[Tfug] BOFH: You think you know a guy...

Mon Oct 1 21:34:32 MST 2007

Indeed.  I actually have a Mac LC III (Performa 450 designed for the
classroom) with System 7.5.5, and it *sucks*.  It's nothing short of
divine intervention that its cooperative multitasking environment
doesn't wipe the system out every time it boots due to
trivially-handled but fatal memory addressing errors (not that the OS
even bothered to use the Motorola 68K's MMU or ringed execution model
to *trigger* such events :P), and even more of a miracle that the Mac
population wasn't wiped out in the '90s by hackers and viruses which
could oh-so-easily exploit such a system.  Heh--prior to OS X, MS was
actually a small step ahead of Apple in the OS design department for
actually making use of the x86 MMU, virtual memory, and Protected/Real
modes (even though they did it mostly in user-space, making errors as
trivial as segmentation faults terminally fatal in the form of a
BSOD).  The whole lot of consumer OS's of the 90s were a sad, sad
joke.

On 10/1/07, Jim March <1.jim.march at gmail.com> wrote:
> At the time that BOFH piece was written (mid-to-late 1990s) the Mac had,
> briefly, turned into a steaming pile of doo doo.
>
> Does anybody else remember the OS8.x period?  Esp. around 8.5x?  It was
> -=bad=-, m'kay?  Much less stable than Windows 95/98.  No, I'm not kidding -
> I supported both professionally back then.  Frequent Apple updates would
> slaughter major apps - like, say, MS-Word.  Ordinary screensavers would turn
> into Chernobyl material.  Bleah.
>
> Those were grim days, kids.
>
> There's a reason Apple basically scrapped their entire OS direction in favor
> of *nix.  It took guts, esp. the part about abandoning more or less all
> existing applications.  But by then the developer community was ready to
> play along because it was just so obviously necessary.
>
> NOW, yeah, we might as well call OSX a "Linux distro" of sorts...OK,
> FreeBSD, whatever.  It's pretty good, NOW.
>
> But there was a time when Apple almost died out over OS issues.
>
> Jim
>
> On 10/1/07, William Stott <WStott at ventanamed.com> wrote:
> >
> > Uhm, I own multiple Macs. I missed the rest of this thread, but I would
> > just leave this for thought:
> >
> > If your primary purpose is only available in a Windows environment, it
> > does not make sense to use anything else. It is painful to see a few of
> the
> > people at my work that ordered a Mac for the 'cool factor' only to put
> > Parallels / Windows on their Mac and never use the OS X environment.
> >
> > On the other hand, if you plan on using a portable array of applications
> > that run in a Mac OS X environment, then why not? Cost?  It's a decision
> you
> > have to make on your own. Many people that purchase a system only look at
> > what others SAY about operating systems, they rarely find the facts out on
> > their own.
> >
> > Example:
> >
> > My wife had the need for a computer. Something portable, that could play
> > movies for the kids, handle her photos, email, scheduling, and internet
> > access for research were the requirements. Cost was a concern (because it
> > was coming out of my pocket), and usability was a concern (becuase she is
> a
> > complete beginner with computers). In the above requirements, there is no
> > reference to anything specific to windows, so the options were open. I
> chose
> > a Mac for her. Why? Here's why:
> >
> > 1) Macs do have a user friendly environment (and she does not have prior
> > windows experience to transfer so that is not a set back)
> > 2) It is true that Macs have a great chance to be compatible with the
> > current (and future) USB devices that my wife has. // This was proven
> after
> > we bought it.
> > 3) The Mac met all of the above requirements without any need for extra
> > software (of course, I installed more, but it was not necessary).
> > 4) The video display is great, and although they are limited in video
> > options, they also make the choices easy and their hardware is stable.
> > 5) Support is a one stop shop...hardware and software are supported at the
> > same place (and we have had to use it). Although I would not call the
> techs
> > at the Apple Store 'genius,' they are very helpful once they understand
> that
> > I am not a beginner.
> > 7) In the end, we have almost all Macs in the house now (just waiting for
> > a good replacement to Media Center **NOTE: Myth was not an option for me
> > this time***).
> > 8) So, as a family we have --> iPods, iPhones, and Macs. They are so easy
> > that the kids can use them (without destroying anything), and I can do
> > anything the a windows / linux user can do or would want to...
> >
> > Say what you want about Macs, I do not mind, and I probably would not
> > defend them. They work for me, in business and home, and for my family.
> > Plus, I have FreeBSD, SUSE, and Windows running, and I am not missing
> > anything that I can see.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Will
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: tfug-bounces at tfug.org on behalf of Rich
> > Sent: Mon 10/1/2007 1:07 PM
> > To: Tucson Free Unix Group
> > Subject: Re: [Tfug] BOFH: You think you know a guy...
> >
> >
> > On Oct 1, 2007, at 12:37 pm, christopher floess wrote:
> >
> > > Ok, the only problem is that I don't get what's wrong
> > > with Macs.
> > >
> > > I always thought that if I were face with no other choice
> > > except windows or mac, I would go with mac.
> > >
> > > Should I reconsider this?
> >
> > Absolutely. After all, you wouldn't want to have to do *nothing* to a
> > computer to make it work, right? What kind of reputation would we
> > have among relatives and neighbors if "He does something in
> > computers" were to mean "He knows where the power switch is"?
> >
> > Anyway, fingerpaints aren't all they're cracked up to be. Do you know
> > how much effort it takes to get that stuff out of a Wacom tablet?
> >
> >
> > Joking aside -- at the University where I used to work, a colleague
> > found someone using an A3 sized Wacom tablet ($1k+) as a cutting mat.
> > No, it *wasn't* a Mac lab.
> >
> > R.
> >
> >
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