That's right, Unix, the best Operating system that 1969 had to offer! Why is it still around? Ok, in it's day it was pretty hot shit, it introduced a lot of features that nowadays we just take for granted, such as a hierarchical file system, and multi-user capabilities, but the old girl is terribly out of date today.

In my University, which offers several tech degrees, there is a mandatory Unix/Linux class, and so far all it has taught me is that Unix is a relic which should be loaded onto a machine which should then be delivered to the Smithsonian museum, and all other copies in the real world should be burned.

Our instructor keeps trying to keep up the pretence that Unix is still handy in today's computer world, and that it could actually compete with products like Windows 2000. . . well yeah ok, maybe, but only if you didn't want to actually use your computer for anything! I think even students who are were completely new to Unix kind of got the idea that this should rightly be a dead OS when the instructor informed us that our school's own IT department runs only one Unix server, which they do not support at all, and even that one machine is running solely for the purpose of making the Unix class possible.

Why, in your opinion is such an archaic and antiquated peice of software still floating around in our society? In my opinion all unix machines should be rounded up and formatted!

Originally posted by Mystech
That's right, Unix, the best Operating system that 1969 had to offer! Why is it still around? Ok, in it's day it was pretty hot shit, it introduced a lot of features that nowadays we just take for granted, such as a hierarchical file system, and multi-user capabilities, but the old girl is terribly out of date today.

In my University, which offers several tech degrees, there is a mandatory Unix/Linux class, and so far all it has taught me is that Unix is a relic which should be loaded onto a machine which should then be delivered to the Smithsonian museum, and all other copies in the real world should be burned.

Our instructor keeps trying to keep up the pretence that Unix is still handy in today's computer world, and that it could actually compete with products like Windows 2000. . . well yeah ok, maybe, but only if you didn't want to actually use your computer for anything! I think even students who are were completely new to Unix kind of got the idea that this should rightly be a dead OS when the instructor informed us that our school's own IT department runs only one Unix server, which they do not support at all, and even that one machine is running solely for the purpose of making the Unix class possible.

Why, in your opinion is such an archaic and antiquated peice of software still floating around in our society? In my opinion all unix machines should be rounded up and formatted!

Are you billy gates? Unix machines are far more stable and secure then windows servers.

They are secure and stable because they are so damned simple, there isn't a whole hell of a lot to go wrong.

You know, I think that it speaks volumes of *nix value that the most popular programs for those systems are windows emulators.

Unix core is rock stable, simple and efficient that what so great about it, an no it can in fact be modified in anyway to compete with modern software advances. So up yours monopolosoft, er, Microsoft. This is what all the windows emulation is needed for because everything runs on windows because that’s what it was design for.

Unix is really interesting for servers. Of course it's hard to use and, in fact, we generally use FreeBSD, BSDi or Linux (sik) for a server, but it's so much stable compared to Windows and it's free, open source and under control (no strange hidden process).
Have you ever try to install a network? I mean, try to create a network that will allow DNS, e-mail, users management, FTP, Security (FW, anti-virus...), Web site (internal and public)... with Windows. Check your ca$h : Bill will not let you sleep on you licences!

Originally posted by Mystech
You know, I think that it speaks volumes of *nix value that the most popular programs for those systems are windows emulators.

Really? The company i work for has about 30 unix servers yet not on has any kind of windows emulator installed on it!

Due to recent work I'm still using Win2k. But should be back to linux(gentoo) soon. Actually I have 4 boxes & this is the only one with microshit on it. Soon after doing my mcse I took up linux as my full-time desktop. Windows sucks & now seems much harder to use than Unix & it's variants.
Emulation! Bah! No thanks.......

Originally posted by kazakhan
Due to recent work I'm still using Win2k. But should be back to linux(gentoo) soon. Actually I have 4 boxes & this is the only one with microshit on it. Soon after doing my mcse I took up linux as my full-time desktop. Windows sucks & now seems much harder to use than Unix & it's variants.
Emulation! Bah! No thanks.......

I use bsd for my server not quite linux ;)

I'm using linux on my server (Mandrake 9.1). I use it with Gnome even if I know that I should not do it (graphical part is a big bug source in an OS) but eh, full text mode is boring... :cool:

full text mode is boring...
Its had it's moments :)
Like rescuing machines after that MS OS virus/worm/anti-christ thingy gets attached:p
It's a hard hurdle to get over but it's worth it, gentoo & Linux From Scratch are good if you want learn, for you windows users that think you know something try these:D

Originally posted by SG-N
I'm using linux on my server (Mandrake 9.1). I use it with Gnome even if I know that I should not do it (graphical part is a big bug source in an OS) but eh, full text mode is boring... :cool:
I use it without a gui, works better imo since it saves alot of resources.

Originally posted by kazakhan
Its had it's moments :)
I learned on a unix computer and I'm still learning computer science, so that was not so terrible. However, we can't live in the past and, but for servers, I would not install a full text OS on a computer anymore. Once you tried a race car, it's hard to go back to your old bike.

Heh just checked and apparently somewhere along the line i did install xserver :confused:

I couldn't post from Lynx:(, wouldn't allow upload!
Otherwise pretty slick, hadn't used it in ages.

I tried Lynx on FreeBSD a few weeks ago. Well... you have to know what you're looking for on Internet. When you use it you realise that pictures are everywhere.

The madness called Unix...

You try so hard to make your machines perfect, yet every time you need to compete with windows based machines you have to rely on third part software, full of many bugs. If you want a dumb box to serve some files and run a few simple scripts.. sure use linix. But to be truly creative on a computer you need something like windows XP..

Reasons for windows..

MAX 5. Value for your dollar with the most kick ass application ever written.
Painter. (photoshop, Paint shop and a host of incredibly creative image apps)
DirectX.
IE6.
DOTNET IDE.
Huge hardware support.
Almost all the best games ever created. (haven't seen a good platform game yet)

Reason to stay clear of Unix..

Boring.
Oh no cant run this software because my mate has recompiled the hole system and it is no longer "bug free".
Total lack of good software.
OpenGL... Say no more...
To many JAVA nerds trying to push shitty software. Show me a top ten game written in JAVA and I might convert.
Ohh how many more patches do I need to get this running...


I have had a windows server run non stop for 3 years (apart from two blackouts so long that the UPS ran out of steam). I check up on it every month just to see how the customers are doing and that data suppliers are staying within the rules. Windows 2000 SQL server stable as a rock.

Blindman,

That is not Unix's fault that the fault of window's monopoly! No one will make good software for Unix because windows owns 90% of the market, so instead they spend there time make windows programs so therefore unix will never become popular because no one will make the software!

Originally posted by Blindman

Reasons for windows..
MAX 5. Value for your dollar with the most kick ass application ever written.

yes. good point. most used in game programming and some soft-bodied animation lots of plugins. not very usefull outside of that, IME. Great program, though. very good renderer

Painter. (photoshop, Paint shop and a host of incredibly creative image apps)

Painter, photoshop and a host of incredibly creative apps are available for OSX, which is a FreeBSD varient. Which is POSIX complient, and therefore Unix.

DirectX.

while Ms has done an amazing job of adding new features to directX over the past 10 years, have you ever tried coding anything in it? It's like trying to mow your 3 acre lawn with a helicopter and a weedwaker. get it right, and it works beautifully. make a small mistake, and it's bear to fix. it's not quite worth in effort, in my opinion...

IE6.

hahahahahaha! that was a good one....wait, you were kidding, right?

DOTNET IDE.

haven't used it, don't know. have heard both good and bad things. Seems to be a good thing.

Huge hardware support.

yep. however, given that most HW for PC these days is pretty standard (IDE, PCCard, PCI, AGP, DDR, USB, FW(USB2 is currently *not* built-in on macs, though there are some PCI upgrade cards available.), etc...), 85% of periferals and HW that works on Windows works on OSX too. Again, a Unix system.

Almost all the best games ever created. (haven't seen a good platform game yet)

windows is the best platform for computer gaming these day, no doubt.


Reason to stay clear of Unix..

[quote][b]
Boring.

yeah, this one seriously doesn't warrent a response.

Oh no cant run this software because my mate has recompiled the [w]hole system and it is no longer "bug free".

I think you are thinking of Linux, which is a specific type of Unix. I haven't had to recompile my OSX kernel, nor have I done that with HPUX last I can remember.

Total lack of good software.

depending on what you are doing with the machine, this is either a really good point, or a load of crap. Linux pisses me off because the base install of RedHat comes with something like 15 text editors :P

OpenGL... Say no more...

yep no need to say anything. a slow-evolving GL which is much more concise and logical than DX7,8 or 9, and is currently being overcome by DX9 because it is slow evolving. Doesn't mean it's a bad tech. just means it is currently being out-buisnessed. DirectX is ugly to code.

To many JAVA nerds trying to push shitty software. Show me a top ten game written in JAVA and I might convert.

Given that Java was designed to run on an emulation layer so that it could be run on different hardware, it will never be as fast as C. It was not designed for programming high fps programs, it was designed for portability. please give me an example of a word processor what couldn't be written in Java. Using todays JIT compliers, it could be 95% as fast as it's C++ counterparts, and take a lot less time to get it working on FreeBSD, Linux, Mac, Windows, Amiga 5, etc.
Java!=shitty software. lazy programmers trying to pump frame rates out of java=shitty software.
And given that C was developed in order to write a fast running kernal for the original versions of Unix, this makes no sence. Java has as much to do with Unix as do hot dogs. Both help programmers in long progging sessions.
In fact, J++, MS's attempt at destroying Java, has be modified and rebadged as C# MS is trying to push C# as the .NET programming language of choice, so I'd say that currently, windows is being tied to a Java-like programming language more than Unix is, considering Unix still uses C and C++ as it's main languages.

Ohh how many more patches do I need to get this running...

wow, I can't believe you are using this argument to support windows. you haven't checked Windows update in about 6 years have you? Point being: given the computer market mentality of "get it out now, fix it later", all current manufacturers have the "lots of patches" problem. Macs have updates once a month or so with alot of updates in each, windows is similar, with the addition of a few stand-alone updates. linux sends out updates largely one at a time, so it appears to be more. (and is more of a hassle for the end-user, IMO)

I have had a windows server run non stop for 3 years (apart from two blackouts so long that the UPS ran out of steam). I check up on it every month just to see how the customers are doing and that data suppliers are staying within the rules. Windows 2000 SQL server stable as a rock.
yep, Win 2k is a pretty damn good operating systems. now strech that up time to 35 years, which is the uptime of some governemntal data mainframes which are running....Unix!!!! wow. computers are cool.


note: any insults, adhoms, etc are in direct reponse to what I percived as an uneducated opinion. If I am wrong please correct me, and I apologise. If not, please try things out before you make a desition on what is a better technology.



edit: I thought it only fair that I correct myself a bit. Mac OSX has been more and more moving towards the Windows-style of patch releases. sercurity fixes, etc are being released seperatly for those who want the latest and greatest, but every month or two, a dot-point update containing all those fixes plug other updates is released.
http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=2226
so, again, major computer OS's are coming closer and closer together in how they work.