Message-ID: <3712A438.9E0AF90@lycosmail.com>
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 21:56:08 -0400
From: Adam Schrotenboer <ajschrotenboer AT lycosmail DOT com>
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To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Subject: Re: DJGPP: the future is... ?
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Reply-To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com

Eli Zaretskii wrote:

(snip)

> Would you please explain why do you think schools need Linux?  Why
> isn't it enough to have DJGPP on DOS or Windows?  I don't think
> schools go as far as writing GUI programs, so it shouldn't matter
> which interface they have.

I'm having a slightly different problem at my school. When I took QB first
semester 2 years ago, and Pascal 2nd semester, we used DOS. I also took C++
the next year 2nd semester (A really crappy course in which we hardly got
through half the book), for which we used TC++ 3.0. I liked this
arrangement, and now that I use DJGPP, I would prefer to stay w/ DOS
programming.

But NO, I can't do that, now all the programming classes are VB, & VC++.
I've written on this subject before, how I hate M$ Visual products. Anyway,
I can't seem to get away from this, and I am being compelled to form an
independent study and procure old machines to use as standalone if I and my
friends want to do programming w/ DOS. Schools are going toward M$ Winblows,
and it's driving me nuts. M$ is almost taking over my school. First the data
service gets snippy (actually, I can almost excuse them. Any of you in
IS/MIS/IT know what they go through), and now Bill Gates is forcing his
mediocrity on my life. Need I go into how FrontPage 98 is a pain in the
rear???? Or how MS Orifice 97 is so unstable and unwieldy? I used to be an
advocate of M$, but that was before there was a good alternative. Linux has
been around since 1992(???), but it has only become viable since 1997-98. I
am continually seeing myself pushed toward Linux, and seeing that I must
embrace it.

PLEASE, give the students an alternative. Next year I'm going to have to do
all this myself, and maybe, though I hope not, maybe nobody will do what I
want to do this, but I DON"T WANT VC++, I want to have an open std, easy to
use programming platform, that is not tied to M$'s whims.

BTW, did you hear that M$ is going to charge for the bugfixed Win98???? They
want to rip another $89 bucks off of us, to add insult to injury.

_____WE NEED TO BECOME INDEPENDENT._______

I'm sorry if this all has been terribly longwinded, and unorganized, but I
needed to say this.
(snip)