Thunder,
re: what is your opinion as to why they have not done so, as of yet?
The short answer would be ROI and the fact that Windows has grown up to the point that saying they are in competition with other server/workstation OSes is no longer a joke. Microsoft porting their applications to UNIX would make my job easier, but could enable their competitors OSes, especially Linux.
re: The "hate" portion of my "personal relationship with Microsoft"
CAD tool vendors have so far been largely unsuccessful in porting their tools to Windows. Which is sad for me as it makes my job harder, I would like to be on a single platform - but I guess that's why I have a job making UNIX and Windows play nicely with one another, let alone just getting all the UNIX variants to place nice nice, including Linux.
One area of trouble with CAD tools on Windows has been the Windows idea of a single version/latest version mentality. In CAD tools we regularly have ten or more versions of a tool and can switch between them (or run them at the same time) at will under UNIX to support the version the client/customer may also be on. Under Windows this has been impossible until Win2K, yet the mechanism in Win2K doesn't work 100% as yet, nor do older tools know the new rules/guidelines they need to follow in order to support the feature. I know of no who has successfully installed every version of MSOffice, as an analogy, on Win2K - never mind the why portion.
Then there is the file association aspect and which of the ten versions of a tool would I associate the file with? I would need some form of pop-up to help me select the one I mean. Then there's the system versus user aspect of various tool installations, ideally a single installation should support whoever logs into the box. The list goes on and on, and the work arounds are endless. In the end the CAD vendors themselves have in many, not all cases, just given up and I will continue to need to support both/several environments for years to come.
Microsoft has made great strides and each version of the OS is better, but they may never be effective in some markets. I love them and I hate them, in the desktop market and as an investor they are the best I have worked with. In the engineering field they tend to be a hindrance and get in my way more often than not.
OK, I've spilled my "opinion" based on my experience - your mileage may vary.
I have come to appreciate OS agnostic approaches, even though it can be quite fun to throw rocks at MSFT and UNIX from time to time - it's just not very constructive in the end. |
