Wait, did the Mac Win?

Just reading David Winer’s blog post saying it did.

In installations, that’s clearly not true. In business use, that’s clearly not true. In mindshare…it may well be true. And Apple is supreme in single-company computer sales…but are moving out of that business, it seems to me.

But I don’t want to talk about that.

What I want to talk about is his assertion that malware was a nightmare in the Windows world and in fact drove the Mac win.

That’s just not my experience. I’ve had Windows computers at work the whole time he discusses, and windows computers at home since I first installed Windows 1 (to develop an application). I’ve had full-time (broadband) connected computers at home since 1996. And in all that time, the only virus infection I’ve seen is one Word macro virus that I got in a document sent me by a fellow Minicon committee member. That’s it.

I’ve mostly run an anti-virus program — but it’s never stopped anything (it has, very very occasionally, suggested that something I downloaded from a site I considered dodgy probably contained something bad; but these were all cases where I had deliberately downloaded it, and manually scanned it to make sure because I felt there was cause to worry).

I don’t click things totally at random.

And I mostly don’t go to dodgy sites in the first place. I’m not often looking for illegal software or content, for example.

Malware has had essentially no impact on my user experience. It’s simply not a factor.

I have no idea why my experience is so completely different from Dave Winer’s.

But it’s a bit interesting.

Found the Lentil Cassoulet Recipe

That is, I found a computer file with an older version, that contained the details I remembered before but didn’t recreate.

This recipe comes originally from a Julia Child TV show. My mother developed it based on one viewing of the show, and passed it on to me. If anybody finds the original of this, you will probably have a marvelous example of the “folk process” at work.

Serves 4 or more.

Ingredients:

1 C lentils
3 C water
Salt
4 Carrots Slice fairly thin
3 stalks Celery Slice fairly thin
3 Onions Chop coarsely
4 Leeks Slice fairly thin
Oil
2 T flour
1/2 C red wine
1/2 LB sausage Bratwurst or better (hot Italian, maybe)
Shallots Chopped fine
Thyme
Breadcrumbs

Method: Boil lentils, covered in the water for 25 minutes; salt to
taste. Drain, reserving the liquid. Spread lentils into buttered 8×13 baking dish.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Saute chopped carrots, celery, onions, and leeks in oil. When cooked, add flour, wine, and enough lentil liquid to cover (there often isn’t enough, add some extra water if necessary). Cook until thickened, then pour over lentils in baking dish.

Place sausage on top. Sprinkle with chopped shallots, thyme, and breadcrumbs.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 40 minutes.