🚀 go-pugleaf

Greg Lindahl wrote:
> 
> Patrick O'Neil <patrick@howard.genetics.utah.edu> writes:
> 
> > You and the few like you are NOT the mass of computer users.
> 
> Can I have a quarter for every time this statement is widely
> cross-posted to Usenet?
> 
> Klaus expressed his opinion. I never saw him claim that he was
> typical. Stop beating that horse; it's dead. And reduce your followups.

In reading Klaus' message, he indicates, by implication, that games
such as Nethack are plenty good enough and that, therefore, anyone and
everyone should be able to adopt non-mainstream CPU architectures.  

He has tended to spout off about many things, for instance, being VERY
anti-commercial software.  As his personal opinion, that is fine, but
in a thread that has followed the path this one has in addition to his
statements implying that Nethack and the like, as well as GPL games,
etc, are enough for anyone and everyone, then such statements DO become
subject to "attack".  

If one is trying to argue that alternative CPU-based systems are viable,
it IS valid to attack the basis when said basis relies upon old-style
(70s
and early 80s) text-based games...or any other software, for that
matter.
The world HAS moved beyond the 70s and 80s and will continue to do so.  
I will not argue that CLI is appropriate and fine for some things but to
state, directly or indirectly, that CLI is ALL that ANYONE needs or
should
use (in games, productivity, whatever, software) is bogus and subject 
to reply.

Thus, I stand by my statement in regards to Klaus' opinion and argument.
Nethack and other CLI-type software may be fine for HIM but it is not 
fine for most others and is NOT a valid argument in favor of most people
adopting non-mainstream (whether you like the mainstream or not) 
architectures.  My argument is simple:  Non-x86 architectures become 
BROADLY viable alternatives for MOST computer users when and only when 
they are supported by major software vendors, including modern hi-vis
bells and whistle games.  That is the way it is.  Linux is now beginning
to take off more broadly BECAUSE it is acquiring easy-to-use GUIs, major
commercial software support, and major hardware company support.  If it
was still locked into the earlier 1.0 mode, it would be forever locked
into
a minor hacker backwater.  

There are many nice GPL'd software, sure, but at the same time, there is 
a substantial amount of that software which is not user-friendly (unless
you
are a linux guts expert or programming expert of some type) and will
likely
never become user friendly, especially in comparison to commercial apps 
which, in order to attract users, MUST be able to do what they want in
an EASY fashion, from install to actual use.  In the modern
graphics-intensive
world (which will NOT change but WILL get ever more graphics-intensive)
CLI apps and operations are not a draw to MOST computer users.  Not for
games and not for other apps.

Simple really.

patrick