[Info-vax] RMS intro

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 12/31/2023 9:40 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
> On Sun, 31 Dec 2023 21:36:33 -0500, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>> On 12/31/2023 9:05 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>> On Sun, 31 Dec 2023 19:38:00 -0500, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>>>> On 12/31/2023 4:50 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>>>> Along with those 8-bit-era single-letter drive names, for some
>>>>> reason.
>>>>>
>>>>> Microsoft: “26 drive letters ought to be enough for anybody!”
>>>>
>>>> You can mount disks without using drive letters with NTFS.
>>>
>>> As I recall from reading docs, that doesn’t work with network shares or
>>> hot-pluggable storage. Or this thing called “storage spaces”.
>>
>> You don't need it for a network share - those can just be accessed
>> directly via UNC.
> 
> So how do you select from available UNC shares in an application’s file
> picker?
> 
>> (it is said that one can make a symlink to UNC if one want to)
> 
> Windows symlinks have their own share of problems.

If one is a Windows user that:
* need more than 26 drives
* need to use a file picker to choose network drives
* don't like to create symlinks
then one has a problem.

But my guess is that you can invite everyone in the world matching
that criteria to coffee in your dining room.

>>> And remember, it’s NTFS-specific.
>>
>> It is specific to the file system used on practically all Windows disks.
> 
> That’s a pretty shortsighted attitude, when you realize that NTFS is
> starting to show its age.

AFAIK there are no current plans to replace NTFS.

And when they eventually replace it, then it seems likely that
the NTFS feature set will be made requirements for the new
file system. Backwards compatibility is a big thing for Microsoft.

>>> Windows lacks the equivalent of a fully general VFS layer, for some
>>> totally unfathomable reason.
>>
>> I don't think many Windows users miss it.
> 
> That’s true of the Windows users/developers that are left. The ones that
> understand the need, know where to get it. That’s why Microsoft is trying
> desperately (with WSL2 and other things) to make Windows more like Linux.

WSL is not an attempt to make Windows like Linux.

WSL is a tool for developers that need to develop for both
Windows and Linux on Windows.

Arne