If 'Joe Blow' had only been allowed on administered systems (such as the
old BBS,
timesharing services, private networks, etc.) and network clients, this
predicament
certainly would not have happened in this fashion, and we would be more
likely
to preserve our freedoms.

What a lovely bit of doublespeak. If only things had started
constrained, managed, well controlled, without freedoms then we
wouldn't be (supposedly) on the way to losing the 'freedoms' that were
never allowed.


I'm not usually given to disagreeing with the majority of what you say,
Michael, but in this case, I'm with Flipper. Surely, you can't live your
life worrying about retrospective 'what ifs' can you ? Almost no piece of
modern life could ever have existed if this sort of life model had been
applied to it at the outset. Again, you are talking very specifically when
discussing computers in terms of networks and professional use. I don't
dispute that there are operating systems out there now, and that there have
been others in the past, that more specifically address a set of industrial
problems / requirements for computing functionality. There may well also
have been other OSs poised to be released (unleashed?) on the public, which
may have been better at the time than Windows, or may have grown to have
been better.

However, the fact remains that they didn't make it to market in time, or
they weren't promoted 'ruthlessly' enough by their creators. As a
businessman myself (allbeit a very small one), I can't knock Gates for
having done this. At the time, MS was a relatively small company. Its
ultimate success comes from the fact that at its head was a technically
extremely competent person, who was also a visionary businessman.

As far as the 'net goes, I can't see it ever being controlled in the
Draconian way you suggest that it will be. It is just too large, lumbering,
international and unbelievably complex to police in any way that is at all
practical. Governments like to make noises about this sort of thing as part
of their "we're doing something about it" public side, but on their private
side, they know that in reality, there's probably nothing that they can do
to change anything about it. If they could, and it was that easy, they would
have long ago stopped all of the fraud that goes on. You must also realise
in this context, that a government's hold on its tenure, is fragile at best,
and they won't, for the most part, have the balls to interfere with anything
that keeps the people under their 'control', docile, compliant, and happy.
The 'net is such a drug to entire populations from kids just about old
enough to sit in a chair, to grannies just about strong enough to carry
their laptop into hospital with them ...

And, like it or not, this is facilitated by the presence of that global
'standard' Windows, running - for the most part - quietly and satisfactorily
on the vast majority of machines.




Even old grannies can do it, so that has got to say something
about the validity of the Windows platform, hasn't it ?

I have some experience in this area, and have found that Windows is far
from
convenient or useful for many seniors, who can easily learn how to operate
other modern technology. These same folks use WebTV, Mailstations, and
other
Internet appliances quite well, and I again submit that the network client
is a better choice for anyone who is not willing or able to technically
qualify and maintain a computer.


But, had you have put these items in front of them *before* they had
experienced the graphic UI of Windows, and found that it was very easy to
learn icons and mousing, I would venture to suggest that they would have had
considerable difficulty. I too have a lot of experience of citizens from a
generation ago, trying to cope with technology, and for a very great deal of
them, operating today's technology is a serious challenge. Hell, even MY
generation can't work a lot of the stuff. In just the last couple of weeks,
I have had in for repair, two fairly straightforward items of home
entertainment equipment, both with 'faults' being caused by a lack of
understanding of the equipment, leading to functions being disabled in
menus.

Arfa