Re: Using Ubuntu when I'm used to Debian.
On Tuesday 04 April 2006 13:51, Andrew Sackville-West wrote:
> On Mon, 3 Apr 2006 22:49:00 -0700
>
> Christopher Nelson <chris@cavein.org> wrote:
> > On Mon, Apr 03, 2006 at 11:49:10AM +0100, Adam Funk wrote:
> > > I'm getting a new computer at work with Ubuntu on it, but I'm
> > > used to using Debian (at home and at my previous job). I
> > > understand that they have some similarities.
> > >
> > > I'd appreciate any suggestions about common pitfalls when making
> > > this transition, things that will catch me by surprise, etc.
> >
> > You have to install a mail server and mailx and mutt after the
> > install, it's not done for you. There might be other things you
> > expect to be there, but aren't--those were the biggest things that
> > tripped me up when I tried Ubuntu.
>
> one of the symptoms of "user friendliness". Ubuntu, I assume, makes
> the assumption that they are pulling in windows users who want a
> windows type mail environment with MUA talking smtp and pop to
> smarthosts out on the 'net at large instead of a local mail
> distribution system. I'm sure there are other symptoms of a similar
> nature where they are moving away from the *nix heritage in the
> interest of user-friendliness. I wonder how that plays out in the
> long run?
I think in the long run there'll always be config files that are easy to
edit, but we're just seeing more and more tools that make Linux easier
and easier to use. In the long run, it's a good thing.
I notice so many geeks with that kind of concern. There's this idea in
many circles that Linux is being ruined because this and that are added
that make it more user friendly. Every time someone suggests something
that makes an install easier or an easier config method, there is
always hostility in this group and elsewhere. If the real issue were
that people didn't like those programs, the solution would be simple:
don't use them. Just keep using a text editor to edit config files.
After all, even with Linspire, you can always edit the config files and
skip the user-friendly gui editors. I think the real reason so many
geeks don't like these programs is that Linux has, for years, been a
playground of the geeks. At first you could say, "I don't use Windows,
I use Linux," and people would ask what it was. The words "operating
system" were enough to immediately brand one as a geek who was a master
with computers. Lately, as Linux as gotten more recognized, one can
still be recognized as a true geek by using it instead of Windows. I
think the resentment and frustration is not from the fact that there
are other ways to edit config files now, but that the once hallowed
geek space is being filled with non-geeks and true geeks no longer feel
like they have a special playground all their own with terms that mark
them as computer masters. True, one can switch to BSD, but I think
many realize it won't be hard to port any of the Linux programs to BSD
and continue the invasion.
Hal
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