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Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 19:34:26 +0800
From: W B Hacker <wbh@conducive.org>
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To: Fans of the OS Plan 9 from Bell Labs <9fans@cse.psu.edu>
Subject: Re: Warning: Rant. Please disregard. [Was: Re: [9fans] Is IBM
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lucio@proxima.alt.za wrote:
>> Think PDA, phone handset, 'thin client' (terminal) and the heavy-hitters for 
>> storage and computation located somewhere else on the network.
> 
> I do, but what induces the IT manager in a 200+ organisation to think
> Plan 9?  And why would I want her to?
> 
> ++L
> 
> 

I'd class that as a de-facto impossibility.

WTH - we couldn't get OS/2 'sold' in an organization ten times that size and 
more.  Even though it was largely IBM mainframe dominated, and whose senior 
management *liked* IBM .... and against, of all things, Win 3.X - despite a more 
robust and then still fully compatible Win-OS2 being built in to OS/2. (Win-95 
was still years away at the time).

I don't see Plan9 ever even starting down the 'populist' road in that manner.

But the choice of embedded and 'appliance' OS'en is not made the same way, and 
the 'Windows' cachet as not as hard to compete with.

Virus host in my cellphone?  No thanks!

But cellphones, to name just one - can easily sell half-a-million 'seats' in two 
years or fewer - and to folks who could give a Massachusetts as to what brand is 
on the underlying OS software.

Those who have WinCE on their 'devices' know it. Those who have 'ABM' often 
*don't* know - or care - what they are using. So long as it JFW.

To the extent Plan9 can support a 'bespoke' UI and show life-cycle cost and 
performance advantages, STB, hand-held, and other 'appliance' makers can adopt 
it without it being directly 'in the face' of the end user.

And by 'bespoke UI' I don't mean folks here porting X-Windows, re-inventing 
drawterm or anything of the sort.

Rather, the device-maker's own team putting up something customized - more like 
GEM or the iPOD interface - even QNX' 'Photon' approach.

Something that 'JFDI' whatever the device is expected to do.

Not having a heavy and entrenched GUI already in place to 'fight with' is 
actually an advantage for Plan9 on that score.

Just do a file-count and 'du' before and after an install of 
Xorg+wm+desktop+tools of-choice on any *n*x.

Then weep over the waste of it all. And prepare for version Hell on upgrades.

There has to be a better way.

Bill