From: petesk@microsoft.com (Pete Skelly)
Subject: Re: Distributed Systems (was: Re: Origins of IBM / Microsoft rift)
Date: 16 Aug 92 05:29:33 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corporation

In article <-159819989@hpopd.pwd.hp.com> yuk@hpopd.pwd.hp.com (Yuk Lun Chan) writes:
>>comp.os.os2.advocacy / petesk@microsoft.com (Pete Skelly) / 11:01 pm  Aug 12, 1992 /
>
>>Simple accounting: use an accounting book.  Keep it in a filing cabinet.
>Do you know that there is a lot of customized accounting programs written
>in house? A lot of them are character based with simple graphic (ANSI sequcnce).

This is probably why MS Visual Basic is so hot.  It's easier to write apps
in it that in C/COBOL/WHATEVER, and it looks better.

>>wordprocessing: use a typewriter.
>A lot of Universities here use terminals, not typewriter.

Using a WYSWIG GUI is pretty cool, though.
>
>>education: use teachers
>:-) A teacher wrote a diag. of keyboard on the blackboard and say, "boys, if
>you press return, something will come up on the screen if you have a computer".

Well, now, if teachers are teaching the next generation of computer users,
shouldn't they be teaching them how to use next generation computers, and
not computers from a generation or two ago.

>
>>data input: what kind?
>Line after line of say marketing materials.

Use an OCR.
>
>>Well, I'd like to use technology a little more advanced.  286 machines
>>are getting quite cheap these days.  They run windows.  Now your workforce
>>would be allowed to use WYSWIG word processing, have a far better UI
>>in their word processing, and so on.  Education, now you can use multimedia.
>
>>A few com cards, try 100.  yeuch.  
>>How much are dumb terminals.  As I said, 286 boxes are quite cheap also.
>>Lan cards are very cheap.  100 LAN licenses are cheap.  
>>So the net cost will be a bit more, the net ability of the system, though,
>>will be a whole lot more!!!
>
>At least one vmanufacturer has 32 ports com card for PC. What happen if I
>already have 100 dumb terminals, thrown them away?

Buy the COM card, hook up your terminals, get NT (MS PLUG ALERT ;) hook it
up.  Plan for the future to buy real equipment when you start to get
squeezed out by more competitive and ambitious companies who did set things
up right in the first place.
(Why do you keep on thinking I said that NT couldn't do COM ports, I just
said it was an archaic way to do things)
>
>As another netter posted here, a lot of organisations still using a lot of
>dump terminals. Most of Universities here in U.K. have large number of
>terminal. (The Universities in US may rich enough not to use terminal)

The universities can do what I said your business user should do.
>
>>You give a UNIX system, which will be MAXED out in use.  The users won't be
>>able to use anything more complecated.  What if the UNIX box goes down.
>>For every hour it is down, you loose 100 man hours of work.  
>
>This is the advantage of Client-server, I agreed.
>
>>With the NT system, You can use most advanced Windows software as it comes
>>out.  And when the main box goes down, everyone can continue to work locally.
>
>O.K. Can I still working when all my accessing file dead?

It depends on whether you set up your system intelligently.  The best way would
be to setup your app so it backs up your data to your local disk on occasion,
and then when you do a real save, save it back to the central server.  
>
>>Let me just remind you that I DID NOT SAY that NT couldn't handle login
>>over the serial port from a term.  I only questioned the usefulness of this.
>
>You better have it. Otherwise, a lot of people would just kept away until
>MS made it or when they are rich enough to switch.

May I assume you meant "I think you should have it".  Otherwise, your statement
sounds awful nasty, and I don't feel like flaming your right now.
>
>
>Yuk

petesk@microsoft.com
My Opinions...

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