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- From: hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin)
- Subject: "Open" systems
- Message-ID: <BzM27I.L49@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
- Sender: news@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (USENET News)
- Organization: Purdue University Statistics Department
- References: <fWPrzAU@quack.sac.ca.us> <BzIx0C.C6G@dscomsa.desy.de> <fWTeSfY@quack.sac.ca.us>
- Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 13:16:29 GMT
- Lines: 34
-
- In article <fWTeSfY@quack.sac.ca.us> dfox@quack.sac.ca.us (David Fox) writes:
- >In article <BzIx0C.C6G@dscomsa.desy.de> Hallam@zeus02.desy.de writes:
- >>In article <fWPrzAU@quack.sac.ca.us>, dfox@quack.sac.ca.us (David Fox) writes:
-
- >>|>>|>> So far, the most "open" system I can think of is a 386 running DOS:
- >>|>>|>> - systems available from all sorts of people
- >>|>>|>> - CPU's available from (at least) AMD, Intel, IBM, and Cyrix
-
- >>|>shell out to the various software writers to try those compilers out.
- >>|>With Unix, one can get gcc for free, including source.
-
- But this is on an obsolete computer. Are any of the newer machines in this
- category?
-
- However, I disagree with the apparent philosophy of the so-called recent
- "open systems" approach. The idea seems to be that information on the
- internals will be available to VENDORS, who may or may not put things in.
- Now it does not pay a vendor to make a minor change which provides a
- substantial improvement for even 1000 small users, while the users themselves,
- given reasonable information, could make it easily.
-
- A truly open system would enable a user to get rid of the user inimical
- (usually called friendly) obstacles which the vendors have put in to reach
- the mass market, and to come up with reasonable software. A disassembler
- should be required for ALL software, or a promise to very quickly take care
- of these obstacles.
-
- Only someone who is arrogant, ignorant, or stupid can expect vendors to
- supply the variety of software which is needed to get good performance.
- --
- Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907-1399
- Phone: (317)494-6054
- hrubin@snap.stat.purdue.edu (Internet, bitnet)
- {purdue,pur-ee}!snap.stat!hrubin(UUCP)
-