Hawatha Bray

[markw-4]

Has anyone followed his writing for any length of time?

He used to write a pretty tech savvy column years ago. He would discuss
Linux and how much more stable it was over Windows. Talk about various
technologies coming up and so on.

In the last 10 years, I guess, he has turned into a complete Microsoft
whore. One of his last columns tried to sell a Levino laptop over a MacAir
laptop. The MacAir was cheaper and thinner and targeted a different market
than the Levino ruggedized Laptop which cost almost twice as much.

I stopped assuming his column was independent years ago. These days, it
seems he doesn't even take the facts seriously.



--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

_______________________________________________
Discuss mailing list
Discuss@...
http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

[Bill Horne-9]

markw@... wrote:

> Has anyone followed his writing for any length of time?
>
> He used to write a pretty tech savvy column years ago. He would discuss
> Linux and how much more stable it was over Windows. Talk about various
> technologies coming up and so on.
>
> In the last 10 years, I guess, he has turned into a complete Microsoft
> whore. One of his last columns tried to sell a Levino laptop over a MacAir
> laptop. The MacAir was cheaper and thinner and targeted a different market
> than the Levino ruggedized Laptop which cost almost twice as much.
>
> I stopped assuming his column was independent years ago. These days, it
> seems he doesn't even take the facts seriously.

I don't know if Mr. Bray is sleeping with anyone from Redmond, but if he
is,
he wouldn't be the first and won't be the last.

I forget who originally said "Never pick a fight with a man who buys ink by
the barrelful", but I'd add that you should never pick a fight with a
man who
buys electricity by the megajoule. If Mr. Bray has had to soften his tone
toward Microsoft, it's only because his readers refused to read, or to
hear,
the truth: either way, he's just the messenger.

Bill Horne


--
E. William Horne
William Warren Consulting
Computer & Network Installations and Service
781-784-7287



--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

_______________________________________________
Discuss mailing list
Discuss@...
http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

[Don Levey-7]

Bill Horne wrote:

>
> I don't know if Mr. Bray is sleeping with anyone from Redmond, but if he
> is, he wouldn't be the first and won't be the last.
>
> I forget who originally said "Never pick a fight with a man who buys ink by
> the barrelful", but I'd add that you should never pick a fight with a
> man who
> buys electricity by the megajoule. If Mr. Bray has had to soften his tone
> toward Microsoft, it's only because his readers refused to read, or to
> hear,
> the truth: either way, he's just the messenger.
>

It may have less to do with his readers than with his employer.  They
may have requested, perhaps at the behest of the investors or
advertisers, that he soften his stance and/or cozy up to Microsoft.  The
readers would only matter to the extent that it affects circulation; is
he a prime draw or detriment to the paper?  They make their money from
the ads, and someone who simply stops reading his column while still
reading the rest of the paper has zero effective impact on ad income.

  -Don

--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

_______________________________________________
Discuss mailing list
Discuss@...
http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

[Jerry Feldman-2]

On Fri, 9 May 2008 12:32:54 -0400 (EDT)
markw@... wrote:

> Has anyone followed his writing for any length of time?
>
> He used to write a pretty tech savvy column years ago. He would discuss
> Linux and how much more stable it was over Windows. Talk about various
> technologies coming up and so on.
>
> In the last 10 years, I guess, he has turned into a complete Microsoft
> whore. One of his last columns tried to sell a Levino laptop over a MacAir
> laptop. The MacAir was cheaper and thinner and targeted a different market
> than the Levino ruggedized Laptop which cost almost twice as much.
>
> I stopped assuming his column was independent years ago. These days, it
> seems he doesn't even take the facts seriously.

I generally don't read anything by him, unless it has relevant info. I
recall him back in the early 90s with the Boston Computer Society. I
think most BCS insiders don't like Bray very much.


--
--
Jerry Feldman <gaf@...>
Boston Linux and Unix
PGP key id: 537C5846
PGP Key fingerprint: 3D1B 8377 A3C0 A5F2 ECBB  CA3B 4607 4319 537C 5846

_______________________________________________
Discuss mailing list
Discuss@...
http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

[dan-7]

 > I forget who originally said "Never pick a fight with a man
 > who buys ink by the barrelful"


Tip O'Neil, Speaker of the House

--dan


--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

_______________________________________________
Discuss mailing list
Discuss@...
http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

[Michael Goodman]

Mark,

I would agree with your assessment, having read some of his pieces  
over the past number of years. He has often ticked off the Mac  
community and does often appear to be a shill for Microsoft.

In regards to the recent article that you refer to:

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/04/24/apple_air_laptops_shortcomings_are_easy_to_forgive/

I think he was actually gentle on Apple. I really think the Mac Air is  
an over-priced, feature-less Mac like we haven't seen in quite some  
time. I say this as a long-time Mac User, fan, and supporter.

I have also had the "opportunity" to have some close-up experience  
with the Lenovo X300. I am not particularly fond of Windows Systems,  
although I have used and supported them as long as I have been using  
Macs. I spend most of my time using, supporting and Administering  
Linux, UNIX, OSX in addition to Windows systems. Given the choice, I  
might be Windowless, except for the needs of my employer, clients,  
friends, and family who insist upon torturing themselves.

Without going into specs and details the $1600 Mac Air is not a fair  
comparison...the higher priced system, with some add-ons (like  
external peripherals) would be more reasonable. The X300 (with XP,  
since I and nobody I've worked for and with would get near Vista) is  
an impressive system. It is well designed, loaded with features, and  
after having worked with a handful of them for the last month makes me  
say "If you have to buy a Windows system...you should buy one of these".

I say this with regret...Apple has blown it with the Mac Air, Lenovo  
has put out a far superior product; despite the fact that I still  
think Windows sucks and I would rather use an OSX system any day of  
the week. It would make a great Linux laptop.

For those of you who haven't seen it yet...check out the Mac Air  
Lenovo Parody:

Michael

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hnOCUkbix0

On May 9, 2008, at 12:32 PM, markw@... wrote:

> Has anyone followed his writing for any length of time?
>
> He used to write a pretty tech savvy column years ago. He would  
> discuss
> Linux and how much more stable it was over Windows. Talk about various
> technologies coming up and so on.
>
> In the last 10 years, I guess, he has turned into a complete Microsoft
> whore. One of his last columns tried to sell a Levino laptop over a  
> MacAir
> laptop. The MacAir was cheaper and thinner and targeted a different  
> market
> than the Levino ruggedized Laptop which cost almost twice as much.
>
> I stopped assuming his column was independent years ago. These days,  
> it
> seems he doesn't even take the facts seriously.
>
>
>
> --
> This message has been scanned for viruses and
> dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
> believed to be clean.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss@...
> http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

---
Michael J Goodman
mjgoodman@...

Like A Fish Out Of Water!


--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

_______________________________________________
Discuss mailing list
Discuss@...
http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

[Jarod Wilson]

On Fri, 2008-05-09 at 22:35 -0400, Michael Goodman wrote:
> I have also had the "opportunity" to have some close-up experience  
> with the Lenovo X300.
[...]
> I say this with regret...Apple has blown it with the Mac Air, Lenovo  
> has put out a far superior product; despite the fact that I still  
> think Windows sucks and I would rather use an OSX system any day of  
> the week. It would make a great Linux laptop.

It does. A co-worker here has one running Fedora.


--
Jarod Wilson
jarod@...


--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

_______________________________________________
Discuss mailing list
Discuss@...
http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

[dan-7]

Michael,

I will say this for Hiawatha, that when the
little storm broke out (Sept 2003) over
whether there was a per se security risk in
a computing monoculture, he was entirely on
my side including when on camera at NECN.

As to the MacAir -- I was given one by my
employer and it is indeed consistent with a
model of the future that is more like time
share (SaaS, SOA, etc.) in an always-on
world (WiFi saturation everywhere).  I'm
not a big fan of that kind of future as I
rather like a stand-alone general purpose
computer, but I'm pretty sure that actually
is the future.

--dan


--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

_______________________________________________
Discuss mailing list
Discuss@...
http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss