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wozz writes "Walnut Creek will be bundling Applixware with their FreeBSD Power Desktop " Good news - wonder if there are any other similar deals in the works.
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Linux, FreeBSD and Solaris are very similar ( relative to other Unixes ) so it takes very little effort to port from one to the other. As such all that was keeping Applix off FreeBSD was the lack of a market. After all Applix is already on the other two.
Now it appears there are a significant number of people with FreeBSD on the desktop, so...
It's also worth noting that FreeBSD generally comes with KDE so this is another nail in the coffin of the "It's too hard" daemon.
And PPC support. I do like Applix, and I think that This will be good for Applix and FreeBSD. I'd rather back Applix than StarOrfice. Applix has been a friend of the Nix's for years.
Yeah, but supporting yet another UNIX is a significant cost for a software company, in terms of internal infrastructure and processes and all that junk. The porting may be easy, but the support and distribution and all that are not.
I've used Applix, and find it to be full-featured, easy, and very fast. I like it. Still, I've now converted to the One True Way, which is, of course, abiword, at www.abisource.com. (Still under development, unfortunately. But already good enough for me to scrape by with.)
"Berkeley System Distribution". Someone ought to compile a complete list. I don't think I've ever seen the correct one in one of these kind of articles.
My point was more of the fact that people will buy things based on the premise of havng support, even if they never use it...
I am certainly *not* calling M$ tech supprort good/functional/enviable, but the fact that help might be there in some official capacity is enough to allay the fears of some people, and let them buy something they otherwise might have steered clear of. "Wow, I heard there's companies that support Linux apps for users, not just buisnesses" is about the best thing to help spread the use of Linux and BSD right now. The reports in the media have raised the awareness quite a bit, but there are some mental hurdles that some people need to get over first. I've been using Linux (one distro or another for several years now), and I have had some friends (even CS majors, mind you), that were unwilling to try it because "what if I can't get a hold of you if something goes wrong".
It's like weak encryption, it may not help out a lot, but it does make you feel better...
On FreeBSD, KDE seems to be better supported. I have found it to be faster and more stable, never mind much easier to configure. Unless you really want to spend a long time right now figuring out all the guts of these things and tweaking a million parts, just install KDE from the ports collection. There are FreeBSD build scripts in the KDE src, but it's a pain to get done.
I'm using GNOME with Window Maker on my FreeBSD 4.0-CURRENT system and it's surprisingly stable. This isn't "October GNOME", though, but I can run all the things like Gnumeric, GNOME-card, etc. While I don't use them much, they're fun to play with.
People's perceptions are so odd. They hate Microsoft. They hate MS Office. They hate Word.
On the other hand, everyone loves Xerox PARC. They have so many neat toys. They invented personal computers and local area networks. They had this wonderful windowing technology that Apple stole. They had Smalltalk. They had the Bravo editor, just about the first windowing editor.
The funny thing is that I have been given to understand that the first version of Word was based on Bravo. And once I heard that and took a dispassionate look, I was aghast. Guess what? Word does look'n'feel somewhat like Bravo!
It's mighty scary. I personally am glad to see commercial office suite software on FreeBSD because that's what I run. I run it because I have a personal fondness for it, being a BSD user since 3BSD for the VAX. I know it and am comfortable with it, and I'll be happy to be able to do stuff on FreeBSD that I use Lotus SmartSuite for under Windows (I don't run Office either).
But really, I don't think FreeBSD is going to do much in the desktop market. Unless there are strong reasons for running it on the desktop, I think its future lies mostly in serverland. As far as desktop users can tell, Linux and FreeBSD are sort of a push, and Linux has a lot more how-to-do-it books on the market. (Except in Japan, where I hear there are just scads of FreeBSD books!)
And that doesn't matter either. It's a good thing to have tools available on servers. So, hurrah for Applixware. I'm looking forward to it. I just hope it turns out to be usable and stable. I wasn't too happy by that Forest Service guy's experiences. I hope that was an anomaly.
Applixware 2.3.7 was one of the buggiest pieces of software I ever came across. The filters were pretty lame, help documentation poor, and the application had a bad habit of simply going away, saving nothing to disk -- no backup, nothing. It's probably the only software I've ever used that I was really scared to fire up. Hopefully Applix has improved.
They just lost their most important reference customer, Sun (for obvious reasons). Their stock has lost 50% [yahoo.com] since late august. This BSD piece looks like quite a desperate move to save it in the "low end" market segment.
The free support offered by Applix for those who buy this package. It doesn't make much of a difference for many of us, who are used to downloading everything, toying around with it at our own risk and enjoyment. It does make more of a statement for the more widespread acceptance of BSD/Linux on laptops (aand desktops). Redhat's free install support for those who buy the box may not seem like a big deal to some, but it really goes a long way.
Joe Q Random: "Why would I try this - there's not even anyone to call if I have a problem" John Q Hacker: Joe: "But I wan't get to them - it's not working..."
Support is a major selling point for many people - even for those who are somewhat technically competant, but just want it to work *now*, and can't get a hold of the info in any other way but the phone...
The increase in the number of companies that are selling pre-loaded Linux/BSD boxen is definitely a step in the right direction - sometimes you just want the right tool for the job, and you want it working, without having to worry about hardware / partitioning issues... You can always play with the other stuff later, but let's get up and running.
I work for the US Forest Service which -- until this October -- has been using ApplixWare for its OfficeSuite. We're currently on version 4.37, and the program still sucks. The reason behind our use of it was that the FS is using IBM 6500s and PCs and ApplixWare could work on both.
Enough of the rank and file in the Forest Service, however, complained about how absolutely crappy the system is that we're now switching over to Microsoft Office. I'm no fan of Microsoft, but I don't mind not having to use Applix anymore.
I agree with all your complaints, but the worst part to my mind is that Applix more or less decided to use all their own shortcut keys for common operations. You wanna paste? Try F5, or F6, I don't recall.
Applix mail is atrocious, too. It's slow, the interface is horrible (click here, then type here -- hands always moving from keyboard to mouse and back), and it's just a hassle to use.
I have avoided using AW as much as possible -- it's just too obnoxious to be worth the trouble.
Now I've just got to get another PC. I've been waiting to run FreeBSD in my mix for a long time, but had nothing really to use it for. Applixware is as good a reason as any, I presume.
Now the important question. Which has better FreeBSD support? Gnome or KDE?
Must have been a very cheap port. (Score:1)
Now it appears there are a significant number of people with FreeBSD on the desktop, so...
It's also worth noting that FreeBSD generally comes with KDE so this is another nail in the coffin of the "It's too hard" daemon.
Re:The Long Ear of the Law (Score:1)
Re:Applixware is losing (Score:1)
I'm thinking that ApplixWare saw the writing on the wall and got off their butts and finished the port!
But...why should I pay for something I can get for free (StarOffice)?
Applixware for FreeBSD (Score:1)
Re:cool (Score:1)
Re:Must have been a very cheap port. (Score:1)
Yeah, but supporting yet another UNIX is a significant cost for a software company, in terms of internal infrastructure and processes and all that junk. The porting may be easy, but the support and distribution and all that are not.
I've used Applix, and find it to be full-featured, easy, and very fast. I like it. Still, I've now converted to the One True Way, which is, of course, abiword, at www.abisource.com. (Still under development, unfortunately. But already good enough for me to scrape by with.)
Re:Is it a port? OR linux emulation? (Score:1)
Re:It's about time. (Score:1)
GNOME leaves ~7 Core Dumps on my harddisk after a 5 minute session, on FreeBSD-STABLE.
Never had the problem with Linux, 'though.
Yet another version of "BSD"? (Score:1)
http://www.FreeBSD.org/FAQ/misc.html#AEN3582
Re:It's about time. (Score:1)
I then installed the gnome package. I am still trying to figure out how to run it.
Re:The real trick is... (Score:1)
just for reference, John Q Hacker decided to mention the newsgroups and the other on-line help...
Re:The real trick is... (Score:1)
I am certainly *not* calling M$ tech supprort good/functional/enviable, but the fact that help might be there in some official capacity is enough to allay the fears of some people, and let them buy something they otherwise might have steered clear of. "Wow, I heard there's companies that support Linux apps for users, not just buisnesses" is about the best thing to help spread the use of Linux and BSD right now. The reports in the media have raised the awareness quite a bit, but there are some mental hurdles that some people need to get over first. I've been using Linux (one distro or another for several years now), and I have had some friends (even CS majors, mind you), that were unwilling to try it because "what if I can't get a hold of you if something goes wrong".
It's like weak encryption, it may not help out a lot, but it does make you feel better...
G v K (oh no) (Score:1)
On FreeBSD, KDE seems to be better supported. I have found it to be faster and more stable, never mind much easier to configure. Unless you really want to spend a long time right now figuring out all the guts of these things and tweaking a million parts, just install KDE from the ports collection. There are FreeBSD build scripts in the KDE src, but it's a pain to get done.
coolness (Score:1)
Kudos to walnut creek.
djx
SCSI card (Score:1)
GNOME/Window Maker (Score:1)
A desktop for all seasons (Score:1)
On the other hand, everyone loves Xerox PARC. They have so many neat toys. They invented personal computers and local area networks. They had this wonderful windowing technology that Apple stole. They had Smalltalk. They had the Bravo editor, just about the first windowing editor.
The funny thing is that I have been given to understand that the first version of Word was based on Bravo. And once I heard that and took a dispassionate look, I was aghast. Guess what? Word does look'n'feel somewhat like Bravo!
It's mighty scary. I personally am glad to see commercial office suite software on FreeBSD because that's what I run. I run it because I have a personal fondness for it, being a BSD user since 3BSD for the VAX. I know it and am comfortable with it, and I'll be happy to be able to do stuff on FreeBSD that I use Lotus SmartSuite for under Windows (I don't run Office either).
But really, I don't think FreeBSD is going to do much in the desktop market. Unless there are strong reasons for running it on the desktop, I think its future lies mostly in serverland. As far as desktop users can tell, Linux and FreeBSD are sort of a push, and Linux has a lot more how-to-do-it books on the market. (Except in Japan, where I hear there are just scads of FreeBSD books!)
And that doesn't matter either. It's a good thing to have tools available on servers. So, hurrah for Applixware. I'm looking forward to it. I just hope it turns out to be usable and stable. I wasn't too happy by that Forest Service guy's experiences. I hope that was an anomaly.
Is it really cool? (Score:1)
cool (Score:1)
Re:cool (Score:1)
Applixware is losing (Score:2)
The real trick is... (Score:2)
Joe Q Random: "Why would I try this - there's not even anyone to call if I have a problem"
John Q Hacker:
Joe: "But I wan't get to them - it's not working..."
Support is a major selling point for many people - even for those who are somewhat technically competant, but just want it to work *now*, and can't get a hold of the info in any other way but the phone...
The increase in the number of companies that are selling pre-loaded Linux/BSD boxen is definitely a step in the right direction - sometimes you just want the right tool for the job, and you want it working, without having to worry about hardware / partitioning issues... You can always play with the other stuff later, but let's get up and running.
Just my $ 1/50
Re:Is it really cool? (Score:2)
Enough of the rank and file in the Forest Service, however, complained about how absolutely crappy the system is that we're now switching over to Microsoft Office. I'm no fan of Microsoft, but I don't mind not having to use Applix anymore.
I agree with all your complaints, but the worst part to my mind is that Applix more or less decided to use all their own shortcut keys for common operations. You wanna paste? Try F5, or F6, I don't recall.
Applix mail is atrocious, too. It's slow, the interface is horrible (click here, then type here -- hands always moving from keyboard to mouse and back), and it's just a hassle to use.
I have avoided using AW as much as possible -- it's just too obnoxious to be worth the trouble.
Sam Jooky
Where's my Burrito? Where's my Burrito? Where's my Burrito?
http://www.worldwidemart.com/sapienza/s alad [worldwidemart.com]
It's about time. (Score:3)
Now I've just got to get another PC. I've been waiting to run FreeBSD in my mix for a long time, but had nothing really to use it for. Applixware is as good a reason as any, I presume.
Now the important question. Which has better FreeBSD support? Gnome or KDE?
-Brent--