On 8/13/2008 3:41 PM RLM spake thus:
On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:27:47 -0400, Dan Espen wrote:
David Nebenzahl writes:
On 8/13/2008 1:36 PM Dan Espen spake thus:
David Nebenzahl writes:
I happen to agree with you here. However, don't let's forget that
Mac's OS X, which is on a significantly larger number of desktops
than any of the *nixes, is also Unix, but with an elegant front end
that doesn't require any command like geek knowledge.
OSX and Linux have XP beat too (if what you want is a slick interface).
There are a million of these on youtube, here's one chosen at random:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Fbk52Mk1w
Personally, I want my computer to work the way I want it to. I want to
be in control of every aspect of the interface. There, Linux is king.
Sure, but again, that's sometimes the wrong argument for the wrong
audience. Like how all the open-source geeks are always raving about
how superior things like Firefox and Thunderbird are (both of which I
use, by the way) for just that very reason: that the user has full
control over lots of aspects of the program's behavior.
Problem is, a vanishingly small proportion of the population is 1) able
to and 2) wants to control their software at this level.
Can't agree, just about anyone can install and configure Firefox.
To most
folks, dealing with Firefox and Thunderbird's hundreds of cryptic
configuration variables (with no good comprehensive documentation to
boot, unless you root around the web and happen to come upon some guy's
partial compilation by accident) is just a gigantic headache and a pain
in the ass that's just not worth the trouble. But I guess we should
blame *them* for not being computer-literate enough, right?
Not sure what you mean here.
I don't use Windows myself, but from what I've seen, Firefox and
Thunderbird are configured exactly the same way as IE and Outlook, thru
the menu dialogs.
If you really want something unusual you go into "about:config". The
same as IE and Outlook, except for them it's the registry.
Most think Linux is some wild ass system that is all command line. I'm
with you. Let them suffer their fate. Keep buying proprietary crap ware.
My Linux runs if I never shut it down. It stays up to date within hours of
a problem. Not weeks that run into years without repair like the most
popular system that has these folks trapped with malware. I don't waste
time constantly doing maintenance of scanning and defraging. If I break
it, which I would have to try to do any more, I can repair the damage.
When a newer version comes out I just install it and don't loose
everything that has been saved in the past.
Basically the computer has to have the house fall on it to ruin it but the
software will work if I can salvage just the hard drive. I don't use it as
a windows server so I don't need virus software because we both know the
true key is a unique password that protects /, and a proper firewall. (c;\=
Isn't that right Dan?
Registered Linux user 297687
http://counter.li.org/
Let me say first that I'm not picking a fight over which OS is better. I
concede that Linux is probably better than any of the "proprietary" OSes.
But you're missing the points, one of which is that the "superior OS" is
only used by a tiny fraction of computer users, despite it being so
all-fired better, but more importantly, that's really the OS of choice
of computer geeks, not most users.
Let me ask you in all sincerity: do you think the average user could
(assuming they knew about it, and assuming they wanted to) successfully
install Linux on a computer and keep it running? I ask out of ignorance,
having never installed it myself.
And even if they could do that, I doubt if they have the knowledge you
have which would let them recover from problems as easily as you do.
It may be a great OS, but face it, it's never going to be used by
anything but a tiny minority of those with computers.
--
"Wikipedia ... it reminds me ... of dogs barking idiotically through
endless nights. It is so bad that a sort of grandeur creeps into it.
It drags itself out of the dark abyss of pish, and crawls insanely up
the topmost pinnacle of posh. It is rumble and bumble. It is flap and
doodle. It is balder and dash."
- With apologies to H. L. Mencken