If operating systems ran airlines
DOS Airlines: Passengers are handed maps, compasses, rulers,
pencils & an airplane manual (shrink wrapped) as they enter
the
plane...Have to figure out how to get the plane to wherever they
want to go. Some succeed very well. Others crash, but they
shouldn't have been messing around with airplanes anyway.
Macintosh Airlines: All the stewards, stewardesses, captains,
baggage handlers & ticket agents look the same, act the same
&
talk the same. Every time you ask questions about details, you
are told you don't need to know, don't want to know &
everything
will be done for you without you having to know...so just shut
up.
OS/2 Airlines: To board the plane, you have your ticket stamped
10 different times by standing in 10 different lines. Then you
fill out a form showing where you want to sit & whether it
should
feel like an ocean liner, a passenger train or a bus. If you
succeed in getting on board the plane and the plane succeeds in
getting off the ground, you have a wonderful trip...except times
when the rudder & flaps get frozen in position...in which
case you
have time to say your prayers & get yourself prepared for the
crash.
Windows Airlines: The airport terminal is nice & colorful
with
friendly stewards & stewardesses, easy access to the plane
and an
uneventful takeoff...then the plane blows up without any warning
whatsoever.
NT Airlines: (??? What's NT?) Everyone marches out on the runway,
says the password in unision & forms the outline of a plane.
Then
they all sit down & make a whooshing sound like they're
flying.
UNIX Airlines: Everyone brings one piece of the plane with them
when they come to the airport. They all go out on the runway
&
put the plane together piece by piece, arguing constantly about
what kind of plane they are building.
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Some Additions:
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Date: Sat, 30 Dec 1995 16:16:39 -0700
From: Rami Harasimowicz
To: sss31@columbia.edu
Subject: If OS's were Airlines.
This is the "If Operating Systems were Airlines" I've
seen. It seems
funnier IMHO. It does have a few other OS's as well...
IF OPERATING SYSTEMS WERE AIRLINES:
DOS AIR
All the passengers go out onto the runway, grab hold of the
plane,
push it until it gets in the air, hop on, jump off when it hits
the
ground again. Then they grab the plane again, push it back into
the
air, hop on, et cetera.
WINDOWS AIRLINES
The terminal is very neat and clean, the attendants all very
attractive and the pilots very capable. The fleet is immense.
Your
jet takes off without a hitch, pushing above the clouds, and at
20,000
feet it crashes without warning.
MAC AIRWAYS
The cashiers, flight attendants, and pilots all look the same,
feels
the same and act the same. When asked questions about the flight
they
reply that you don't want to know, don't need to know and would
you
please return to your seat and watch the movie.
OS/2 SKYWAYS
The terminal is almost empty, with only a few prospective
passengers
milling about. Airline personnel walk around, apologizing
profusely
to customers in hushed voices, pointing from time to time to the
sleek, powerful jets outside the terminal on the field. They tell
each passenger how good the real flight will be on these new jets
and
how much safer it will be than Windows Airlines, but that they
will
have to wait a little longer for the technicians to finish the
flight
systems.
FLY WINDOWS NT
All the passengers carry their seats out onto the tarmac, placing
the
chairs in the outline of a plane. They all sit down, flap their
arms
and make jet swooshing sounds as if they are flying.
WINGS of OS/400
The airline has bought ancient DC-3s, arguable the best and
safest
planes that ever flew and painted "747" on their tails
to make them
look as if they are fast. The flight attendants, of course,
attend
to your every need, though the drinks cost $15 a pop. Stupid
questions cost $230 per hour, unless you have SupportLine, which
requires a first class ticket and membership in the frequent
flyer
club.
MVS AIRLINES
The passengers all gather in the hanger, watching hundreds of
technicians check the flight systems on this immense, luxury
aircraft.
This plane has at least 10 engines and seats over 1,000
passengers.
All the passengers scramble aboard, as do the necessary
complement of
200 technicians. The pilot takes his place up in the glass
cockpit.
He guns the engines, only to realize that the plane is too big to
get
through the hanger doors!
*** AND OUR FAVORITE: *****
UNIX EXPRESS
Each passenger brings a piece of the airplane and a box of tools
to
the airport. They gather on the tarmac, arguing constantly about
what
kind of plane they want to build and how to put it together.
Eventually, they build several different aircraft, but give them
all
the same name. Some passengers actually reach their destinations.
All passengers believe the got there.