Out of curioisty, how did you folk ever migrate to "2k, 98 or ME" ??
They all had problems and people like you ranted.... Did you use
Win95, WFW3.11, Win3.1, Win3.0, Win286, MS-DOS 6.x, 5.X, 4.x,3.x,
PC-Dos, CP/M 3.x, CP/M 2.x, Apple DOS, etc? At each level I heard
(and sometimes particpated, to be fair) in rants saying how the new
stuff was so unreliable, bloated, unnecessary, etc. Remember ALTAIR?
That was my first exposure to computin, and I used to fight each "new
generation" of O/S using many of the same arguments I've read in these
threads. That was really productive (not!). I was one of the guys
who absolutely, positively refused to leave the CP/M platform. And
them I ranted about moving from DOS to Windows. And from WordPerfect
to Word; from Visi-Cal to Multi-Plan to SuperCalc to Excel.
Somewhere along the line I realized technology was going to move along
whether I ranted or not. Instead of whining, I got involved with beta
testing, writing reviews, organizing user groups, and tried to
influence the next generation products. That's been a lot more
productive. For example, 56K modems were a big step which fueled
development and widespread use of the WWW, USENET and the rest of the
Internet (despite all the intial problems with compensating for
varying line quality). I was involved in that: I have engineering
prototype #33 for the #1 player's (no longer around!) most successful
model sitting here in my office. I became a beta tester and helped
shape the course of follow-on products. You can do that, too.
It's a progression - that's how technology evolves. I'll bet you
still have no cell phone but use a rotary dial phone because they're
so darned reliable and never give a bit of trouble, right? And it's
connected via 300 baud acoustic couplers, right? No unreliable DSL or
cable for you, uh-uh, no siree!
And I'll guess you're driving an old '70 Nova with the good 'ol
reliable 327 small block. (Emissions be damned, of course!)
Hey, I've had my rough days with MS products, service, support,
policy, pricing,etc. But also with Ford, AT&T, McDonalds, Apple,
Chrysler, etc. The days of asbestos, lead paint, arsenic wood
preservatives, and 16KB computers..... It doesn't mean I locked
myself away to keep from dealing with it. I'm not a MS "groupie" but
I do realize the success (and size, as you point out) of its
applications also fueled the nice, big HDs we now enjoy for pennies
per GB. (My first HD was 10MB and cost almost $900....)
Sounds like your company - one of the BIG THREE (wooo!) - is actually
very smart for not moving away from Win2K without sufficient bang for
its the buck. Many companies just dive into the latest gee-whiz
stuff. Shifting to a new OS platform involves much cost & risk. I
work for the largest employer in Amercia - the BIG ONE(woooo!) - and
we're stuck with NT4 stuff on 90% of infrastructure. Stable - yes.
Well documented - yes. Versatile - no. I cannot even use USB
peripherals....
So be careful what you rant for.... If that means "voting with your
wallet", so be it. Just don't complain when you wake up and see
technology has left you behind....
Ya just gotta learn to cope, man. sound like a smart person - just
frustrated. For the record, I agree with you 100% about porting
home-use OS for use in cars, planes, ships, medical devices, etc.
instead off special purpose industrial or MILSPEC versions. But that
is part of the drive toward Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) usage to
save money.
/eof/
