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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.rmit.EDU.AU!news.unimelb.EDU.AU!munnari.OZ.AU!news.hawaii.edu!ames!usenet.kornet.nm.kr!news.kreonet.re.kr!news.dacom.co.kr!vyzynz!inquo!nntp.uio.no!news.cais.net!news.empirenet.com!e2.empirenet.com!tsaotsao From: tsaotsao@e2.empirenet.com (Joseph I. Valenzuela ) Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.development.system,comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.os.linux.advocacy Subject: Re: Historic Opportunity facing Free Unix (was Re: The Lai/Baker paper, benchmarks, and the world of free UNIX) Date: 23 Apr 1996 02:54:41 GMT Organization: EmpireNet Lines: 64 Message-ID: <4lhgph$3p9@e1.empirenet.com> References: <4ki055$60l@Radon.Stanford.EDU> <tporczykDq3C55.4zE@netcom.com> <4l96pm$mrt@nnrp1.news.primenet.com> <4lecrd$155@taco.cc.ncsu.edu> <4lg7al$ap4@nnrp1.news.primenet.com> <4lg85t$42f@news.hic.net> <4lgvk6$enc@taco.cc.ncsu.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: e2.empirenet.com X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.development.system:22101 comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc:790 comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc:3444 comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc:3299 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:17981 comp.os.linux.advocacy:46804 Kevin P. Neal (kpneal@eos.ncsu.edu) wrote: : Charles A. Tilbury (ctilbury@hic.net) wrote: : : Seems to me that the "bias" as it is used here referrs to : : whether the "media" has an agenda or not. If they have : : an agenda, any agenda, then I automatically invalidate 1/3 : : of what they have to say. : : : Pretty much. There is also the problem of the journalist making : conclusions that are based mostly on his/her personal opinions. And *that* bias in turn is a reflection of the hiring practices of the industry, which tends to be very rich, very reactionary and very resistant to change, especially when such change might result in wide-spread asset depreciation. : Most of the world believes that PCs are the end-all be-all computer. I'd hesitate to go that far, but you're mostly right. I think that most of the "world" is computer illiterate, and has no opinion whatsoever. Occasionally I get asked by friends and associates what type of computer they should buy. I might easily say "Get a BeBox" and they would regard that as sagacious advice. That beings said, I think people are no less vulernable in thier response to peer pressure when buying a computer then they are at other times, and the fear of getting ripped off tend to make new computer buyers fairly predictable in their buying patterns. : Most of the journalists I have been exposed to tend to write about how : people should buy a PC, I mean it works for them, right? Most journalists can't pronounce "Internet". How can we expect them to make reasonable judgements on what is newsworthy? : My Dad bought my brother a Win95 box for Christmas. Now Dad is learning about : all of the crap that Windows brings along with it. He asks me: : "So why do people put up with all of this?" Because, Dad, this is : *normal* to most people. My father is the same way. I have never tried to push an OS agenda onto him, but have tried, by example, so sell people on the real ease-of-use and power that comes with Linux and other alternative OSs. Maybe it'll pay off. : Journalists included. You never ever hear about how, for example, : Plug and Play has problems. You never hear about how ISA is 15 years : old and should have been ditched 10 years ago. You never hear about : how PC Windows programs keep getting larger and slower. Because : the vast majority of users, journalists included, consider this to be : normal. What Free Unix needs is reporters in high places who support : our view. We need *sales*, and then applications, and of course more users. Once we have Linux on every desktop in America, then everything else will fall into place. -- Joseph I. Valenzuela -- tsaotsao@empirenet.com http://www.empirenet.com/~tsaotsao Oppose the ANTI-JOE. Just say no to the VOODOO GLOW SKULLS