Idle State

I am proposing a new law for Operating System Selection.

Yet another friend asked me at the pub the other day if I would help her buy a new computer. We talked about it for a minute or two while I bandied around venerable selection criteria - such as usability, software requirements, viruses, price, the illuminated Apple logo on the top of the clamshell and so on. My friend was somewhat nonplussed.

It occurred to me that there had to be a much more didactic means of choosing a suitable OS. A selection criteria which would make all others pale into insignificance. Furthermore - the criteria must be technically sound, beyond questioning of the layman and free from FUD, marketing hype and OS wars.

So. Applying Occam's Razor a vast number of OS characteristics using the selection criteria above I arrived at a profoundly simple solution.

I present Campbell's Law Of Choosing An Operating System:

When selecting an Operating System, it shall be bundled with Vi. [But not in an "I can't uninstall it" antitrust kind of way.]

Straightforward, really.

Speaking of Vi - do you ever get in that really annoying situation where you have been using Vi for days, and then switch to Word or something similar in order to type a letter of complaint to your landlord who can't read Courier to find you yourself typing:

iDear Sir,<enter>Please replace my missing front door immediately.<esc>:y100p etc etc etc

It's annoying to say the least - that Word et al don't intercept Vi commands and simply carry out the actions. With accessibility the big issue for web sites and software these days accepting Vi commands should be part and parcel of every application. Rob Sinclair please take note - accessibility is for everyone, including Unix users.

I digress.

Now selecting an Operating System is easy. You go to the store. Pick a machine bundled with Vi. Buy it. Live happily ever after. Empirical evidence to date suggests that I am overwhelmingly more satisfied if you decide according to my law of OS Selection. I contend that this proves my law. The results are repeatable. Prove me wrong, if you dare.

In the event that you still can't decide, use Campbell's Law Of Choosing A New Computer:

When selecting a new computer, the machine shall have an illuminated apple on it.

Back to the beach.:wq

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