operating systems

From: Wirehead Prime <wirehead_at_retrocomputing.com>
Date: Thu Jan 1 14:20:11 1998

> > Er....one question here. I've tried Linux many times, as well as Minix. From
> > all of my attempts, I have come to the following conclusion: Linux is not for
> > doing USEFUL things. The express purpose of Linux is to provide something for
> > people to recompile. After all, you HAVEN'T seen people doing something on
> > Linux besides recompiling the kernel and configuring TCP/IP stacks, HAVE YOU?
>
> Oh come now! You're being silly and you know it. I have a friend who
> runs a very successful ISP (~1000 customers) entirely on Linux (well, I
> think he has a SparcServer for news or something). Linux is a better
> operating system than 95% of the available commercial PC offerings. How
> useful it is depends on how good you put it to use.

Sam I think your response is more level-headed than mine was. I tend to
get a bit emotional on New Years Eve. Ah well...

At any rate, I'm always amused by the 1 in a 100 phone call from a Linux
customer who wants to connect to my ISP.

"Yeah, I installed this Slackware CD and I'd like to dial in with
Linux...how do I do it?" which always sounds to me a bit like
"Yeah, I'm sittin' up here in this here Space Shuttle...how do I light
this baby up?" because they've skipped over so many steps, before calling
me, that I don't even know where to begin.

"Do you know how to edit text?"
"Well I was looking for EDIT but it's not here..."
"Well, you'll need to use something like vi or EMACS."
"What?"
"You'll need to edit a script to do the dialing and ppp connection."
"Can't I just do it in the control panel?"
"There is no control panel."

"Ok type vi..."
"I did it said ' bash: VI: command not found'"
"ummmm....it should be there..." because I can't see their screen

It just becomes such a total nightmare that I don't even know how to begin.
These folks have gotten so used to total hand-holding from software
vendors that it is virtually impossible for them to shift paradigm into
an environment that is pre-emptive multi-tasking/multi-user with
different access levels etc etc etc and where the way you learn about the
system is to find ways to answer your own questions, read HOWTO files and
read books that don't have the specific name of your OS on the cover.

Linux isn't a replacement for 95, NT or Macintosh...it's a STEP UP to a
higher level of computing, which necessitates that the user take a step
up in their techniques for learning about the system. Unfortunately, I
fear that the 'blackbox computing' market has bred it out of most people.

Wirehead - Anthony Clifton
Received on Thu Jan 01 1998 - 14:20:11 GMT