1 was operationalized: Never XP. Ergo:

1) Never XP
2) Always XyWrite

Never XP means, eventually, that you will have to choose between Linux, one
of the BSDs, and Mac. I add Mac because of Darwin, one of the BSDs, is now
the engine under all the glitz. To me, that makes Mac a serious OS.


Can you have Never XP and Always XyWrite?

There was no need to do anything until I had to make a choice about my
alternative to XP and three weeks ago, I had to. I could avoid it no longer.


I chose Mac. I did it with considerable trepidation...will it run XyWrite?
I do statistical computing/data analysis/manipulation/documentation and I
think the Mac will do the data stuff just fine and I have a number of other
computers to do writing on and they have XyWrite on them. Right now, I
think the Mac platform is not likely to support XyWrite. Wine, the DOS
emulator hasn't been ported to Mac and I see today on Slashdot a link to:

http://www.msfn.org/comments.php?id=5516&catid=1

that Microsoft has removed a number of OSs from the "Guest" list of the DOS
emulator Connectix (which they bought). Gosh, I see, Linux, BSD, and
others. Oh. My. What a surprise.


I understand that there are people who run XyWrite under Linux and I do
have one Linux machine on my network so I temporize.


What are you folks thinking about the future of XyWrite in this world? It
appears from the posts to the list that you took a different direction from
me. Of course, I was working in isolation and you had this community but I
am surprised to see that you all patch anything of Microsoft, for instance,
so it is possible that we see the situation differently.


When I saw this article, I was not surprised:
Patch and Pray
BY Scott Berinato
http://www.csoonline.com/read/080103/patch.html

Nor this one:
XP Decay
By John C. Dvorak
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1304348,00.asp

Because these kinds of difficulties were implicit in the situation
Microsoft is in now. And this situation followed from its strategic
direction. More seriously, for W2K and XP, the service packs changed the
End User License Agreements (EULA). I read EULAs and I would never agree to
assent to Microsoft's control over the decision of when to update my PC. No
thanks: see rule 1. So, that is something where I have a different notion
from a lot of you folks. And if you don't face this question now, what will
you do with Longhorn--the next new Windows verion when patches, they are
arguing now, are mandatory?


So, are you going to limp along with XP or move to Linux or what? I would
rather do something with a bunch of people than do it alone because a group
of people can help each other.


Meanwhile, I am debating about upgrading XyWrite to 4.0 just to see all
this nifty stuff you folks have been doing.


And, again, thanks....

Bob Molyneux
drdata@xxxxxxxx