From: v053qpgh@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Eric W Sarjeant)
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.apps
Subject: Re: Why OS/2 **WILL** fail
Date: 29 Sep 92 17:55:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <mg.717734192@tyrolia>, mg@tyrolia (Michael Golan) writes...
>I said:
>>Example: open drives, and move config.sys to the desktop ... on the next boot,
>>you die. I actually did it, by mistake, so I can edit the file.... 
> 
>gyan@unixg.ubc.ca (Gyan P. Sinha) writes:
[Some Stuff Deleted]
>I love your stories about 4-year olds running OS/2... But can they really
>use it? Not just when everything goes well, but when soemthing does get
>screwed?  Like when u need to "simply boot from a floopy and run chkdsk/f.
>Ya just type ESC in the 2nd screen. No not that screen, I mean the text
>screen...gee don't you know this one is graphics and doesnt count? No no
>what are you doing? not 'E' 'S' 'C', press the ESC button. geez.".
>what a GREAT GUI!! Can you 4 year old do that? hmm. smart girl!
> 

I submit that any GUI is inherently complex. Even the Mac requires regular
maintainence - why? Because it's just too easy to move things around and
mess up the system. If you accidentally move a few items out of your
System folder, the Mac is going to have a heck of a time booting up. The
manual never tells you this (unless you *gasp* read it) -- and the same
truth holds with CONFIG.SYS and OS/2.

Your little story about the ESC trick reminded me of the first installation
I made of Windows 3.1. Being the smart computer user I am, I decided to
follow MS's advice and let Win3.1 install itself "over" Win3.0. *URG*

What they didn't tell me was that the 800x600x256 SpeedStar drivers I
was using with Win3.0 were 110% incompatible with Win3.1. Lo and behold,
when Win3.1 attempted to boot I was dumped to a DOS prompt without
any information regarding what had just happened.

It took a couple of installs before the thought crossed my mind, and
I returned my Win3.0 to the native 640x480x16 state -- installation
continued happily...until it hit my multimedia drivers.

>No... OS2 is a complex system which need some "guru" to maintain it (ya,
>just like Unix). Fine - so do dos & windows (ini files, anyone?)
>So --- please IBM --- at least have two modes, a "guru"
>and non-"guru" mode, so in non-guru mode your 4-year old can not just
>put your clock in the trash and ... wow, you need to reinstall! 
>I wouldn't worry about my kid changing the W-INI files .. too hard...

Wouldn't worry about those WIN.INI files? Really?!? When a kid starts
playing with Write, the first files he/she encounters are all about what
you can do to the WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files. A little knowledge
about them would make them very tempting, and this is exactly what my
mother did when I first installed Win3.1 for her.

Finally, I also apologize for continuing this thread. I thought this
was advocacy but this is apps; not the place for this stuff.
==============================================================================
 Eric W. Sarjeant                    | "I am only too conscious that I have no
 sUnyaB                              |  claim to wisdom, great or small..."
 v053qpgh@ubvms.bitnet               |
 sarjeant@aol.com                    |
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.apps,comp.os.os2.advocacy