More and Better Dung Polish

Story: Migrating Away From Windows: It All Starts With LinuxTotal Replies: 6
Author Content
phsolide

Jan 30, 2009
11:30 AM EDT
Ha ha ha! I loved that phrase from the article.

As a member of a small and oppressed minority (native Unix users, I've never owned a non-Unix/Linux/BSD home computer), Windws (and before that MS-DOS) has always baffled me. What is the attraction? The goofy inconsistencies? The ugliness? The elitism inherent in the system? The lack of speed? The baroque, barely documented nature of the operating system? Someone, anyone, please tell me.

I do hereby pledge to use the phrase "more and better dung polish" as often as possible.

PS Did you see the Mythbusters episode where they actually tried to polish dung?
Sander_Marechal

Jan 30, 2009
11:46 AM EDT
I didn't see that episode, but I can imagine what would happen if you use something like this (http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/classic-motoring/Flex3401VRGC...) on a pile of dung.
bigg

Jan 30, 2009
12:27 PM EDT
@phsolide

Maybe that's why I could never get into Windows. I was not raised on Windows, but rather on Tandy and Apple and Amiga. Here's a picture of my first computer (not my computer, but the same model):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Pocket_Computer

I had to use (genuine) IBM PCs when I went to college. There were no alternatives on campus, though I did use an Amiga for a while at home.

Thank God for the alternatives that exist today.
TxtEdMacs

Jan 30, 2009
3:44 PM EDT
Guys ....,

You do NOT polish the dung. You slap it on what you want polished. Been done many times in many places and it still sells.

YBT
phsolide

Jan 30, 2009
4:01 PM EDT
I think "dung polish" relates to a phrase common to many industries. I first heard it at a now-absorbed aerospace company: "You can't polish a turd" or sometimes, "You can't chrome a turd."

I believe the phrase expresses a sentiment similar to "throwing good money after bad".

That is, when you start with a bad product, no amount of attempting to spiff it up will succeed. You still have what you started with: a bad product. Moreover the consumers will perceive your attempts to spiff it up as a waste of their money.
TxtEdMacs

Jan 30, 2009
7:25 PM EDT
phsolide,

Your problem is you were associated with a too ethical companies/industries. They led you astray and warped your mind.

The example I in mind, but left out, at least partially due to its non-compliance with LXer's TOS (the language is gross, but adults would understand), paints a different picture. It states that given the proper advertising human waste products could be packaged in tooth paste tubes and sold at a profit.

Now consider the assertions made on so many LXer forums, if true those assertions confirm the validity of surface sheen over substance. Moreover, those making the claims are agonized precisely because advertising is so effective. Therefore, I assert the power of advertising trumps intrinsic worth in most instances.

Think about the number of times you have seen the inferior win over quality product. In the real world, that tends to be the rule NOT the exception.

I rest my case (or I will go rest, haven't quite decided which ...)

YBT
Bob_Robertson

Jan 30, 2009
9:35 PM EDT
I did see that episode of Mythbusters, and the Lion poop polished up to a "high gloss" much more quickly than the (i cannot remember which vegitarian animal) poop.

However, both were able to be rated "high gloss" after not too much work.

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