[rescue] NeXTSTEP or OPENSTEP?

[Carl R. Friend]

    On Mon, 11 Aug 2014, Nathan Raymond wrote:

> I'm surprised nobody has posted a link to probably the most definitive
> article on the subject, "Windows NT and VMS: The Rest of the Story" by Mark
> Russinovich (cofounder of Winternals Software and Sysinternals.com, now a
> Technical Fellow at Microsoft), written back on Nov 30, 1998:
>
> http://windowsitpro.com/windows-client/windows-nt-and-vms-rest-story

    I'd thought that would have been "mandatory reading" for anybody who
actually studies how things like operating systems come into being, are
engineered, and how they evolve.  We're dealing with more than just the
code that drives them, but also the psyches and foibles of those who do
the real "heavy lifting" to bring them into existence.  What we're
dealing with here is not the stuff of Divine Intervention but rather
the thoughts and creations of humans -- with all the baggage that
brings.

    Of note, in late '88, DEC was laid out cold on a slab waiting for
the dissectors to come in and carve up what was left for maximum profit
to the "stockholders" instead of trying to resurrect a once-proud and
capable firm.  The outcome for DEC was entirely foreseeable at that
point.  When DEC finally slid beneath the waves I penned an obituary
that I showed to my wife; this was lucky, because if I'd published it,
even on USENET, I'd still be fighting off the lawsuits.  Put bluntly,
DEC had it coming; they lost focus, foundered, and were dismembered on
the rocks.

    But yet, NT/Mica lives on -- and prospers even.  One wonders what
Cutler is working on now.  I'm sure that it'll be great one day.  But,
I will stick to my guns and aver that NT3 was absolutely as horridly
bad as VMS3 was.  In spades.  Bug for bug compatible.  BTDT.

    DEC -- you deserved so much better than what happened to you.  Even
Data General, the "bastards of the industry" fell after you did.  And
you (as well as all of the other minicomputer companies who failled)
too the entire New England economy with you, which has not, to this day,
recovered.

    Cheers?

+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| Carl Richard Friend (UNIX Sysadmin)            | West Boylston       |
| Minicomputer Collector / Enthusiast            | Massachusetts, USA  |
| mailto:crfriend at rcn.com                        +---------------------+
| http://users.rcn.com/crfriend/museum           | ICBM: 42:22N 71:47W |
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