[TriLUG] apologies to bill gates :-)

[Michael Rothwell]

On Mar 28, 2007, at 9:41 AM, Roberto J. Dohnert wrote:

> I think its the other way around.  Computers dont care which OS you  
> have
> on them.  Only humans who think software is the second coming think
> computers care what OS they have.

Ah, anthropomorphism. Computers don't care what OS they run, any more  
than my trunk cares what gas I put into it or a match cares that it's  
been struck. However, the human operator usually does care! People  
treat anything with sufficiently complex behavior -- like a computer  
-- as though it has a personality. There's even some psychological  
benefits from doing this; humans evolved without complicated  
machinery, but with other people and animals -- which all have  
"personalities". We're hardwired to conceptualize things that way.

I have my favored "computer personalities", and I'm sure the rest of  
you do, too.

-M