Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 21:51:20 -0700 From: "Ted Mittelstaedt" <tedm@toybox.placo.com> To: <the_philologus@excite.com>, <questions@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: RE: Applixware 5.0 installation Message-ID: <002201c11657$c745f0e0$1401a8c0@tedm.placo.com> In-Reply-To: <12435384.996181770164.JavaMail.imail@seamore.excite.com>
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>-----Original Message----- >From: owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG >[mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG]On Behalf Of >the_philologus@excite.com >Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2001 2:09 PM >To: questions@FreeBSD.ORG >Subject: Applixware 5.0 installation > > > >I've purchased a copy of the "Desktop Edition" of FreeBSD and wish to >register it, esp. since I need questions answered about the installation of >Applixware 5.0 that came with the package. On the CDs it says that >"technical support" should be addressed here. > Whoah there! Tech support questions on FreeBSD come to here. Tech Support questions on Applixware go to the manufacturer - see http://www.vistasource.com/services/support FreeBSD does not have a "product registration" per say although you can go here: http://www.freebsd.org/register.html and register yourself. Vistasource most likely would be interested in you registering yourself as an Applixware owner, see their website for details. >The registration card that comes along with the manual will be mailed, but >it is made out to the (old?) Walnut Creek address. Is there a corrected >address to send it to? (I find it curious that, with such a Net-centered >technology, Walnut Creek CDROM has/d no online registration.) > Walnut Creek was acquired by BSDi, then BSDi was acquired by WindRiver, who recently announced that WC's CD orders CD's would be fulfilled by BSDCentral, see http://www.bsdcentral.com/ However many people here were quite unhappy with this because BSD Central is owned by Linux Central and they even have been answering the phone as "Linux Central" (I don't know if they got that fixed yet) More people are now going to http://www.daemonnews.org to buy their releases as a result of this. In short, the software manufacturers are separating themselves from the distribution people, and the distribution people now seem to be much more interested in who you are. :-) >As I am new to Unix-systems in general as well as FreeBSD, the learning >curve is steep and I have found the online help pages generally only a >little bit helpful. They presume WAY TOO MUCH knowledge on the part of >non-Unix users. Basic stuff is missing or, if present, presented in the >least straightforward form. For example, it took me 3 days of looking to >figure out (not "find", "figure out") what the FreeBSD command to mount a >CD-ROM is. (Unix reference books sometimes give Unix commands with some of >their Linux counterparts, but no FreeBSD commands.) Windows users, if they >come, will be bringing their files with them. Guess what? Accessing >("mounting" and reading) their old DOS-based files is going to be of utmost >importance to them. This isn't even nearly adequately enough covered >online. (Yes, I already have checked out quite a number of the links you >give at your site. They do half a job, at best.) Exact syntax and EXAMPLES >need to be given, not just some general statement of given commands. The >"man pages" don't cut it. > What about a book or two? See: http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/bibliography.html >for us nontechies. May I make a further suggestion for easing consumers' >installation woes? The Linux version of Applixware has an installation >guide. Why not take that guide and substitute the appropriate instructions >and commands for FreeBSD? Since the instructions take up all of two small >pages, it could probably be done in a couple of hours by a knowledgeable >engineer or FreeBSD user on the project. >For my $100, I should have gotten something like that in writing. > You should send that to Vistasource, the people here didn't write that application. >I'm pulling for the Unix systems on the desktop, but they have such a >loooong way to go before average users can replace their Windows stuff with >them. Most home users WOULDN'T have spent the three nights I have trying to >figure how to get the system to read a CD-ROM. Nor should they have to. >They'd just give up and say, "To hell with it. I'll just stay a Microserf. >Bill is good. Good is Bill." > Tee Hee - they won't be doing that in a few years. You know what Microsoft has planned for all those home users don't you? Within 5 years possibly less Microsoft will be releasing serialized versions of Windows that will require the license to be renewed every 2 years, by the end user telephoneing into Microsoft and paying another $100 for an unlock code. On top of that they will only be able to do that a few times, Microsoft will use that to enfore manadatory upgrading of OS software. Once all those home users start having to pay the Windows tax a whole lot more of them are going to be spending those 3 nights. And consider you only have to spend the 3 nights once, with Windows you have to keep paying and paying. And you won't be able to do what most home users do and borrow the Windows CD from the office and load up your $69.95 no-name clone bare systems with it. When the masses have to start paying money they will be ripe for the picking. Consider also that Microsoft will never get out from being declared a governmentally regulated monopoly until they forcibly expel 50% of the userbase from their product. They know this and are preparing to expel those users - and they are arrainging it so that the users that get expelled are the ones that won't pay for software unless forced. (ie: the unprofitable ones) Ted Mittelstaedt tedm@toybox.placo.com Author of: The FreeBSD Corporate Networker's Guide Book website: http://www.freebsd-corp-net-guide.com To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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