[tlug] Race Car Linux?

["Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon" <ronfaxon@example.com>]

About that NEC laptop - it's my wife's machine now, and - for the moment 
- she's happy with ME, so I'm leaving it in for now (map and train 
schedule software that doesn't run on Linux is part of the equation as 
well).  Something has been in the back of my mind regarding an analogy 
however -

A few months back, someone compared Linux to a Ferrari, but I think the 
analogy is wrong.  If you try to use a Ferrari for hauling groceries, 
driving on bumpy dirt roads, and carrying four people, then it looks 
like the car might be more like Windows ME than Linux!  Paradoxically, 
I've noticed that ME (before it freezes up and becomes useless until 
it's forcibly shut down and rebooted) feels quite snappy - with one or 
two applications and used for short bursts.  *That's* the situation with 
a race car!  Linux, on the other hand, is something like.... um.... 
say.... a Honda!  Cool, fast in practical applications, and reliable.  
Something you can haul people and groceries in for years on end.

But never mind, analogies are - nearly by definition - nearly always 
inane and totally off the mark anyway!  What I'd really like is a 
squeaky new set of hardware with Linux, a couple of Hondas for family 
use, and a Ferrari for... for... looking at for one thing!  Where can 
you enjoy driving a Ferrari on this island?  Ah... but of course!  Where 
everyone speeds, on the most dangerous roads and in tunnels where there 
is no radar!