[Old 1997 story] The Greatest OS That (N)ever Was (www.wired.com)

submitted 2 years ago by s38b35M5@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml

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How does this coverage hold up? It was a fun read from back in my highschool days, when I was still five years from trying Linux on my own AMD Thunderbird 1Ghz. It wasn't until 2008 that I tried again and it stuck.

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[+] demesisx@infosec.pub 33 points 2 years ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

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[-] Spore@lemmy.ml 24 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Honestly I'm surprised that so many people don't know how git can be used without those repository hosting sites. That's one way to use it, not the only way. And it's not even the way it was originally designed for.

Checkout git format-patch.

[-] otl@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 2 years ago

I'm not so surprised anymore. I'm self-taught using open-source software projects for guidance. But not everyone learns like that. For example in the commercial software dev world, having patches easy to apply with minimum tooling isn't usually a priority (for better or worse).

This is actually a little story I had half written down; your comment prompted me to finish it. Thanks! https://www.srcbeat.com/2023/11/git-email/

[-] ourob@discuss.tchncs.de 12 points 2 years ago

What? Linux does use git for version control.

[+] demesisx@infosec.pub 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

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[-] Spore@lemmy.ml 23 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Git and Email are not mutually exclusive. In order to collaborate with git, you need and only need a way to send your commits to others. Commits can be formatted as plain-text files and sent through emails. That is how git has been used by its author from literally the first release of it.

[-] MigratingtoLemmy@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

Could you explain? I'm still stuck with a mind-block, can't imagine how a git server can track changes to code with messages from email

[-] Spore@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago

A git server don't need to know email to work, and it is not required to have a git server. Email in this workflow is an alternative to a PR: contributor submit a set of commits to the maintainer (or anyone interested). Then the maintainer is free to apply or merge the commits. After that the code can be pushed to any servers.

[-] MigratingtoLemmy@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Ah, you mean email being used as a direct alternative to issue reports? I get it now, and TBH this makes intuitive sense. Thanks

[-] rufus@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Yeah, that's not quite right. You need a means to discuss things and review code. You can do this via a website or mailing list. The Linux kernel uses the latter. Lots of other devs use the former. Like Github. And Github and Git aren't the same. The issue tracking, discussion platform etc are something Github does on top of Git. You can as well use Email or a different service/online platform for the communication. The actual program code is stored in Git in both cases.

[-] HubertManne@kbin.social 12 points 2 years ago

I honestly thought this was going to be about os2

[-] GenderNeutralBro@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 2 years ago

I was expecting Copland (what would have been Mac OS 8, had the project survived).

[-] rhythmisaprancer@kbin.social 4 points 2 years ago

Gosh my dad ran that in the early 90s. Was that Linux? He was then and still is a Microsoft person.

[-] s38b35M5@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I think it was an IBM/MS OS. Forget if it was desktop, server or "other" though.

Edit: that's right, it was IBM hoping to privatize the OS on a hard-to-clone PC (PS/2) when they saw their market share eroding quickly. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/11/half-an-operating-system-the-triumph-and-tragedy-of-os2/

[-] rhythmisaprancer@kbin.social 7 points 2 years ago

Wow, big memory trip! It was os/2 warp, I saw that package and knew it!

Dad worked for IBM in the 70s, no surprise. I also remember him having an OS box with a penguin on it but I don't believe he ever installed it. ~95ish.

[-] pan_troglodytes@programming.dev 8 points 2 years ago

Whatever the actual numbers, it is not unrealistic that Linux will emerge as the second operating system after Windows, especially given Apple's currently confusing sense of direction.

curious for a 27 year old article how accurate it turned to be (androidOS notwithstanding). Windows seems to still be the "2,000-pound gorilla" but there are other options available these days...

[-] astraeus@programming.dev 4 points 2 years ago

Windows has lost a ton of market share, unfortunately it gave much of that market share to MacOS

[-] astraeus@programming.dev 8 points 2 years ago

You’ve read your last complementary article this month. The second Library of Alexandria doesn’t burn down, it gets locked behind a paywall.

[-] rhythmisaprancer@kbin.social 5 points 2 years ago

This is funny because 2008 is also when I got stuck on it. Interesting read, thanks for sharing!

this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2023

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