Installation of GNU software (for instance) typically consists of
typing "make". There are problems sometimes but I have never been
stumped by them and have never needed a "support" line. However with
my Dad's PC, we *HAVE* been stumped: think about the problem for days,
try umpteen variations, call the support lines, drive to a shop and
buy new cards to see if they fix it, download the latest bug-fixes of
the software, mail-order the latest bug-fixes of the firmware, ask the
local PC gurus for hints... AND STILL FAIL TO GET SIMPLE THINGS
WORKING.
This wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you know Unix but not
Windows, would it? Nah...
Generally I can fix the "problems sometimes" after a few minutes of
regedit, winfile, notepad, blah, blah, reboot, ta-da, all fixed. But maybe
that has nothing to do with familiarity. Maybe it's because I'm *really*
really smart, even smarter than you, why, so smart that I can fix Windows
problems as well as Unix problems.
Allow me to quote you from a recent message:
>Netscape co-founder and programming whiz Marc Andreessen admitted on
>the Charlie Rose TV show that his home PC crashes regularly; that he
>hasn't been able to get his printer or CD-ROM drive to work [...]
What a shocking, unexpected, and totally selfless admission. Why, it's
almost like Roger Smith selflessly admitting that his Honda Accord is
constantly in the shop for major repairs.
- Joe
Joseph S. Barrera III (joebar@microsoft.com)
http://www.research.microsoft.com/research/barc/joebar
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