Re: Fwd: Upgrade Problem
On Fri, Jan 04, 2019 at 11:16:57AM +0100, Nicolas George wrote:
> deloptes (2019-01-04):
> > Come on, the argument of Roberto C. Sánchez holds. Operator != Mechanic.
>
> And I have not suggested that Roberto become a kernel hacker. I hope you
> noticed.
>
I tried about 15 years ago. It turns out I couldn't hack it :-)
I am older and wiser now, so I suppose I could, but my interests are now
elsewhere.
> > To
> > operate a PC means you know how to power on, login, start and use
> > application
>
> What applications can they use if nobody installed them? You have a
> strange opinion of how a PC works.
>
> There is no going around it: a PC is a very complex piece of technology.
> For everyday use, the complexity is well hidden, but not all day is
> everyday. There are unavoidably cases when somebody needs to deal with
> the complexity. In that case, there are only three options:
>
> - pay somebody competent to do the job, or else entice them to do the
> job for free;
>
> - become competent;
>
> - go live in a cave.
>
The line between operator and administrator has been blurry since the
beginning of computing. Just as people who own automobiles today need
to know far less in terms of mechanical diagnosis and repair than those
who owned automobiles 100 years ago, operating a Unix-like computer
today can be successfully accomplished with far less in the way
knowledge of system administration than was possible 20 or 30 years ago.
That said, like owning an automobile, with a computer sometimes things
break or quit working as expected. The machine then either has to be
repaired or replaced and if the owner cannot handle the job on his or
her own, then somebody else will need to handle it (and likely be paid
for the service).
Regards,
-Roberto
--
Roberto C. Sánchez
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