Text 6459, 79 rader
Skriven 2006-06-25 21:03:00 av RICHARD STEINER (1:10/345)
     Kommentar till en text av MAURICE KINAL
Ärende: Re: sorry
=================
-=> MAURICE KINAL wrote to RICHARD STEINER <=-

 MK> Hey RICHARD!

Howdy.  :-)

 RS> Heh.  Actually, many of us in the OS/2 community are *quite* aware of
 RS> Linux, as well as various details about its care and feeding.  :-)

 MK> Given that they are almost there - sans kernel source -
 MK> application-wise it shouldn't come as too great a shock.

A lot of the newer OS/2 programs we're seeing these days have either
been direct ports of Linux (POSIX) programs or are somewhat based on
one or more POSIX programs.  Not all of them, mind you, but most.

Because of that, many OS/2 users have become a lot more aware of the
potential that Linux programs have, and also how they generally work.

The OSes themselves are quite different, though.  Linux requires some
serious shifting of thought, mainly w.r.t. filesystems (Linux uses a
sane method for describing filesystems while OS/2 still uses classic
drive letters), and the GUIs are very different (though one can run
XFree86 under OS/2 with a mix of older window managers).

At least IBM's LVM provides some way to decouple logical and physical
drives under OS/2 -- everything can be placed under "C:" now regardless
of its actual location, which I guess is a start.

I really wish JP Software would create a Linux shell.  Both bash and
zsh are nice enough shells, but 4OS2/4DOS have features I miss like
SELECT and various selection picklists.  Who says a shell can't have
optional fullscreen elements?  :-)

 MK> However I believe they are still missing the real point.

One of the main reasons folks use Linux is because it is open (or free)
in all senses of the word.  Because the source code is GPL'd, it cannot
be tied up by proprietary interests anymore.

I think many in the OS2 community fully appreciate that freedom (given
IBM's gradual abandoning of the OS/2 platform), but freedom is not a
good replacement for raw functionality in all cases.

I still use OS/2 because I haven't yet found a Linux variant that does
everything I want.  But it's getting closer and closer.

 MK> I liked FreeBSD as it reminded me much of early Solaris ... other
 MK> then the lack of a Sparc station at my disposal at that time.

I found it interesting because of the differences between its command
set and the Linux command set I knew.  That, and idiosyncratic things
like the "wheel" group required for some admin functions.

I didn't use Solaris at home until the x86 version of Solaris 2.6 was
released.
 
 MK> Mind you so does Slackware which is one reason I went with Linux
 MK> over any BSD.  The main reason was the more open approach to
 MK> Linux development over everything else, including the BSD's, and
 MK> their encouragment towards building your own homegrown version.

Yes, the ability to roll your own distro has always been a really neat
aspect of Linux.  That's why there are so many pre-rolled distros out
there.  It's neat to see the different approaches folks take.

I started with SLS, moved to Ygg and to Morse's Slackware Pro, then
stuck with Slackware until Red Hat 4.2.  From that point on I've been a
lot lazier, mainly installing and using mainstream distros for a few
months at a time, and sometimes sticking with one long term (like I've
done with Mandrake 8.2).

 MK> I wouldn't have it any other way.

Neither would I.  :-)

... Rich Steiner >>>---> rsteiner@visi.com >>>---> OS/2 user in Mableton, GA
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