[tlug] What, no Perl programmers around here? ;-)

["Shannon Jacobs \(6881\)" <shannon.jacobs@example.com>]

Let me review the context as I see it. I sent a minor warning about an
already repaired problem and a minimal fix. In response I received an
elaborate but slightly obsolete reply mixed with some stuff that struck me
as a bit thoughtless. I'm sorry if my response seemed to be an overreaction
or offended anyone, though my closing joke about the pointed tongue was
supposed to indicate that it should not be taken too seriously.
Acknowledging that Monroig is a name probably not of English origin, I was
giving Mr. Monroig's English skill the 'benefit of a doubt' based on what he
wrote. I further acknowledge that humor is dangerous--and I admit I've also
been involved in too many flamewars with a certain prominent lawyer...
However, I still think it's better to think carefully about what you write.
Quite often if you have nothing to say, it's just as well to say nothing.
(And I ultimately admit that this paragraph mostly qualifies as nothing--but
I obviously didn't unsay it.)

Now the new issue has been raised about the virtues of suffering for the
sake of Linux. First, I can assure you that I remember the struggles of
learning Windows--from Version 2, which was a piece of trash even by
Microsoft's standards of trash. (Thank goodness I never saw Version 1.) I'd
been using various mainframes for years before getting my first personal
computer. That one ran 8-bit CP/M, though I did more serious hacking in a
16-bit version. I really have no idea how many flavors of English and
Japanese DOS and UNIX and other OSes I've had to struggle with over the
years. While we're on the topic of arcana, does anyone remember DesqView? It
was a text-window multi-tasking system for DOS... Ah, those were the days of
hacking... I think I have sufficient memories of 'suffering for my art.' You
can say I've just gotten lazy about it.

Small world coincidence time. I had a long lunch with some technical people
(including a serious open source programmer who mayhaps usually reads this
mailing list from Switzerland), and the Perlish virtues of impatience,
laziness, and hubris came up in our conversation. (Actually I'm only a
dabbler in Perl.) If Windows can get my work done more quickly and easily,
I'm hard-pressed to justify the Linux alternative. Though my employer is
regarded as one of the stronger supporters of Linux, we don't have much
support for actually using Linux within the company. Let's just say there
are various kinds of computer-related work I need to get done. Ceteris
paribus, I'd prefer to use anything besides Microsoft's software, but
ceteris is never paribus.

My current impression is that the Ubuntu people are at an extreme position,
striving to make Linux even more 'user-friendly' than Windows, but without
the driving motivation of securing humongous monopoly profits. I'd love to
see them succeed--but it looks like they have a long ways to go before they
can even hope to reach a critical mass.