"anchorlt" wrote in message
om...
I smile when I read what the navigation software purists among us
assert and claim.

They don't like Windows? I have been using Windows since it first came
out, in 1995, on my boats' computers and never once had any problem or
failure with that software in any and all of its versions or updates
since. Please do not say again it does not work.

Mmm..., experienced system administrators have told me that they regularly
rebooted their NT servers, just to prevent lockups after a longer period.

I won't call myself a purist. But I work with my computers daily because it
is my job to develop hardware and software. I tend to choose the best tool
for the job and use Windows on my desktop. Not because it is the best tool
by nature, but it runs all necessary software I need for my job. On my
server I run Linux, because it is the best tool for that particular job. It
is rock solid and safe. I have been running windows from version 3.10 on a
daily basis and I simply know,because of what I do for living, that windows
is a fragile system. NT4 was in my opinion the best, but lacked support for
modern hardware.

I can tell you a story about a guy who wanted to setup a small system for
his office, which also had to run some internet stuff. After 8 weeks of
struggle, including hundreds of $ worth of support from Microsoft, he still
had no running system. He then went out and bought a Linux distribution.
Within 2 days, he was up and running.

I have also been installing a computer system on board of a ship, to control
a KVM switch that connected 12 LCD touchscreens with 10 PC's. I used linux
on that system because is had to keep running. I also connect all other
computers to the internet. Quite a few PC's had to be rebooted every now and
then. Not the linux system.

So, I'm not a purist, but I simply see that linux systems keep on running
for a longer time and have less problems. This is my observation, not a
purists feeling.

Meindert