Debian vs. W95 (was: Money where mouth...)
>> I think I can safely say that anyone who tells you Linux (any flavour) is
>> as easy to set up as Win95 is pulling your leg. ... You
>> can make it exactly how you like it, and nothing (much) is forced down
>> your throat.
-- I am trying to get some networking up on W95/NT,
to do it on Debian took a few days, starting from a blank disk.
W95/NT is still in process, and difficult, and uncertain of success.
The main issue is that of "controllability and observability";
with W95 there is a hierarchy of pre-defined GUI interfaces to pre-defined
functionalities. Often the details of their functions, or constraints, are
not well defined (publically).
I am trying to add a null-modem connection to a PPP link; I have
point-and-clicked forever, tried to add new .inf files, etc.. to little
avail. I have a pretty good understanding of he details, but their model of
how to work these interfaces is fundamentally limited.
On Unix, I have a set of text configuration files, fully observable, which
I can see to know the full state of my configuration, save it, modify,
revert, compare setups, etc.. Impossible with WIMP'y (WIndows, Mouse,
Pointer) GUI's.
Research has shown that these interfaces are great for casual users, but
limit expert access.
ANd the Registry concept; oh, don't get me started!
Try to clone/move a program sub-system between MSoft systems; often
impossible. An installation is distributed, with unrecorded side-effects,
and shared tracks in the registry.
Now, if only unix had MS Office!
Best,
Gregory Guthrie
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