[Info-vax] Taking a break - Open Source on OpenVMS Conference Calls Resume

[John Dallman]

In article <2ae3f4b0-82ac-4b7a-8029-b234b16c2782n at googlegroups.com>,
roland at logikalsolutions.com (seasoned_geek) wrote:

> On Sunday, July 3, 2022 at 9:56:51 AM UTC-5, John Dallman wrote:
> > In article <4ae4de33-ba0d-403a... at googlegroups.com>,
> > rol... at logikalsolutions.com (seasoned_geek) wrote: 
> > 
> > > So far, everyone I know that does phone apps and used to use QT 
> > > has jumped to Dart. They are writing their apps using Dart on 
> > > Fuchsia.
> > How many organisations and apps is that? Qt hasn't exactly 
> > dominated UI in smartphone apps AFAIK.
> 
> I don't know, but it was quite a few. They had a lot of developers 
> that knew nothing so they loved QML. If you are getting a phone app 
> for Ford or one of the other major American automotive brands you 
> are getting a Qt app because Ford standardized on it for both the 
> infotainment system any any apps they ship. An exact number I don't 
> know. 

OK, so a segment of the Android app market is having a fashion for Dart
and Flutter. Those work fine on Android and iOS. That doesn't in itself
imply a transition to Fuchsia. Do you have any more substantial sources
on that than the likes of
<https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/is-samsung-looking-to-replace-android-w
ith-fuchsia-os>? 

Samsung is a big enough organisation that they can keep in touch with
projects that aren't their definite plans. Google is a large and
balkanised organisation: I'm sure there are people within it who would
love to replace Android with Fuchsia, but there definitely aren't enough
Fuschia resources out there for that process to start. I looked, and
there isn't much documentation, no app SDK and no NDK. 

> > Will it run existing Windows programs? Doing that requires having 
> > a large fraction of the Windows OS, over and above the desktop. 
> Not really no. MS has been migrating to DOT-NOT-EVERYWHERE or is it 
> DOT-NOT-ANYWHERE for years. It's how they have been straddling the 
> Apple BSD based OS.

I'm afraid you're a bit behind the times. .NET runs on a lot more
platforms these days, but it is not what Microsoft want to push for all
development. They've been through a lot of proprietary languages and
frameworks in the last decade. I've been in touch with them a lot in the
last couple of years about producing software for ARM Windows - they came
to us and asked us to do it - and there hasn't been a murmur about
anything like this Windows-style desktop for Linux. 

> Just what "programs" does Microsoft actually have?
> 
> I'm serious. During the age of Windows for Workgroups your point 
> was highly valid. I believe 2019 is the last installible version of 
> MS Office one can purchase and you __really__ have to hunt for it. 
> MS has tried to force customers to Office 365 on the cloud. That 
> just needs a browser. The Windows 10 Solitaire game requires an 
> Internet connection to pump advertisements at you, and to run 
> because it is pretty much just a browser front end too.

Visual Studio development tools all run locally. The corporate Office 365
I use is installed locally. I think you're over-interpreting their
consumer strategy. If they do what you suggest, they lose their biggest
allies in corporate IT departments: the staff trained on Microsoft
products, who don't understand other operating systems.

Microsoft is a very large and severely balkanised organisation. I'm sure
there are people within it who would like to do what you suggest, bit it
would be commercial suicide for the company. 

John