Viruses from ubuntu list

[Duncan Anderson]

You make some valid points, Hudson. I suppose I shall have to accept 
that some of my viewpoints are likely to follow the dinosaurs. It's a 
pity that the software has to be polluted with the kinds of shoddy 
programming practices that are so common today. "If you can't get it to 
work, throw more memory at it! Increase the MHz!" I really hate bloated 
software that makes me have to buy more hardware. It's a big problem 
where I live, in what is basically a mixed First World/Third World 
economy. Most computers in the area I'm from are still Pentiums. Only 
fairly wealthy people can afford to buy new P4s, etc. Fortunately, it is 
possible to prune Linux and tweak it so that it can function quite 
eficiently at the low end of the hardware spectrum.

I'm sorry about ranting on and on, but it is really frustrating to see 
how much time and money people spend on getting rid of their windows 
viruses. As far as terms like M$oft and Windoze are concerned, I reserve 
my right to freedom of speech under the new Constitution of South 
Africa. :-)

cheers
Duncan (Stegosaurus Unixsupportus)

Hudson Delbert J Contr 61 CS/SCBN wrote:

>i thought we were supposed to practice restraint using terms like m$, 
>windoze and such i got roasted on this list for just the same thing 
>in a similar rant. pests that have heretofore not been a problem on
>linux desktops will probably lead to creeping pervasiveness. part of
>the growth of open source as an alternative to mainstream software
>is that alternative overtime turns into a mainstreamer and as such
>becomes subject to the same trypes of distractions and events that
>brain-dead wintel boxes suffer from. these will just take the form 
>that the platform finds amenable - its unavoidable at this point.
>
>linux will start to suffer some of the same stuff that win9x/2k/xp
>suffer from bloat code due to the increasing number of users who
>dont want to know whats under hood and avoid looing as much as possible.
>
>wait until linux clients become corporate 'commodities' or 'utilities'
>then one will see a more pronounced proliferation of these symptoms.
>
>get over it. its part of the deal. we have to grow up as the OS
>not just the ubuntu distro but open source in general.
>
>ubuntu's charter is admirable but certainly not unique historically.
>
>i like it but there are no panaceas without some accompanying pandora's box.
>  
>