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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!uunet!in1.uu.net!207.22.81.9!europa.clark.net!news.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!portc02.blue.aol.com!newsjunkie.ans.net!newsfeeds.ans.net!tbsnews.turner.com!usenet From: Frederick Haab <"haab.."@efx7.turner.com (remove .. to reply)> Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,comp.unix.bsd.misc,comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy,comp.os.os2.advocacy Subject: Re: Betting on Unix Date: Fri, 07 Feb 1997 11:43:04 -0500 Organization: Turner Broadcasting Lines: 75 Message-ID: <5dfm2o$ef1@tbsnames.turner.com> References: <5d3sr2$44n@nntp1.best.com> <E50rGo.K3n@nonexistent.com> <nLVF2tL@quack.kfu.com> <5daq9b$tck@usenet1y.prodigy.net> <32F90AEB.41C6@osf.org> <5dbapu$t1f$1@nntp2.ba.best.com> <5dd6g5$mg3@walters.East.Sun.COM> NNTP-Posting-Host: efx7.turner.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.01S (X11; I; IRIX 6.2 IP22) Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.misc:156647 comp.unix.bsd.misc:2330 comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy:52069 comp.os.os2.advocacy:266128 Nils Nieuwejaar wrote: [...] > WordPerfect ($250 bundled with Motif, $165 if you're a student). > Applixware ($199 for a whole Linux suite, $79 if you are a student). > Corel's Java Office Suite (I don't think they've announce a price yet, > but the beta is available for downloading at their web site.) > Get Wabi from Caldera, and run your favorite win16 word processor. > > In any case, if all you want to do is word processing, you don't need > Unix. Nils wasn't replying to me, but someone else, but I wanted to take the opportunity to reiterate a sentiment I expressed in another message. Last things first...I don't want to just do Word Processing, it's just something that, for me, comes along every once in a while...Which leads me to the next topic: The man asked for inexpensive...we are dealing with a FREE O.S. here, we don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, we are very appreciative, but $250 for Word Perfect so I can type a business letter every once in a while? I am not a student, so I don't care about student pricing. One of the kickers is that I already have Motif, it's part of what I use Linux for, I can actually write interface code at home that compiles and runs on the SGI's at work. I can even write OpenGL applications. Like someone else mentioned, I'd pay 70, even 100 dollars for a good Word Processor, but I already payed $90 for Motif so I'm not paying more for something "bundled" with it. If I did write a lot of technical papers I would look into something like Frame Maker. I would be glad to pay $100 for Word Perfect. I will not pay for an "office suite" to get a lot of tools I won't use an a Word Processor that's only "OK". Why should I have to boot into DOS to run a Word Processor? There's *no* reason Unix can't be an end user platform given the proper tools. Just because you can do so much more with Unix doesn't mean you need to limit it to "mission critical" (to coin a phrase from another poster) applications. Just because the underlying structure is more complex doesn't mean that it has to be difficult for your average user. Now I am installing LaTex (and all the stuff it requires) because I haven't found anything else that I'm happy with. Now I have to relearn a language just to type a freaking letter. When you (you in general) get out into the real world and have been working for a while, you might not be so quick to say something like "Use TeX", $100 can be worth it to save 3 or 4 hours of your copious spare time, plus the time it actually takes to learn and become accustomed to it. It's worth it just to avoid "those" looks from your wife. Besides, I should have something she can use, too. Why do so many people want to limit the uses of Unix? I am getting sick of this snobbery people have about using this O.S., "if your not willing to learn everything about the O.S., man, you shouldn't be using it, man!", that's crap! The ability to get down to that low level should be there for people who want it (which leads to my disliking of Windows and Mac O.S... oh, you can get down there but they *try* their best not to let you), but it shouldn't be *required*. I'm happy knowing how to use a Unix system (generically, not just Irix or Linux or FreeBSD), but I don't feel like everyone should have to know as much as I do about it just to use some applications. It *doesn't* have to be that way. *Everyone* can be happy, it is just going to take a more commercial interest, and it is going to require companies to consider Unix an end-user environment when it comes to pricing (as opposed to the "they're using workstations in a work environment so they can pay through the nose" pricing). -- -=- Frederick Haab -=- Software Developer -=- Turner Production -=-