A little musing on Linux ( was Re: Zip files to multiple floppies)

[Robin Laing]

Daniel Stonier wrote:
> On the other hand, is it really that good to have a system set up in the
> exact same way as a windows machine where anybody can hack and slash into
> pretty much anything? I used to think it was a royal pain having to worry
> about writing permissions, users, mounting permissions etc but I dont think
> I have for a long while. Once I learned how it worked and got used to the
> idea I much prefer its benefits. I think the best advice for new people 
> is to
> be open to the idea that it's doing things differently and be willing to
> find out why (there's almost always a logical reason for it).
> 
> On a side note, creating gui's for everything would be great, but probably
> an impossible pipedream. The amount of extra work to program a gui
> is enormous and that's where one real advantage of programming and working
> on the command line comes from. One simple program can be programmed
> with literally hundreds of features on the command line - creating a gui
> to handle the same thing would be a huge task, and might even leave you 
> with
> a program that throws so much at you in the gui you end up getting lost in
> a menu system. This is also one of the limiting features of a windows
> box - forever having to wait for a programmed gui to come around.
> 

> 
> Cheers,
> Daniel
> 

There is a paper out on the net about this exact situation.

In most *nix development, the CLI version is written and any GUI is an 
afterthought.  This is why a majority of *nix applications can be run 
by script or mouse.

Windows development in some cases starts with the GUI and then the 
application is developed around that.

I use the CLI on a daily basis as it is efficient and allows me to 
have more control of my system.  Yes some GUI tools are nice but as in 
a post about "grip - location of files" allot can be missed when 
relying on the GUI.

Another issue about GUI in Linux is the different desktops.  A CLI can 
be used from a variety of input locations or situations.  Remember 
Linux is a server package first, Desktop second.  Of course as a 
desktop it works great if you make the necessary changes.  I use it at 
work and with my experience with winXP pro in the last 2 days, much 
more productive.

I have used Linux since 1994 and I am still learning and I don't have 
to put up with the numerous Windows security problems or crashes that 
I have experienced in all versions of Windows.

I do agree that something has to be done to make Linux work better for 
those that are Windows Trained but I am glad the Fedora isn't 
following the lead of lin-dash or lindows or whatever you wish to call it.

-- 
Robin Laing