Xref: utzoo comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc:7905 comp.sys.mac.misc:10186
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!news.cs.indiana.edu!noose.ecn.purdue.edu!gn.ecn.purdue.edu!jess
From: jess@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (Jess M Holle)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc,comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Open Letter to an MS-DOS User
Message-ID: <1991Mar27.215516.20770@gn.ecn.purdue.edu>
Date: 27 Mar 91 21:55:16 GMT
References: <6078@crystal9.UUCP> <1991Mar27.200613.4423@jato.jpl.nasa.gov>
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network
Lines: 38

In article <1991Mar27.200613.4423@jato.jpl.nasa.gov> dave@elxr.jpl.nasa.gov writes:
>
>If you were having these kinds of troubles, it's good that you bought
>a different machine! These machines are not for the computer incompetant.
>(Who else would type rm *.* on a DOS machine?)

After using MS-DOS, Mac, and UNIX machines for several years, I still made a
mistake similar to the one you mention. I cannot attribute it to my own
incompetency, but rather for a desire for speed and efficiency. You see, I
had just created numerous temporary files in a directory named JUNK right of
of the main directory on a DOS machine. Wanting to rid the drive of these now
unnecessary files with as little trouble as possible, I quickly typed cd JUNK
from the main directory and del *.*. The problem was, I am normally a decent
touch typist, so I was not watching the screen when I made the typo in the cd
command. Next thing I knew I had removed all the files off the main directory
of a 70Mb Hard Drive. The point being that on the Mac, I would have simply
dragged Junk (notice beautiful lowercase lettering) to the trash with NO
possibility for error.

>Gee..I could if you tell me how much slower it runs, how much
>
>Then I could guess.
>
>Dave Hayes -  dave@elxr.jpl.nasa.gov - ames!elroy!dxh

I assume that you have never attempted desktop publishing on a PC, or simple
AutoCAD illustrations (can you say FOREVER redraw on a 286), or... the list
goes on. There are numerous applications where the speed of a PC is far
inferior to the Mac, and these happen to be the same applications that I use
on a daily basis. For instance, compare Pagemaker on a 16Mhz 68030 Mac and
a 16Mhz 80386 PC, or for any medium level CAD/illustration program on the PC to
programs such as Claris CAD on the Mac. There are instances of applications
where the PC is faster as well, of course, but sweeping generalizations such
as the one you make above are ludicrous, especially when I have found my Mac
to be much faster for the above applications (not to mention other productivity
gains inherent in the Mac).

Jess Holle