Linux so far no software hare (fwd)

[cbbrowne-HInyCGIudOg at public.gmane.org]

> I just sent this to the Star.  I sent it as an article to the Business
> section.  I don't really know the best place.  Perhaps their
> Ombudsman.

[Much elided that I agree with; it is _very_ well written, Hugh!]

> MS Office itself is unlikely to be more stable on Linux than on MS
> Windows.

I'll take a _bit_ of issue with this, as there have been known to be
surprises.

I have seen several reports from people I trust well with the rather
surprising conclusion that running Windows atop VMWare atop Linux leads
to an environment noticeably more stable than running Windows
"natively."

The apparent explanation is that the "simulated PC" that VMWare provides
has fewer "jagged bits of functionality" coming in from the hardware
side  that can 'break down.'  In effect, the "virtual machine" that
their product emulates is better, for the purpose of running Windows,
than a real one.

That is quite different from what I would be inclined to expect; what I
would _expect_ is that VMWare, being a "simulator," with all sorts of
"kludges," would be considerably less reliable than a "real machine."

An implementation of MS Office that uses the boundaries of Unix
processes and directories and permissions to enclose its behaviour might
conceivably be more stable than the existing editions that have
generally been pretty unconstrained in what they can do to one's
computer system.

Of course, the opposite can be true; witness the reports of the hideous
implementation of Internet Explorer on Solaris and HP/UX...

But it is good to keep in mind that Microsoft has implemented MS Office
atop "Unix" in the form of the latest edition for MacOS X.  After doing
"it" (porting to Unix) once, Microsoft probably has enough experience to
be able to choose what degree of stability they want unleashed...
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