Windows TP .... nyuk, nyuk

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Sis Lunsford wrote:

> I'd be interested to know your experiences with these issues in regard to
> the mac.

I'd kind-of rather that we not get into a discussion about the various
pros-and-cons of varying systems, though as long as it doesn't
degenerate into a "religious debate" I guess that would be okay.

Personally, I'd to like to have a Mac.  But, as Sis Lunsford indicated,
if I can get a PeeCee that is almost as capable for about 70% of the
price, why bother?  Also, as Sis Lunsford noted, the dearth of
applications is a *big* hindrance for me.  And it seems like Jobs is
doing everything he can lately to destroy Apple.  I mean, what benefit
is there in ticking off the Mac Clone makers?  He got lucky with the
original Apple and with his animation studio; everything else Jobs has
had his hands in has lost money.

Anyway FYI, I have a P133 w/ much of the lastest gee-whiz multimedia
gizmos attached.  It as a 1GB drive and 32MB of RAM.

I also have a still-functioning Heathkit HZ-100 computer.  It has two
CPUs: an 8085 and a 4.77Mhz 8086.  It has a 10MB "Winchester" drive, a
5 1/4" 360KB floppy drive, and FOUR 8" floppy drives (yes, floppy disks
the size of a dinner plate).  This 100 pound monster from 1981 has
192KB of RAM and an S-100 bus, and can boot either MSDOS 2.2, CPM, or
CPM-86.  It's what I used for my programming classes in college.

> Is this going back to command prompt system where  commands or macro's must
> be typed in?

It can be, though many people set it up with X.  Win95 is still easier
to use of course, though Linux/Unix isn't as intimidating as it used to
be; it doesn't take as much of the "hacker" mentality to install and use
as it used to.

> What kind of software is available / programs.?

Enough to do plenty of useful things, though they tend more to the kind
of things I like to do (engineering, programming -- that kind of
thing).  The great thing is that most Linux apps are free.

> Since I do web page deisgn/creation and a little graphic work, would this
> operating system be compatible when FTP ing  a page to a server?
> and web page deisgn in general?

All the Internet stuff is *integral* to Unix machines and has been for
over twenty years.

> Have you used this system long yourself?

I have Linux loaded at home, though the default for my machine is to
boot Win95 (a boot-time loader lets me select which O.S. I want booted
when I switch the machine on).

A short history of my computer experience.  Bro Brown's is *much* more
extensive.  Some of my chronology might be a bit off.

1979 or 1980: I learn to program BASIC on the TRS-80 (affectionally
called the "trash-80") that belongs to the school computer club.

1981 or 1982: My friend Robert Owens purchases an Atari 800 computer.
We type in games from _COMPUTE!_ magazine.  I write several toy games
like the "TRON Light Cycle" Game.  Robert and I come up with several
other game ideas.  I learn 6502 assembly programming.  Since I'm only
in 8th grade and don't have the cash to spend on a real assembler, I
write my own in Atari BASIC.  It actually works!  My friends are
astounded.  I learn how to program the support chips in the Atari, as
well as techniques like drawing graphics during the vertical retrace
and stuff like that.

1982: School computer club, of which I am president, purchases an Apple
IIj (Japanese version of the Apple IIe).  Another is donated by some
civic organization.  I learn Apple's variant of BASIC, and some of the
internals of the Apple, which is inferior in almost every way to the
Atari :-)  My "TRON Light Cycles" game is ported to the Apple.

1983: I really really really really really want to buy an Amiga.  It
never happens.

1984: I'm off to college.  Everybody expects me to major in computer
science, so I rebel and study Aerospace Engineering and Political
Science instead.  I do the "phone phreak" thing for a while (this is my
Before Christ days, and I repent of it all).  I told a friend how to do
it, but he doesn't cover his trails real well and he almost gets
busted.  My friend is now an U.S. Air Force Missile Launch officer, 
probably a Captain or so by now.

1986: I finally switch majors to C.S.  My first contact with Big Iron,
a pig of an IBM VM machine.  I learn 370 assembly language.  I get a
job with TU Electric so I can pay my way through college.  They have
DEC VAXen running VMS.  They also have Intergraph workstations running
Unix.  There's also 3270 terminals to access TU's electric databases.
I eventually have pretty much free-run of the Unix and VAX systems.
The 3270's I'm actually a little intimitaded by, but I do eventually
learn how to bypass what turns out to be their rather feeble security.
I tell a co-worker how to do it, but he doesn't cover his trail real
well and he gets fired.  This ex-co-worker is now a network analyst or
something for EDS in Dallas TX.

I've also acquired the Heathkit from a neighbor of my dads.  I learn MS
DOS programming on this boat anchor, as well as 8086 assembly
programming and related things like writing device drivers and TSR's
(remember those?).  I also learn other programming languages on this
machine, including C.

1990: I get a job with MCS in Dallas TX, where I actually get *paid*
to hack Unix systems.  This is a dream job for me.  I'm in heaven.

I also write the occasional Windows VxD and do some consulting for some
embedded code development, as well as write the protocol stack for a
company who is attempting to release a Network Operating System to
compete against Novell Netware.  A complete implementation of XNS,
network drivers, NetBIOS, and SMB in 386 proteected mode ASSEMBLY
language.  Ugh!

1997: Still hacking for a living.  It's still fun.  :-)

Richard Masoner
richardm@cd.com