Re: The future of Linux

On 2009-01-05, Todd <noone@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Sidney Lambe <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[crossposting removed]

An illusion that is designed to turn people into mindless appliance
operators who don't understand the machines they are using and are
dependent on real technical support.

When I'm on my computer at home, all I want to do is look at web
pages, check my e-mail, balance my checkbook, and play my games.
Occasionally, I might use a spread***, wordprocessor, or database.

Sounds OK. You can do these things on MAC/LINUX/WINDOWS computers.

And at work, I want to do my work. With my spread***, wordprocessor
and database applications.

Likewise, depending on the selection of OS your work uses.

I don't want to have to remember ten commands that seem to be a random
string of letters to do it.

Do you have to?

I don't usually remember them, but there's this wonderful thing called
"bash history" that remembers your commands and allows you to search
substitute, run multiple versions of the same command concurrently..
whatever you like.

(Sadly, there is this one database which is pretty much a command
line. Probably a good thing. I work for the IRS and this database is
the tax records of everybody.)

Command line is especially useful for administering databases across a
network. GUI applications can easily make use of such commands when
talking to remote databases without a GUI overhead across the network.

Mind you, if you like to do things the hard way, then good for you,
and those like you.

The hard way? This is a rather subjective assessment. GUI is no harder
or easier than commandline. They're just different with different
advantages/disadvantages. I use both depending on application.

But the rest of us want buttons and drop down lists. So we can save
our brain cells for remembering more important things. (More
important to us, anyway.)

I think this is a poor and biased assessment. It appears as if the
poster doesn't realise they have to remember the mouse
movements/keystrokes required to access their options etc. It appears
more a matter of familiarity with GUI and unfamiliarity with CLI than a
matter of "saving brain cells". I use the CLI when such use provides an
advantage, the GUI likewise. Unlike the poster Todd, I'm comfortable
with both ways of doing things.

--
Regards,

Gregory.
Gentoo Linux - Penguin Power
.