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My first professional computer was an SGI O2. The thing that bothered me at the time was how completely closed the architecture was. It costs hundreds of dollar
by mtillman 4y ago
My first professional computer was an SGI O2. The thing that bothered me at the time was how completely closed the architecture was. It costs hundreds of dollars to buy compilers for example. Linux was an amazing thing in comparison because almost everything I needed to do my job was free. I never took Windows seriously so I’ve not used it. MSFT had far better sales reps at the time though from what I recall.
- kanwisher 4y agoI got my first c++ compiler for windows practically free with a book. I think full version of visual studio was $100 when I was first learning to code in early 90s. There were tons of free ware compilers for dos. Unix was basically impossible for anyone without a corporate job
- jeffbee 4y agoThat seems like an inconsistent point. You also had to buy the Windows compiler.
- speed_spread 4y agoWindows software had the advantage of popularity, there were always "unlocked" professional tools floating around if you had a modem and knew what number to dial. Unix tools tended to be not only rare and proprietary, but suffered from a lack of l33t hacking scene to remove their pervasive licence files requirements.
- justin66 4y ago> The thing that bothered me at the time was how completely closed the architecture was. It costs hundreds of dollars to buy compilers for example. It cost tens of thousands of dollars to buy an O2.
- bcrl 4y agoThat was the way things were back in the 1980s. The only reason I managed to gain any experience programming in C on my Amiga is because one of my uncles bought me a $400 compiler to use (Aztec C). Things became easier in the 1990s as gcc improved and was ported to virtually every architecture on the planet. Richard Stallman was right to focus on a C compiler as a prerequisite to building the rest of the free software ecosystem.