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Showing posts from December, 2015

What Microsoft Can Do to Make Me Hate Windows a Little Less

Those who know me know that I have little love for Microsoft Windows.  The platform is a special snowflake, and coming from a Unix background (real UNIX , not Linux, btw), every time I'm faced with Windows I feel like I'm in some alternate dimension where everything is a little strange and painful. I have to deal with Windows because of applications.  My wife runs Quickbooks (which is one of the more chaotic and poorly designed bits of software I've run across), the kids have video games they like.  I've had to run it myself historically because some expense report site back at former employer AMD was only compatible with IE.  I also have a flight simulator for RC aircraft that only works in Windows (better to practice on the sim, no glue needed when you crash, just hit the reset button.) All of those are merely annoyances, and I keep Windows around on one of my computers for this reason.  It's not one I use primarily, nor one I carry with me when I travel. Bu

On Misunderstandings

Yesterday there was a flurry of activity on Twitter, and in retrospect, it seems that some have come away with interpretations of what I said that are other than what I intended.  Some of that misunderstanding is pretty unfortunate, so I'd like to set the record straight on a couple of items now. First off, let me begin by saying that this blog, and my Twitter account, are mine alone, and are used by me to express my opinions.  They represent neither illumos nor Lucera , nor anyone or anything else. Second, I have to apologize for it seems that I've come across as somehow advocating either against diversity (whether in the community or in the workplace) or in favor of toxicity. Nothing could be further from the truth.  I believe strongly in diversity and an inclusive environment, both for illumos, and in the work place.  I talked about this at illumos day last year  (see about 13:30 into the video, slides here ), and I've also put my money where my mouth is.  Clearl