Re: How is typical home computer used today?
On 09/12/2014, Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> wrote:
> In a thread titled "Re: 9p/plumber to replace D-Bus?"
> berenger.morel@neutralite.org wrote:
> [[🔎] 3d6a00a1c8bddc88b517b4e19cc681dd@neutralite.org">https://lists.debian.org/[🔎] 3d6a00a1c8bddc88b517b4e19cc681dd@neutralite.org]>
>
>
>>
>> Le 08.12.2014 14:18, Marty a écrit :
>>> [SNIP]
>>> Multi-seat PC and other
>>> anachronisms probably have to go away.
>
> Exactly what is meant by "Multi-seat PC"?
> I'm working on defining a heavily customized personal
> installation of Debian. One of the *STRONG* underlying
> assumptions is the the machine would only ever be used by a
> specific individual. One of the underlying motivations is
> personally understanding the the guts of Linux.
>
>> [snip]
>>
>> About anachronism... you should read about what is the minitel*,
>> and then, consider thinking about how most people uses their
>> computers ;)
>>
>> *: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minitel
>>
>>
>
> Is there any current survey of people actually use computers today?
> My personal usage would be email, web browsing, and some number
> crunching. I would explicitly avoid installing anything that
> would act as a server when connected to a network.
>
>
I believe that an appropriate response to the question of the subject
field, is, to reword the quote from Plato's Phaedrus, to
"And, what is typical, and, what is not typical?"
Similarly, "What is normal?"
Do such concepts really exist, in the real world?
Surely, as most people are different to each other, sowould their uses
and expectations of computers, be different, would they not?
One site (/ household or other unit) may have a LANM, which involves a
gateway/firewall server, a mailserver, a print server, etc, and,
separate LAN nodes, another may have a similar LAN, but without one or
more of the servers, another may have a printer that has its own IP
address within the :LAN, acting as a network printer, rather than a
local printer, etc.
Regrading the functionality of each particular computer, one computer
may be used for financial accounting for the household or individual,
and for office suite stuff, and for other uses; another may be
configured for vidoe calls, using something like Skype or WebRTC
stuff, etc, another may be configured (including the hardware
configuration) to be used for watching aerial television, another may
be used for running one version of one distribution of Linux, or
another version of the same distribution, or, a different distribution
of Linux, or another operating system, such as a BSD version of UNIX,
etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
Just because one person may decide that what that person does with a
computer, is "normal", and, "typical", does not mean that others would
so use their computers.
And, apart from the aspect of "What is typical", what is a "home computer"?
Is is a single computer for a whole household, so that the houshold
has only one computer, to be shared by all members of the household,
with only a single account, or, a computer with an account for each
user, or, a computer with a separate account for each role of each
user? Is a "home computer, a "desktop" computer, a "portable"
computer, a "laptop" computer, a "notebook" computer, a "tablet"
computer, or, a "games" computer, such as a nintendo 64 (once regarded
as the most powerfulcomputer likely to be found in a household), or, a
"smart phone", or, a "smart television", which, amongst other
applications, provides use as a termional to the World Wide Web?
So, the answer here, is, Read the quotation in my signature".
--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............
"So once you do know what the question actually is,
you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
A Trilogy In Four Parts",
written by Douglas Adams,
published by Pan Books, 1992
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