[tex-live] Runtime limitations on open files?

[Philip TAYLOR]

Reinhard Kotucha wrote:

> Phil, I respect you because I know that you are an TeX expert.  You
> usually know what you are talking about and you are certainly more
> familiar with TeX than anybody else.  But what you said about UNIX is
> pure crap and I must admit that I'm quite disappointed.

Well, it was intentionally provocative, but that doesn't
mean it's not grounded in truth : if you read back over
the TeX live correspondence (which is the list to which
I was referring, rather than PdfTeX or NTGTeX or whatever)
you will see over and over again questions caused by different
libraries, different compilers, different versions, different
modes of linking, etc., etc., etc.  Every time I read one,
I ask myself "Why on earth do they bother ?".
> 
> Windows is pure crap.  

This is your personal perspective, and I respect your right
to hold it; for me, *X is crap, and I wouldn't touch it with
a barge-pole.  Let us agree to differ and continue to discuss
(amicably) things that really matter, such as whether Kerala
coffee is the best in the world :-)

At work I'm forced to to use Windows, sigh....
> 
> Since Windows doesn't provide a reasonable user interface, I installed
> GNU-Emacs.
> 
> Can anyone explain me why I can access remote file systems on Windows
> with Emacs (in dired mode) ***immediately*** and it takes about 20
> seconds when I try the same with "Windows Explorer"?

Yes, there is a ?registry? tweak that will stop explorer from trying
to enumerate remote (networked) files; it is a pain, and I
completely agree.  When I find the reference, I'll forward
it to you (and your administrators !).
>  
> Our administrators are clueless.

** Phil.