Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!ucsd!ucsdhub!esosun!seismo!uunet!sugar!karl
From: karl@sugar.uu.net (Karl Lehenbauer)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: R.I.P. Byte
Message-ID: <2596@sugar.uu.net>
Date: 3 Sep 88 15:24:56 GMT
References: <402@mfgfoc.UUCP> <674@proxftl.UUCP>
Organization: Sugar Land Unix - Houston, TX
Lines: 34

In article <674@proxftl.UUCP>, bill@proxftl.UUCP (T. William Wells) writes
a reasoned defense of Pournelle, claiming that Jerry's Unix slams were
pretty valid, which in this case I agree that they pretty much were.
Nonetheless, Jerry is *notorious* for taking cheap shots.  I recall a Byte 
article several years ago in which he wrote something like "CP/M slays Unix.  
Unix?  Why would I want Unix?  See, I just got this really neat *CP/M shell*, 
and it provides a lot of Unix-like utilities."

Ever since his mad friend MacLean died, he hasn't had anyone technically
competent whom he trusts to advise him.  In the old days, he would write a
lot of stupid stuff but also write what his mad friend said, like "Jerry,
just because this Pascal you've tried has crummy error messages doesn't
mean Pascal sucks.  You are confusing the language with its implementation."
(He still hasn't figured that one out.)

Want some more?  How about his new thing that each application should
have its own processor?  He doesn't want his communications program stealing
cycles from his CPU, so he wants it implemented as an intelligent board.  
I trust most readers can see the problem:  the comm program's processor's
cycles can only be used by the comm program; one doesn't gain aggregate
CPU power nearly to the extent one would under more general multiprocessing
or just by spending the money on a faster system.

One other thing, Bill Wells points out that Jerry *uses computers*, not
just plays with or programs them, but I think he's a pretty narrow user 
(not to say that most aren't), mostly using the machines to do word 
processing, and generalizing that view to dismiss or criticize solutions 
to applications he doesn't understand (e.g. bashing multiuser systems).

Don't forget that this guy also has a weekly column in Info World, and he
writes a lot of crap there, too, possibly to greater effect.
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