On Wed, 16 Feb 2005, Paul M Foster wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 16, 2005 at 04:28:21AM -0500, Norbert Omar Cartagena wrote:
>
> > > Paul M Foster wrote:
> >
> > >On Tue, Feb 15, 2005 at 03:18:06PM -0500, Norbert Omar Cartagena wrote:
> > >
> > ><snip>
> >
> > >Also Unix companies had a superior attitude, and didn't see the need to
> > >put Unix in computer desktops. The AT&T PC was about the only one to put
> > >Unix on a desktop box. Where was the software to run on it?
> > >
> > >
> > Sorry. During my statements I kept a complete separation between the
> > server software and the desktop software. AT&T's desktop Unix and Xenix
> > (I believe) were the only desktop *nix's at the time, and treated the
> > desktop as a "second class citizen."
>
> IIRC, Xenix was the SCO product. Microsoft's name was on it at one time
> as well, and I don't know if they licensed it from SCO, or sold it to
> SCO.
I think it was originally by MS, but ICBW.
> > >Apple wasn't really a wunderkind. They had a superior technological
> > >platform (68xx vs x86). And they had a killer app that captured one
> > >specific market.
> > >
> > Uhmm... one?
>
> PageMaker, as I recall. It started Apple on the road to dominance in the
> graphics arena, where they still dominate. The Apple-dominated education
> market came later, and has fallen off considerably.
Even before that, MacWrite and MacPaint. There were no equivalent apps for
*DOS at the time. While they look amazingly stripped-down and restricted
now, at the time they were innovative.
> For the PC, the "killer app" was a spreadsheet program whose name I don't
> recall (not 123, though, I don't think; Multicalc?).
Visicalc, IIRC, which helped make the PC ubiquitous in business.
> Because of its market share, Microsoft is virtually a utility. But the
> government repeatedly fumbled its opportunity to do something
> significant about them.
Well, they don't own the computers... maybe a semi-monopoly.
> > I don't think it's a matter of anyone ultimately winning. The players
> > will likely all change before all's said and done.
>
> Agreed. Back in the Model-T days, who could have predicted anti-lock
> brakes, automatic transmissions and power steering?
The only thing that doesn't change is change.
-- -eben ebQenW1@EtaRmpTabYayU.rIr.OcoPm home.tampabay.rr.com/hactar AQUARIUS: There's travel in your future when your tongue freezes to the back of a speeding bus. Fill the void in your pathetic life by playing Whack-a-Mole 17 hours a day. -- Weird Al, _Your Horoscope for Today_----------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by Networked Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.3 : Fri Aug 01 2014 - 19:13:28 EDT