THE WARPED PERSPECTIVE
June 2003

Immunity is cool, isn't it?

No, OS/2 users are not immune to power outages, but we are immune to yet another round of frustrating, counterproductive Windoze security collapses. That does not mean that OS/2 is bulletproof -- yet -- but it does mean that an OS/2 shop is certain to have less risk, less downtime, and lower overhead than a comparable facility infested with Windoze products.

I remember a while back, perhaps a year or so ago, when Bank of America ATM's began crashing all over the place. This was during the last major Internet-spread Windoze bug. This was because BofA had just made the asinine decision to downgrade their reliable ATM's to brain-dead, insecure Windoze-based platforms. Meanwhile, other banks' ATM's that were safely Windowless continued to function normally. By laboring under the absurd illusion that Windoze was somehow a "safe choice," even the last bastions of reliability and common sense in the business community are starting to succumb to the tidal wave of mediocrity and obsolescence emanating from the Black Hole of Redmond.

I have not had to reformat my hard drive or reload OS/2 on my PC since 1998. (Yes, that seems like a millennium ago, doesn't it?) My parents' 100% OS/2-based PC (100% XP-free) has not had a crash or a lockup since they bought it in January of 1997 -- well over 6 years. Nobody in this situation needs a "for Dummies" book, because the computer does not make them feel like a dummy.

You see, it takes two kinds of people to make snake oil salesmen like the slickmeisters at Microsoft successful at their deception. It takes willing accomplices (sad-sack consultants, media fashion-chasers, paid "planted" supporters, etc.), but it also takes buyers devoid of common sense and intellectual integrity. By integrity, I mean that companies will on the one hand shriek and moan that virus attacks are costing them billions of dollars in lost productivity and overhead costs, while at the same time ignoring the fact that it is Windoze -- their own foolish choice -- which makes these conditions possible. This is in addition to the monthly, weekly, or even daily patch-fest to attempt to correct Microsoft programming mistakes, errors, and design flaws.

This condition is sort of like the couch potato who weighs 450 pounds, eats chocolates and pizzas all day, and then gets angry when he can't fit into his car to drive to work or to go shopping (for more pizza, beer, etc.) This kind of people blame the car for their inconvenience, they blame their doctor for being such a hard case, and they blame the clothing manufacturers and retailers for not stocking up on size 58 quadruple-X of everything.

The answer is right in front of you, IT know-it-alls! Dump Windoze, permanently!

Sure, there will be a period of adjustment. But Microsoft is already scheduling a period of "adjustment" with their next bug-riddled, mind-numbing version of their products. You cannot escape change. What makes you think that Microsoft will not keep stringing you along, year after year, requiring patches upon patches, versions upon versions, mandated life-cycle terminations, forced "upgrades"? Do you think you are immune?

If you are not immune to Microsoft bugs, then you cannot be immune to Microsoft, can you?

Do you know why Microsoft's internal codename for "dot-net" is "Hailstorm?" Because after a hailstorm, everybody has to buy new Windoze....

As I said, I have not had to do a re-image of my PC in over 5 years. Can your company go even 5 months without a re-image of your Windoze-infested PC's? Have you ever counted the accumulated lost productivity of having everyone re-load their custom applications, their bookmark settings, and their favorite screen options? How about the downtime and expense caused by applications that no longer work on the "new" Windoze installation? No, of course you have not accounted for these lost resources. You are counting the downtime you can blame on outside events outside your control, but you are refusing to count the downtime that results from your own foolish decisions.

How long before somebody in upper management realizes that you have become nothing more than an in-house snake oil salesman?


Most recent revision: August 3, 2003
Copyright © 2003, Tom Nadeau
All Rights Reserved.

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