[KLUG Advocacy] RE: Adoption of Wine WAS: Novell 'opening' SuSe

[Mark]

> Adam Tauno Williams wrote:
> 
> > I'm predicting (or at least hoping) that there will be a 
> product like
> > Wine (or WineX ('scuse me, "Cedega"), or Crossover Office) 
> that won't
> > require booting Windows to run windows apps on a mactel. 
> 
> Possibly, but I still think that will ultimately be bad for Apple.  It
> reduces the pressure for a native port.  This is why the existence of
> WINE doesn't help LINUX.
> 

<General Statements:ON>

I beg to differ with this last statement.  WINE/CrossoverOffice "doesn't
help" Linux because sys admin's don't want it to.  Let's call a spade, a
spade.  WINE helps USERS run Microsoft and Windows applications.
Admin's are not users and are more concerned with IT than apps. Most of
what I've seen is that Linux Sys Admin's hate Microsoft and Windows.  It
borders on a religion thing.  If a Linux admin could, they would
completely eliminate Windows and its applications programs.  So, WINE
doesn't help Linux (all that much) because the powers-that-be don't want
it to.  If WINE were really promoted by admin's, then you would have
Windows apps running on Linux boxes and that would be anathema.

Users don't care one iota what OS they are running.  Most don't even
know what an OS is or how it differs from an application.  Notice the
number of users when asked what APPLICATION they are running will say
Windows.  Users DO care about their applications because those are what
allow them to get THEIR jobs done.  I know I'm going to catch a lot of
flak but with the exceptions of IT apps (OS', languages, server stuff)
and graphics, Linux doesn't hold a candle to the applications available
on Windows.

Is it rational to want a completely Linux world?  Why?  Why not use the
best of both worlds?  The only real answer is that most Linux people
completely refuse to believe that ANYTHING on the Microsoft side is
better than what they have.  Sorry guys, that is completely irrational.
No one OS has a lock on the totality of computing which is why I still
see a ton of terminal emulators running on corporate machines attached
to Big Iron.

Now wearing his asbestos underwear,
Mark Jones