Re: Programming Language Productivity: The Stupidity of Programmers

From: Gerry Quinn (gerryq_at_indigo.ie)
Date: 11/15/03 

Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 16:01:32 GMT

In article <3FB64207.70007@wide-open-west.com>, =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Thomas_Gagn=E9?= <tgagne@wide-open-west.com> wrote:

>I think the way MS has blended the OS and the GUI, and now seems to be
>creating more dependencies between the OS and applications (eg browsers)
>is a significant departure from how operating systems conventionally
>differ. MS's is about market control at the expense of secure and
>reliable OS design. MS wins by fortifying its control on the desktop,
>and users lose with continuously fragile and increasingly complex and
>bloated systems.
>
>Of course, if they separated their GUI from their OS both would be
>easier to replace with substitutes--weakening MS's grip.

One might think that if an operating system departs from conventional
styles, and subsequently achieves great success in the marketplace,
open-minded individuals might wish to consider whether the conventional
modes of operation might have some defects that are remedied by the
non-conventional one.

Note that the OS is named "Windows" - obviously the GUI is central to
its function.

Developers of Windows applications may feel glad that they can rely on a
great deal of standard functionality. For example, if you want to
integrate a browser window in your application to provide a convenient
informational interface, you know that a version of IE will be present.
This is good - you don't have to worry about whether the browser is
missing or replaced by some half-baked alternative.

- Gerry Quinn

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