Vote for new Ubuntu Feature---Let's try it again --- and without getting all religious about it

[Jeffrey F. Bloss]

Matthew Clarke wrote:

> > Nobody has yet explained to me what the problem is with simply using
> > your brain for something besides keeping your skull from caving in,
> > and thinking about what you're doing for the .32 seconds it takes to
> > realize you're opening something in read only mode.
> 
> This argument doesn't hold a lot of sway for me. There are many
> reasons why people (read: fallible human beings) will get into the
> situation described by the OP that have nothing to with "being dumb".
> For instance, being new to linux, being rushed, being tired, etc
> etc...

A user's lack of experience is no reason to cripple an operating
system's security even a little, and state of mind is a personal
problem that no operating system in the world can address. Take a nap,
take a breath, and learn to use the tools at your disposal. This "can't
save a file" canard is such an utterly simple thing to avoid it's
hardly worth consideration, and the fact that it's such an issue with
some people speaks volumes about consumer grade mentality and
absolutely nothing about Ubuntu or any other Linux/BSD/OSX/ETC
distribution built atop an operating system which makes a clear
distinction between users and administrators.

> 
> Being new to linux in general, I'm not versed enough in the security
> details to know what is appropriate, but I do know that a polished GUI
> OS (that is trying to compete with other sophisticated GUI OS's)

That's your first mistake. Thinking of things in terms of Linux
competing with other operating systems. It's not a race. Nobody in
Linux land measures their success by how many Windows converts they can
acquire. Linux stands or falls on it's own merits and always has. And
it's precisely this "need to be more like Windows to compete" mentality
that needs to be avoided to maintain those qualities that do make it a
better choice for some users and applications.

> should have user-friendly intuitive tools to assist people that have
> gone about something the wrong way.  It is little details like this
> that can make an OS shine with new users and turn them into converts.

There ARE user friendly and intuitive tools available to you, they're
just a different set of tools than you're use to. How much more
"intuitive" can you get than putting the things you're allowed to mess
with in a directory known intuitively as your "home", and the stuff
you're not allowed to mess with somewhere else? How much more intuitive
can things get than issuing the command SupperUserDO <whatever> when
you're mucking around outside your "home"?

With few exceptions it's not much more complicated than that, guy. :)

> 
> > Are users becoming
> > so GUI-ified by bright colors and flashing icons this seems like
> > some sort of problem?? *sigh*
> 
> Um, isn't Ubuntu a GUI OS?

Yes, that's the point exactly.

>  If ubuntu wishes to compete with the other
> major GUIs (bug #1), then it better start spending effort to _assist_
> users that have erred rather than hanging them out to dry.

Put bluntly.... screw big #1. If that's the sort of "usability" you want
then install big #1's big #2 software. :) Why would you care to run
anything else? What qualities does another operating system have that
might make it look appealing, and for God's sake why once you got there
would you want to set your sights on undermining the things that
probably do make it more appealing to you?

None of this makes any sense at all... If you don't want "different"
the solution is not only obvious, it's more or less forced on you. If
you're interested in an alternative to big #1 then you've already
decided you WANT "different". So what's the problem??

-- 
     _?_      Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
    (o o)         Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-oOO-(_)--OOo-------------------------------[ Groucho Marx ]--
    grok!              Registered Linux user #402208
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