Messages in this thread | | | Subject | Re: Ken Thompson interview in IEEE Computer magazine (fwd) | Date | Wed, 05 May 1999 15:54:12 -0600 | From | Larry McVoy <> |
| |
: On Wed, 5 May 1999, David wrote: : >I would, in a heartbeat. Tell me, do you feel more secure that they use : >Microsoft? You would rather they have Microsoft running your money, or Linux?
Umm, I feel it necessary to point out (even though it shouldn't be) that I was NOT comparing Linux to NT nor was I suggesting that banks put your bank accounts on NT - they don't. If you find a bank that puts your bank account on either Linux or NT I strongly urge you to just take out all your money and send it to me, it will be quicker and more porductive.
Banks put your bank accounts on IBM mainframes, on HP boxes, on Solaris boxes, maybe (but unlikely) on DEC Alpha boxes. In roughly that order. Ditto for airline reservations, power grids, etc.
Linux isn't remotely close to being able to handle this stuff. It's a great OS, I love it dearly and continue to work hard on making it better, as I'm sure all of you do. But putting your bank account on the current thing we call Linux is like letting your child wander around at the edge of a busy road. Not a good idea.
I personally disagee with Ken about Linux vs NT - I'd take Linux over NT for critical stuff any day, at least I can fix Linux. But that's not the point - compoeting with NT is silly, that would lower Linux' standards. Compete with IBM mainframes if you want that market. Ignore NT - it will take them decades to even think about replacing IBM mainframes. Linux, on the other hand, has a shot.
We can rule the world, but we aren't going to do it by comparing ourselves against junk. Step up to the good stuff, ignore that Redmond generated stuff which attempts to pass as an OS.
- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
| |