Wah, wahing

[Michael "TheZorch" Haney]

Ok, I don't check my email in a while and this shit happens.  What 
started all of this anyway?  Can't find the originating message.

It does irk me when people at Digg.com bitch & moan about the Linux 
terminal or compiling programs to install them.  I grew up using the 
command line starting with the Apple IIe all the way up to Unix and 
final version of straight MS/PC-DOS before Win95 made ever young 
computer users since then a spoiled brat.  Yes, the GUI has made people 
spoiled, and I admit I'm a bit spoiled by it too but I don't bitch & 
moan when I need to open a terminal window or compile a piece of source 
code.  Yes, you can do just about everything from the GUI in Windows, 
BUT that's also one of Window's major limitations because there are 
certain things you can ONLY do from the GUI and if those things break 
you're shit out of luck.  Well, those things have a tendency to break 
from time to time leaving you with no choice but to reformat and 
reinstall.  In Linux you have full control from the terminal, and I mean 
FULL control over just about everything.  Another bitch that irks me is 
having to compile source, they really shed tears over that one.  Thing 
is, its becoming very rare to find a FOSS project that requires you to 
compile code to install their software, most nowadays have binaries you 
can download or binaries inside of packages.  More and more projects are 
offing their stuff via repositories also.  Compiling software from 
source is becoming very rare unless you're doing something pretty exotic 
like installing specialized scientific analysis or advanced engineering 
software that also requires hardware that interfaces with remote sensors 
and other equipment.  Otherwise, 99% of all Linux software is install 
with the click of a mouse.

While having all of this power in the terminal is good I do have the 
guts to also admit its the one reason why Linux is having such a bitch 
of a time being accepted as mainstream.  Lets just admit it, there are a 
lot of really lazy computer users out there who don't want to learn the 
command prompt and you can't force them to learn it no matter what you 
do.  Micro$oft has brainwashed millions into thinking  Windows IS their 
PC and getting them to change this perception is going to take a  lot 
more work than most of you all realize.  Buddha knows, the Windows GUI 
isn't the most user friendly piece of shit in the world.  In fact its 
pretty damn unforgiving for the most part.  Apple has the best, and if a 
Linux GUI can achieve the level of user-friendliness of Mac OS X then 
the OS will gain more acceptance.  We need to face reality, developing a 
powerful GUI that hides the intricate complexity of Linux behind a very 
"simple" (not easy) to use interface is the Holy Grail of this Operating 
System.  Well, that's my 0.02 cents worth on the matter.

-- 
Michael "TheZorch" Haney
thezorch at gmail.com
http://thezorch.googlepages.com/home
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