kluge vs design

[Doug Gwyn <gwyn>]

> 	Unix(tm) will be truly popular when no one sees it.

Yes, yes!  The traditional UNIX interface (via shell) is not
appropriate for Joe Q. Public.  It is great for programmers.

People do not buy home computers very often to program (or,
if they do and are not professional programmers, they often
learn the hard way that programming is not for everyone).
Instead, they buy computers to get some specific job or jobs
done, such as keeping financial records and recipe files, or
text processing.  UNIX makes a great base for applications
that address these needs, and that is the only reason that
Joe Q. Public should want a UNIX (since he can ultimately
expect a wider choice of solutions if he has a UNIX-based PC).

One problem remains, namely that software for the masses is
supplied in hardware-dependent form.  This tends to favor the
few very-popular systems and the neglect of others.  Fortunately
UNIX applications can be cheaply ported (especially under an
industry-wide system interface standard), so that the less-
popular systems still have a better selection if they run UNIX.