Unix and XyWrite and whatnot

[Harmon Seaver hseaver@xxxxxxxx]

Robert Holmgren spake thusly:

> > The question remains: anyone using Xywrite under Linux DOS emulation?
>
> I ran it for maybe six months steady on a Red Hat 4.0 machine, under DOSEMU.
> Worked very well. It has trouble operating in a world that completely disregards
> 8.3 naming conventions, but otherwise its fine. I always was
> surprised when I shelled out of it that I was running Linux. Then the hard disk crashed, it
> wasn't backed up, and I had to buy a new HD -- never reinstalled. The truth is, I just like
> OS/2 better than Linux. OS/2, at this stage, is so thoroughly debugged,
> especially the Workplace Shell, that Linux (and the unmentionable
> "multitasking" W##) aren't competitive. Like Linux, OS/2 has a great
>

    Guess I'd have to disagree on the point of OS/2 being more
thoroughly debugged than Linux, but that's beside the point, at this
point. The problem is more one of OS/2 being essentially in the same
boat of XY -- no future. Linux, OTOH, has an excellent future -- and
runs XY extremely well, getting better all the time. Not to mention that
Linux also has an excellent *free* office suite in Staroffice, and now
also a *free* Corel WordPerfect 8 release.
   However, as much as I love Linux, I reached a point awhile back
where I came to the conclusion that I simply had to upgrade my old
version of Pagemaker. I was still hanging onto OS/2 because I have a
copy of Aldus Pagemaker for OS/2, v. 2.5. And 2.5 just don't cut it
anymore -- but the new versions of Pagemaker is for W95, not for OS/2.
And don't hold your breath for a Linux version. I was on the verge of
having to break down and install loser95 on my home machine (and I know
all about 95 and NT, folks, I administer over 100 networked PC's on the
job), and then something really fantastic happened.
   Apple came out with the G3 PowerMacs --- machines over twice as
fast as the fastest Intel boxes. Simply incredible hardware -- and Intel
admits they won't have anything that fast for two years! Next thing I
knew, I did something I never, ever, dreamed I would do -- I went and
bought a new PowerMac. Me? I used to laugh more at Mac users than windoz
losers.
    Oh dear. My staff at work was almost as flabbergasted as I was --
maybe more so. "You did what?" "Uh, where are you going to get software
for it?" Hey -- it sure solved my Pagemaker upgrade problem. Pagemaker
6.5 on a Mac is slick. So are all the other DTP and graphix software on
the market -- and, to my amazement, I found out that things like
Photoshop and Pagemaker actually run faster and better on a Mac -- that
they are designed for Macs, and only ported to windoz boxes in a
diminished way.
   And you know what else? XY works absolutely great on the Mac too.
Flawlessly. So do almost any DOS or windoz apps. Know what else? I run
OS/2 Warp 4 on my Mac as well, in a little window on my Mac desktop. You
can also run w95 or NT the same way -- in a little $50 program called
Virtual PC. Fast too. XY4 starts up in under 6 seconds. OS/2 takes about
the same time to boot as on my intel 166mhz. And you can cut and paste
between it and the Mac desktop.
   Incredible! Know what else? I absolutely love my Mac. That's the
way a GUI is meant to be. Yeah, I know, MacOS has a way to go in some
respects -- but they'll have it knocked out pretty soon. But the
interface itself is just too nice. And easy! Geeezz. Everything just
plain works -- no screwing around. No fighting to get things installed.
   I still run Linux on two other machines at home -- I've got a small
Dec Alpha running RedHat 5.2 for a file and print server, and another
linux intel box for playing unix stuff with, and linux on my laptop. But
for work -- for just getting stuff done, writing, DTP, graphix, etc --
it's all on the Mac. Now I know why Macs are the standard in the
publishing, graphix, and music industries.
   So if you're looking for a fast, solid tool to get your work done
on, without all the insanity of trying to keep a windoz box up and
running, get a new G3 Mac.

--
Harmon Seaver hseaver@xxxxxxxx
http://harmon.bml.usouthal.edu
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All is impermanent, but this too shall pass away, and the way of the
Samurai is death -- so speak your mind now, or forever hold your peace.
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Copyright, Harmon F. Seaver, 1998. License to distribute this post is
available to Microsoft for US$1,000 per instance, or local equivalent.
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