[Ma-linux] Need a quick reminder

[Keith Bennett]

Alan -

I don't think it's a valid comparison.  The people you mentioned were
highly valuable in software development, operating systems, etc.
Steve Jobs brought technology to users in a way that the others did
not.  Their achievements were in different areas.  I don't think it's
necessary, fair, or accurate to discount Jobs' achievements to honor
the others.

I do agree with you, though, that the others have been extremely
important and are grossly unacknowledged by the general public.  This
is because their work is largely invisible and incomprehensible to
nontechnical people.

- Keith

On Fri, Oct 14, 2011 at 8:44 AM, Alan McConnell <alan at patriot.net> wrote:
> Thanks to Bruce, Mackenzie, and Justin, for their enlightening
> and authoritative answers.
>
> I might state here what I should have stated originally:  I
> wanted this information for purposes of writing to The New
> Yorker magazine about their reverent coverage of the recent
> demise of Steve Jobs.   I never had one of the MacToys, but
> I guess they are very good for what they do, and of course
> no one likes to see a productive and imaginative citizen
> dying at the early age of 56.
>
> But -- so I wrote the New Yorker -- isn't it clear that the
> real IT industry game changers are rms and Linus?  They are
> the people who will be remembered in the histories 50 years
> from now.
>
> I unfortunately wrote before reading of the death of Dennis
> Ritchie.  He too was much more important than Mr Jobs.  Imagine
> the software world without C!  (Maybe you can; I can't)
>
> If any one recalls the one company that _doesn't_ use Linux,
> but rather BSD, please let me know.  And if anyone knows
> what command to use to probe a site to determine what SW
> it is using(I seem to recall that such exists) please let
> me know.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Alan
>
> --
> Alan McConnell :  http://patriot.net/users/alan
>      "It is a great advantage for a system of philosophy
>      to be substantially true." (Sophia Loren)
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