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[ba-unrev-talk] Operating systems are irrelevant


The world according to David Gelernter
http://slashdot.org/articles/02/11/07/1226214.shtml?tid=166    (01)

"David Gelernter (Yale Professor of Computer Science, and Unabomber target) 
has a story in the NY Times which states, (1) Operating systems are relics 
of the past, (2) We should be able to access data anytime/anywhere, by (3) 
seeing a stream of 3D documents(?), so (4) he's written such software, and 
(5) that's all you should care about so it doesn't matter that it runs 
under windows. This is a fantastic (definition: based on fantasy : not real 
(?)) vision of the future by a premier technologist."    (02)

In the NY Times article, he says this:
"  Of course, another operating system, Linux, is also clamoring for 
attention. Linux and Windows are both children of the 70's: Linux grew out 
of Unix, invented by AT&T; Windows is based on the revolutionary work of 
Xerox research. In technology years, these loyal and devoted operating 
systems are each approximately 4,820 years old. (Technology years are like 
dog years, only shorter.)    (03)

Each is nonetheless still solid enough to be a good, steady platform for 
the next step in software. But Windows is the marketplace victor and has 
now won a decisive legal imprimatur. There is no technical reason for us to 
move to Linux; why should we switch? Why should our customers?    (04)

Some argue for Linux on economic and cultural grounds: Microsoft, people 
say, has driven up prices and suppressed innovation. But this is a ticklish 
argument at best: after all, over the decade of Microsoft's hegemony, 
computing power has grown cheaper and cheaper. Innovation has thrived. Our 
software is innovative; it has not been suppressed. On the contrary, more 
and more people get interested.    (05)

Operating systems are the moldy basements of computing. We used to live 
down there, but are now moving upstairs to healthier quarters. We rely on 
the courts and antitrust laws to keep Microsoft from abusing its enormous 
power. We need Microsoft itself to be the universal stepladder that lets us 
climb out of our hole and smell the roses."    (06)

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XML Topic Maps: Creating and Using Topic Maps for the Web.
Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-74960-2.    (07)

http://www.nexist.org/wiki/User0Blog    (08)