From: anonymous-remailer@shell.portal.com
Date: Sat, 15 Jul 95 21:04:29 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: re: unix, vanguard
Message-ID: <199507160403.VAA04878@jobe.shell.portal.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>The preeminence of unix in a lot of the work that's being done isn't the
>result of snobbishness or even personal taste.  It's just a nice,
>convenient platform to do the work on.  

There is a well written essay on the "preeminence of unix" at
http://gnn.com/gnn/bus/ora/features/history/index.html.  It
essentially says Unix has survived for so long because universities use
it, and you could license it fairly cheap.  Most people (I'm talking
about 90% of computer users, even more in the future) couldn't care
less about features such as tying apps together with shell scripts, 
pipes, and some bubble gum.

>But the lack of solid multitasking and freely available development 
>tools in ms-windows 3.11 is the reason that more robust crypto tools 
>for that platform don't exist.

What are some "robust crypto tools" that are available for unix, and also
aren't available for DOS/Windows?

I kinda think the reason more tools aren't available for PCs (Windows/Mac)
is because there is no appreciable MARKET for such tools yet.  If there
were, since PCs have a market share an order of magnitude or two larger
than unix, such tools would have a greater influence anyway.  
--
Karl L. Barrus <klbarrus@infocom.net>